Azerbaijan, Baku, 17 July/ Trend , E. Tanriverdiyeva, R. Hafizoglu/ The charges against the President of Sudan Omar al Bashir this week by the Hague tribunal aggravates the political situation there.
"The charges against Omar al Basir will destabilize the political equilibrium reached earlier," Zubeir Osman, the official representative of the Sudanese parliament said to Trend .
The international criminal tribunal in the Hague demands to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar al Bashir who is charged with crimes against mankind in the western Darfur province. According to the document, over 35,000 civilians were killed and over 265,000 forced out of their homes under his supervision. He is also charged with humanitarian and military crimes.
The experts believe that the charges against the Sudanese president will lead to the further aggravation of Darfur problem.
The American expert on Sudan David Shinn believes if the International Criminal Court upholds the charges against Bashir, issues the arrest warrant, and the UN SC takes no action to alter the decision, there will be a more dangerous situation in Darfur
"I think it will first of all affect the situation in Darfur," Shinn, Adjunct Professor of George Washington University said to Trend .
According to experts, the charges of the Hague tribunal are not grounded.
The official representative of the Sudanese parliament said that the Sudanese government does not accept any charges against President Omar al Bashir.
"These charges are not grounded and the Hague tribunal does not possess any grounds for charges," Zubeir said by telephone from Khartoum.
According to expert, like US, Sudan has not signed and ratified agreement with the Hague tribunal, therefore the International Court simply does not have right to demand warrant of arrest for al-Bashir.
According to Shinn, the legal process still has some time to play out. The government of Sudan has rejected the ICC charges. The charges now go to the ICC's three judges. They will decide whether to accept the charges and issue an arrest warrant. This process will take about three months, expert said.
"If the ICC judges uphold the charges, I believe it will complicate the Darfur peace process. In the meantime, Sudan will work with friendly members of the UN Security Council--China, Russia, and non-permanent members from Africa and the Middle East-to overturn or delay any decision by the ICC that President Bashir perceives as hostile," Shinn said.
The experts are doubtful whether many will change in Darfur by the time the situation of al Bashir is cleared up, which is expected to take place soon. The political expert believes that the African Union and UN forces will remain, although there may not be any significant increase in their numbers.
"The government of Sudan would probably determine the next step. In the meantime, Bashir would be confined to Sudan and perhaps a few friendly countries for fear that he might be arrested if he left Sudan," Shinn said.
The Hague tribunal was established by UN as a logical successor of Nuremberg tribunal to implement international justice over the military crimes at present. The crimes against humanity by the totalitarian regime of the communist dictator of Slobodan Milosevic in the former Yugoslavia gave a push to its establishment.
"Al Bashir is carrying out reforms in the country and he should not be charged with genocide. All population of Sudan, regardless of faith and social welfare, support their president," Zubeir Osman, the official representative of the Sudanese parliament said.
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