27 Feb 08 – Today, on the first anniversary of the ICC’s naming of Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb as suspects wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, 45 organizations throughout Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa have launched WantedForWarCrimes.org, a campaign which calls for the UN Security Council to push for the immediate arrest of the two named suspects, in addition to targeted sanctions, such as freezing assets, on those in Khartoum who continue to harbour them. Aegis is helping to spearhead the campaign, which has issued wanted posters and urges members of the public to visit www.wantedforwarcrimes.org to send a protest email to all 15 heads of mission at the UN Security Council.
In an interview released today in English by WantedForWarCrimes.org (first published in Arabic in Al-Hayat, and translated by the Save Darfur Coalition), war crimes suspect and Sudanese Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmad Harun claims any deaths in Darfur were ‘mistakes’.*
In the interview, Harun characterizes the attacks by the Sudanese military and janjaweed in Darfur as “the government assum In Darfur over 200,000 people have died with more than 2.4 million people forced from their homes. In the ICC arrest warrants Ahmad Harun is named as being responsible for over 40 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes including: mass murder, widespread rapes, the burning of a mosque, and the expulsion of over 60,000 people from four towns in West Darfur. Dr James Smith, Chief Executive of the Aegis Trust, said: “After having orchestrated the ultra-violence of 2003 and 2004, Ahmad Harun is now slowing aid deliveries and obstructing peacekeepers – contributing to the deaths in slow motion that we see today in Darfur. It is a grotesque irony that he is now in charge of feeding the victims of his own suspected crimes.” The UN Commission of Inquiry in the Darfur listed the names of 51 individuals suspected of crimes against humanity. They included ten high-ranking central Government officials, seventeen local Government officials, fourteen members of the Janjaweed, seven members of the different rebel groups and three foreign soldiers. “Every level of the Government of Sudan is riddled with accused war criminals,” said Frank Donaghue, Chief Executive Officer for Physicians for Human Rights, another founding member of the new campaign. “It is critical that the International Criminal Court’s investigation follow the chain of command as high as it can go.” On 5 December 2007 Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the Chief Prosecutor of the ICC announced a new investigation. He opened up the possibility of investigating Sudanese Government ministers, saying, “Harun is a key actor in the present crimes in Darfur, but he is not alone. I will investigate those who bear the greatest responsibility in present crimes, those who actively support him, those who instruct him.” Wanted for War Crimes members include: Aegis Trust – UK; Human Rights Watch – USA; Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies – Egypt; Center for Peace – Croatia; Society of Threatened Peoples – Switzerland; Physicians for Human Rights – USA; Collectif Urgence Darfour – France; Waging Peace – UK; Japanese for Darfur – Japan; Human Rights First – USA; IDP Action – UK; Italians for Darfur – Italy; Darfur Australia Network – Australia; Polska dla Darfuru – Poland; Sudanese Organisation Against Torture – UK; Investors Against Genocide – USA; Americans Against the Darfur Genocide – USA; ENOUGH – USA; STAND Canada – Canada; Independent Advocacy Project – Nigeria; RADDHO – Senegal; ICC Student Network – UK; Prepared Society – Kenya; UN Watch – Switzerland; Bahrain Society for Public Freedom and Democracy Watch – Bahrain; Darfur Union – UK; Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur – USA; People Against Injustice (PAIN) – Gambia; SERAP – Nigeria; STAND USA – USA; Land Centre for Human Rights (LCHR) – Egypt; Darfur Consortium; League of Human Rights – Czech Republic; Global Grassroots – Rwanda, USA; Sudan Divestment UK; Genocide Intervention Network – USA; Amnesty International – Ghana; Minority Rights Group – UK; GATS – USA; Save Darfur Canada; Gulf Centre for Democratic Development – Gulf states, Middle East. ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF AHMED HARUN INTERVIEW FOLLOWS. Interview source: Al Hayat Headline: Sudanese Minister and War Crimes’ Suspect, Ahmed Harun, Accuses Darfur Rebels of Committing All Kinds of War Crimes and Denies Committing Any Crime and Describes ICC Continued Handover Demands as a Psychological War By: Annour Ahmed Annour Date: 02 – 18 – 08 Sudanese Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Ahmed Harun, who is wanted by International Criminal Court for war crimes, defended himself against these accusations and denied committing any crimes, explaining he was doing his job of protecting Darfur civilians from Darfur rebel attacks. He discounted the possibility that his government would use him as a bargaining chip. He told Al Hayat that he leads a normal life and does not pay attention to ICC’s handover demands, describing these demands as a psychological war and described the issue as politically-motivated rather than criminal. Harun added that he is living on “borrowed time” given that most of his comrades “became martyrs” and that he deals with death on a monthly basis through family members’ natural deaths, explaining that his personal safety was not linked to being in government The following is the text of the interview. ICC accuses you of committing and ordering multiple killings, raids, looting, rape, and forced displacement of civilians in 2003 and 2004, how do you respond? It is a known fact that the war was started by rebels whether as part of “Sudan Liberation Movement” “Justice and Equality Movement” or a splinter of these two groups while making political demands. Those demands whether right or wrong do not justify resorting to violence