Sudan's Bashir: "Where did Khalil [Ibrahim, JEM leader] get 200 Landcruisers loaded with heavy artillery, anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons?"

Today's news from Sudan Radio Service:

3 March - (Merowe) - The President of the Republic, Omar al-Bashir, says that whatever the announcement made by the International Criminal Court on Wednesday, it will not affect the development of Sudan.

Addressing an inauguration ceremony at the Merowe dam on Tuesday, President al-Bashir said that the prospect of the ICC decision does not worry his government.

[Omar al-Bashir]:”They want to make us busy with their own issues and their accusations, and we will not care about these, they will announce their decision tomorrow, let them issue a second, a third - or ten decisions… This is not the first resolution against Sudan from the UN Security Council. The last one was Resolution 1706. Where is it now? We told them to soak it in water and drink the juice.”

Al-Bashir also accused the western countries of supplying the Darfur anti-government groups with weapons.

He claimed the best example of this was the support received by the Justice and Equality Movement which attacked Omdurman last May.

[Omar al-Bashir]:”We signed the Abuja agreement and they [JEM] organized it with us and they said it was a final agreement and the non-signatories will be punished. In the end, they supported all the non-signatory movements with money, weapons and vehicles. Where did Khalil [Ibrahim, JEM leader] get 200 Landcruisers loaded with heavy artillery, anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons? Were did he get them?

Last month, the Government of National Unity and JEM signed a goodwill and confidence-building agreement in Doha, Qatar.
- - -

3 March - (The Hague) - A decision is expected by the International Criminal Court on whether or not to issue an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Wednesday.

Sudan Radio Service spoke to ICC spokesperson Sonia Robla on Tuesday in The Hague.

Sudan Radio Service producer David Sanango asked her for a reaction to a threat from Libya that 37 African countries could withdraw from the ICC if al-Bashir is issued with an arrest warrant.

[Sonia Robla]: “We can not answer this question because it is too hypothetical. First of all, we don’t have a warrant of arrest yet. I don’t know if we will get it tomorrow, secondly we don’t answer hypothetical situations which will not, I mean I don’t think it will happen, you know so I am afraid that the judicial institution at this stage is not ready to answer that one.”

[Sudan Radio Service]: What is the possibility that the ICC will issue an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir tomorrow?

[Sonia Robla]: “We don’t discuss possibilities or again we don’t respond to hypothetical questions. It is not for me to estimate the chances of the judges of the court issuing an warrant of arrest or not. What do you want to say? Fifty per cent? Twenty per cent? Sixty per cent? Do you think I’m crazy?”

That was Sonia Robla, the ICC spokesperson speaking to Sudan Radio Service from The Hague.
- - -

3 March - (Khartoum) - The SPLM chairman in Khartoum state, Bol Ring, told Sudan Radio Service on Wednesday, that the SPLM in Khartoum state has formed a committee to deal with the consequences of the ICC decision.

[Bol Ring]: “Truly, the SPLM in Khartoum state has put in place administrative and political arrangements. This committee functions at the SPLM northern sector level. And we are now coordinating with other sectors in Khartoum state so that we can act in case there is a security breach. We will control ourselves and we hope the NCP will be wise and responsible.”

Ring said that the two parties will coordinate with each other to ensure the safety and security of all the civilians in the Khartoum area.
- - -

3 March - (Yambio) - The Governor of Western Equatoria state is urging the people of Tambura and Nagero counties to cooperate and live together in peace.

The people of Tambura and Nagero counties have disagreed about county border demarcations after Nagero county was formed after the signing of the CPA.

The governor, Jemma Nunu Kumba, speaking to Sudan Radio Service on Tuesday by phone from Yambio, explains why there has been a dispute between the two communities:

[Jemma Nunu Kumba]: “The mistake was right from the beginning when the new county was created. The border was not specified, secondly even the number of payams that constitute the county was not clearly specified but later on people try to create their own border and now brought misunderstanding between the two communities. Efforts were done previously by the late governor to solve the problem but did not succeed, the neutral committee which was formed was made up of members from different counties. They made their recommendations and the former governor based the negotiations, but the discussions were rejected by the people of Nagero.”

Kumba said that the problem will be solved by the results of the fifth population census that will determine the boundaries of the border.

In a press statement, the Nagero county commissioner, Joseph Natale Sabuni, said that the county authorities will organize a reconciliation conference to settle the land dispute between the two counties.