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Darfuris march in The Hague to back court's action
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Oct 31, 2008 - 8:44:11 AM

Darfuris march in The Hague to back court's action

Fri 31 Oct 2008, 16:10 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (Reuters) - More than 100 Darfuris marched through The Hague on Friday to show their support for the International Criminal Court's (ICC) move to indict Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

Waving banners and chanting "all killers to the ICC!" the men marched to the court to hand in a letter of support for its chief prosecutor's request for an arrest warrant for the president, accusing him of war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region.

"We've come here to support the ICC and to support justice because without justice, there will be no peace," said Mohammed Ismail from the Darfur Union, a civil society group that helped organise the demonstration.

The ICC's top prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the global court's judges to issue the warrant in July, accusing Bashir of orchestrating a campaign of genocide in Darfur that has killed thousands and forced millions from their homes.

But top Sudanese officials including Bashir have said a possible arrest warrant against him could complicate and prolong conflict in the country and derail peace talks.

The Arab League and African Union have also said the court's moves could disrupt Sudan's peace process, while China, a close ally of the oil-producing African state, has voiced concern at the attempt to try Bashir.

Participants came from around Europe for the demonstration on Friday, many of whom were victims or witnesses of atrocities in Darfur.

"I'm here today to support my people in Darfur and help them escape the torturing and killing of this 21st century holocaust," said Darfuri Dabis Girno, a 24-year-old studying in Britain who was holding a protest banner against Bashir.

"This is our last hope. The ICC is the last hope for us."



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