France not swayed by ceasefire

2008-11-13 20:35

Paris - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's announcement of a ceasefire in Darfur is not enough to persuade France to oppose his possible indictment for war crimes, a French official said on Thursday.

Bashir, facing a possible indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC), declared the unilateral ceasefire on Wednesday in the latest push by the Sudanese government to persuade the United Nations to suspend any ICC arrest warrant.

The UN Security Council, of which France is a permanent member, has powers under Article 16 of the ICC statute to block any proceedings against Bashir.

"What we expect from the Sudanese authorities is an immediate and radical change of attitude on several points ... and this ceasefire declaration does not represent such a change," said foreign ministry spokesperson Eric Chevallier

"For now, there is no reason to consider that our position has changed in any way ... The question of an Article 16 suspension is not even on the agenda at this stage," he said by telephone.

Sudanese officials had voiced hopes that the positions of France, Britain and the United States on the issue of Bashir's possible indictment would soften after his announcement.

But Chevallier said there was no guarantee that fighting would actually stop in Darfur, Sudan's vast western region where about 200 000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced since a civil war flared up in 2003.

One of the rebel groups fighting the government in Darfur, the Justice and Equality Movement, said Bashir's announcement was a "PR exercise" and vowed not to lay down arms until a proper ceasefire deal was reached.

Chevallier said Paris expected from Khartoum swift progress on a political process to resolve the Darfur war, of which there was no evidence, and a change of attitude on the issue of outstanding ICC warrants against two other Sudanese officials.

The ICC issued warrants last year against government minister Ahmed Haroun and a Darfur militia leader aligned with the government. Sudan refuses to hand them over to the ICC.

ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo accused Bashir in July of masterminding a campaign of genocide in Darfur. The ICC judges are considering whether to indict Bashir, based on Moreno-Ocampo's case against him, and issue an arrest warrant.

- Reuters