From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Thu Mar 05 2009 - 16:37:43 EST
Ethiopia and Eritrea reject efforts to arrest Sudan's president
Washington
04/03/2009
The Ethiopian government opposes the issuance of an arrest warrant for
Sudan's president by the International Criminal Court, said a government
spokesman. Earlier today, the court announced they would try to arrest
President Omar Hussein al-Bashir for crimes committed in Sudan.
The court issued an arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir for the commission of
war crimes and crimes against humanity, but ruled that there was
insufficient evidence to prosecute him for genocide.
President Isaias Afewerki told a Sudanese envoy two days ago that his
government would also refuse to support any effort to arrest Sudan's head of
state. Eritrea's ministry of information issued this statement on a
government web site on March 2. Ministry officials did not respond to a VOA
request for an interview today.
A former Ethiopian dissident takes another view. Lencho Lata, a former Oromo
Liberation Front deputy secretary general who spent more than 10 years
living in Sudan when he was active in Ethiopia's rebel movement, told the
Afan Oromo service's Nigusu that it is a necessary step for justice. He
spoke from Sweden, where he now lives. "It is good news that leaders who
order bloodshed in their own countries can be brought to justice." However,
he added, "It is a shame for African leaders to be unable to resolve their
problems within the region."
Ethiopia's State Minister of Government Communications Affairs Ermyas
Legesse told VOA's Solomon Abate that the warrant "obstructs the peace
process, especially in Darfur." He said, ".this decision undermines the
peace process in the region.We believe that it will have a negative impact.
We do not endorse this decision."
Ermyas indicated the Ethiopian position has also been the position of the
African Union and the Arab League."Our government's stand is that it will
get in the way of the peace process." He said that his government will
endorse the statement being released today by the African Union.
For more reaction and analysis from the Horn of Africa and from around the
world, listen to today's broadcasts in Afan Oromo, Amharic and Tigrigna.
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