Manama, Bahrain – Bahraini lawmakers have condemned the arrest warrant issued against Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al Bashir for mass genocide and humanity crimes by the International Criminal Court(ICC). They have called it – “a result of conspiracy by the US.”
MP Ghanim Al Buainin, First Deputy Speaker of the Bahrain Lower House said the arrest warrant should be seen as a clear signal for all Arab and Gulf Countries to withdraw support from ICC.
Al Buainin who is from the Al Asala bloc, a conservative Sunni bloc here, urged all Arab leaders to support Al Bashir and blamed America and other western countries with hidden agendas for being behind the ICC decision.
The bloc said in a statement that Al Bashir was vocal about his Anti-Israel approach and fought with the Egyptian troops against the Israelis in 1973.
“President Al Bashir is is known for his sharp criticism against the American policies and this attack aims to put him under pressure. With the issuance of this warrant ICC has lost its credibility,”Al Buainin said.
The Conservative lawmaker further called upon all Arab leaders to hold an urgent summit to discuss strategies to expose the intentions of ICC Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo.
According to the United Nations report as many as 300,000 Sudanese civilians were killed in Darfur, with roughly 250,000 living as refugees in Chad, and another 2.3 million living in Internally Displaced Persons(IDP) camps in Sudan since the conflict broke out in February 2003.ICC Chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President holding him responsible for the mass genocides and war crimes in Darfur.
The Bahraini parliamentary bloc urged the ICC with the same token to investigate the Israeli war crimes in the Gaza strip. The bloc had last year demanded similar warrants to be issued against US President George Bush for war crimes in Iraq which they say has killed more than one million Iraqis since the occupation in 2003.
This is not the first time the bloc has blamed the US for its hidden agenda in Sudan and the region. It had blamed the US and Israel for providing military training to Darfur rebels and providing them with money and weapons along with political support.
Human rights groups and Non governmental organisations across the world have welcomed the ICC ruling which they consider a step forward to solve the Darfur crisis.
Local human rights group such as the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights have also joined hands with Save Darfur in a major step towards fighting impunity related to Darfur crimes. Arab rights activists criticised the Islamic countries for not breaking their silence on the atrocities and crimes in Darfur.
Bahrain foreign policy supports the Sudanese government and welcomes the Abuja Agreement, a treaty attempting to end the Darfur conflict and collaboration with the African Union to resolve the crisis.
Bahrain,a close US ally hosts its Navy Fifth Fleet.
