Sudan delegation lobby's Ghana

..against indictment of President Bashir
Accra, July 30, GNA- Mr Bona Malwal, Sudan's Special Envoy, on Wednesday presented a special message to Vice President Alhaji Mahama, which he disclosed contains the position of his country over the indictment of his President.

He used the occasion to slam the indictment of President Omar al Bashir as an insult to Africa and lauded the Security Council of the African Union (AU), for voicing opposition against the decision. Mr Malwal, also a Special Advisor to the President, questioned why the International Court of Justice (ICC) should indict the Head of State for war crimes against the people of Darfur and said he was in Ghana to register the protest of his country over the issue.

He stressed: "Indicting a sitting President is unacceptable." Mr Malwal said he had already met with the Nigerian authorities as part of efforts to deepen the solidarity of Africa with Sudan over the impasse.

He would fly to Democratic Republic of Congo and a number of countries as part of intense diplomatic shuttle to reverse the decision. Vice President Mahama said Ghana stood by the open disagreement of the AU with the ICC over the indictment of President Bashir. He said the country was however concerned about the deteriorating security situation in Darfur and called for international support to provide the AU Peace Mission with logistics in order to live up to expectation.

Earlier this month, ICC Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked judges in The Hague to issue an arrest warrant against President Bashir over his alleged role in the genocide at Sudan's Western Darfur Region. The five-year old Darfur conflict has left some 300,000 people dead while 2.5 million people have been forced to flee their homes. The Joint African Union Nations Mission was set up by the United Nations Security Council to protect some four million people caught up in the war between Sudanese Government forces and armed rebels. Six months after the mission began, only about a third of the 26,000 personnel promised had been deployed, while helicopters, armoured vehicles and other basic equipment are lacking.