The Arab League has declined to help the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the arrest of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir over his alleged involvement in war crimes in Darfur. The Arab League said it is not going to cooperate with the ICC because it does not recognize its decision to make the arrest in the first place. In exclusive statements to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Samir Hosni, the chief of the African Department of the Arab League, said on Friday the Arab League has already publicly stated this position. The African Union and the Arab League had issued a joint resolution during the Arab League summit in Sert, Libya, in October, in which they both expressed their rejection of the ICC's decision. “We have nothing to do with this call from the ICC prosecutor, since there is no institutional relationship between the ICC on the one hand, and the Arab League and the African Union on the other,” he added. Luis-Moreno Ocampo, the ICC prosecutor, had urged the Arab League, the African Union and other organizations to assist in the arrest of al-Bashir, saying this should help alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people and create stability in Sudan. In his speech at the UN Security Council on Thursday, Ocampo said that some of the members of the ICC have already prevented al-Bashir from visiting their countries. Ocampo added that al-Bashir and his aides are exerting efforts to cover up and distract the world from their crimes. Ocampo further said that al-Bashir is protecting those who have carried out genocidal crimes in Darfur. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