against civilians or the government. The rebels attacked and killed civilians and government police. The government responded from a position of defense. The government assumed its natural position of defending and protecting its citizens, their properties and its government buildings and institutions. If, for example an American citizen took up arms against the government there, he would be called a terrorist. There is no government that sets itself on fire, we do not have any personal or institutional vendetta against Darfur population. On the contrary, we went there to protect the civilian population, so the accusation is without merit Do you think resolving the ICC issue will be political or legal? There is no armed conflict that was resolved in court. It is a political issue and will have to be resolved in that frame. We have experience in dealing with similar situations when we resolved the conflict between North and South Sudan. The first step is to achieve ceasefire, the second to reach a political settlement, the third to achieve national reconciliation, and finally accountability. In the case of Darfur, things were turned upside down. If there is reconciliation between Sudan and the rest of the world on Darfur, do you think the ICC issue would be tabled? The government’s position is that the ICC has no place in this crisis at all Why Ahmed Harun and not the minister of defense or interior? ICC is in a better position to answer that question. Ahmed Harun does not work for his own account, he represents a government and that is the aim of the ICC Does his mean then that accusations against you are not true? I don’t find any truth in them. Do you think that Ahmed Harun started the war in Darfur, and was able to maintain it war all these years? No logic can accept that. One of the accusations against you says that you were seen giving weapons to militia fighters and paying their salaries The truth is that thee colonial mentality in the West wants to portray us as savage, primitive societies. We have an established government where no minister can work as a treasurer who hands out money like that. The media relishes stories about primitive regimes where a minister can hand out money, as if there were no rules, standards or checks and balance You are now Minister of Humanitarian Affairs despite the fact that you are accused of crimes against humanity. There are those who see this appointment as an effort to absolve you. How do you reply? The explanation is simple. When I was in charge of internal affairs at the ministry of the interior, I was responsible for the safety of civilians, and that is not at all different from my current position There are rumors that say you met with Western ambassadors to negotiate the ICC issue? First off, this never happened. Because these rumors are wrong and so damaging, I filed – in person – a lawsuit. However, despite all that I do not pay attention to the ICC, I am at peace with myself because I did no commit any crime. And thankfully I have a legal background and worked as a judge, these legal issues do not worry me Do you think the accusations against you are personal or political? Of course, it is political. One of the means of the psychological war against the country. They first accused 51 people, then 15, and now only two Do you think your position in the government provides you needed protection? Never! My true protection comes from the fact that we did not commit any crimes. This is a political game, a futile one at that Do you think the government would use you as a bargaining chip with the ICC? No. This is not one of its values. There is not even a 1% chance that this would happen. If you leave the government, would you return to your Kordufan hometown to be among your people for protection? No. I will stay in Khartoum. I am not afraid They say ICC accusations would not drop with passage of time, do you expect to be arrested one day and be tried at the ICC? I am not concerned. This has nothing to do with international justice Can you travel outside Sudan? Yes. How do people treat you when you visit Darfur? Their support for me is far greater in Darfur than anywhere else. People in Darfur are able to distinguish the truth. They know who started the war and disrupted their way of life If the government is no longer in power how does that affect your case? This is a national case in the first place. A case of national pride, dignity and sovereignty. The only difference is that today it is Ahmed Harun and next maybe someone else Don’t you think that you have to explain yourself to the international community? Not at all. If I did, I would have played into their hands. The international community knows who started the conflict. The rebels are the ones who committed all kinds of horrible war crimes in Darfur. They did not abide by any standards or rules Don’t you think that you were responsible for some violence whether through government or militia forces? I will tell something very important: I swear there was no systemic operation to commit any mistakes. Individual mistakes, however, took place. But we dealt with any mistake that came to our attention. If the military bombed a village by mistake, we – myself and the minister of defense – used to go to the village and talk to the residents and compensate them for their losses. It happened in Um Kuzwine, Abu Duma, and Hbila. Any individual mistakes committed by military or police, we referred that to military court for appropriate punishment How do you think this case will end? Or do you think it will continue against Sudan They – the West – sees the world based on clashes and conflict, and that it is God who chose them to rule the world. They are not at peace with the rest of the world. They declared their civilization the winner. Their goal is to break this government because they think it represents values inconsistent with theirs and therefore a threat to them. That is why they will continue this plan till they make Sudan their playground and that is impossible.
