ماذا قالت مجموعة مناهضة التعذيب فى شأن "أمر القبض"؟؟

Quote: One Thug is almost Down...! PR- for immediate release Contact person: Mohamed Elgadi Tel. 1+215-870-7809 Amherst, MA- Feb 17th, 2009- Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) are reviewing the indictment of the President of the Sudan Lt. General Omer Al-Bashir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes; and may decide to issue an arrest warrant for President Al-Bashir. The Group Against Torture in Sudan (GATS) is watching with utmost concerns the threats and calls of violence from the regime of President Omer Al-Bashir against the ICC and the UN personnel if an arrest warrant is issued. These threats have been shown in many signals from the regime’s media and affiliated political groups with the ruling National Congress Party in Sudan. It’s an irresponsible statement from the Government of the Sudan to claim that more violence and instability would be generated had the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Al-Bashir. This was reiterated by the ambassador of the Sudan in Washington, D.C. Mr. Akec Achiew Khoc on February 6, 2009 at a conference on Darfur organized by the School of Law at Yale University, in New haven, Connecticut. GATS demands that the Government of the Sudan should take all the measures necessary to guarantee non-violence against civilians in Khartoum and all other parts of Sudan in response to an ICC arrest warrant for President Al Bashir’s. GATS calls the Government of the Sudan and the UN to prevent the repetition of the “Black Monday” of August 1, 2005 violence in Khartoum, and the violence against innocent Darfuris in Khartoum after May 10th, 2008 following the insurgency by one of the rebel groups in Khartoum. GATS urges all political parties, NGOs and civil society organizations (SPLM, NCP, Umma, DUP, SCP, etc.) in the Sudan to be practical and exercise prudence in dealing with the ICC’s legal decision. Action should be addressed in the context of the law and not through the threat of bloodshed, vacuous jingoism, and disrespect to the international community. GATS urges the Government of the Sudan to recognize the legitimacy of the ICC and the obligation of Sudan as a member of the UN to cooperate with the ICC in all its investigations. GATS petitions the SPLM, since it is a part of the government, to protect the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and to persuade the National Congress Party to cooperate with the ICC in order to avoid confrontations with the international community. The crisis in Darfur is a natural consequence of the regime’s policy: the Government of the Sudan should be prepared to defend its policy at the international court and the President should be prepared to defend himself against any criminal indictment through legal means recognizing that he is only a suspect and considered innocent until proven guilty. GATS realizes that peace and justice are inseparable and that any step towards justice is a step towards a lasting genuinely negotiated peace in the Sudan. The call for accountability does not exclude any perpetrators in Darfur, Gaza, Iraq, or any other place on earth. Our position is to support the investigations by the ICC of violence against civilians in all corners of the world. The International Community represented by the UN should seriously address the regime’s threats against UNAMID, UN, international NGO workers and all civilians in the Sudan. A warning to Al-Bashir should be issued that any instigated violence will not be tolerated. A decision by the ICC to arrest the Sudanese president will be considered a landmark and a major step towards combating impunity for horrific crimes in Darfur and other regions in the Sudan. Such a decision will be particularly significant to our group that has been diligently working over the years to bring those who planned and conducted systematic torture against dissidents to justice. The Group Against Torture in Sudan-GATS, is an advocacy human rights group based in the United States. GATS works to raise awareness about torture worldwide and especially in Sudan. While GATS is advocating strongly for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Sudan in order to stop the vicious cycle of violence, it’s also working relentlessly to bring perpetrators to justice. Amnesty and forgiveness of perpetrators of their crimes should be given only by the torture survivors.