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'Darfur issue is exaggerated'
24/07/2008 22:29 - (SA)
Amman - Jordan's lower house of parliament on Thursday rejected accusations from an international prosecutor that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir masterminded genocide in Darfur, saying the claims were politically motivated.
"We are convinced that the accusations are of political nature that seek to serve certain objectives and interests of some countries," speaker Abdul Hadi Majali told visiting Sudanese presidential adviser Ghazai Salaheddin.
Majali called on "all Sudanese political powers to unite against the claims", a lower house statement said.
Bashir is the first head of state to be accused by the International Criminal Court prosecutor of 10 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Sudan's western region of Darfur, which has been gripped by more than five years of war.
The war began when African ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated Khartoum regime and state-backed Arab militias, fighting for resources and power in one of the most remote and deprived places on earth.
The United Nations says that up to 300 000 people have died and more than 2.2 million have fled their homes since the conflict erupted in February 2003. Sudan says 10 000 have been killed.
Salaheddin told a news conference that the Darfur issue is "exaggerated".
"We don't distance ourselves from some mistakes, and hundreds of officials and officers have been put on trial, but the Darfur issue is exaggerated," he said.
"Achieving peace in Darfur should be the top priority, and not punishing some people. The claims (against Bashir) are shameful and seek to harm Sudan."
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