Bashir Warrant Stresses Importance of Accountability
Democratic Gathering leader Walid Jumblat said Friday that an arrest warrant issued by an international court against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir stresses the importance of accountability.
"It stresses the importance of holding those involved accountable for mass murder," Jumblat said in a statement released on Friday.
An International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued Wednesday against Bashir opened up a global divide on how war crimes justice is administered.
The ICC sought the arrest of Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity during a five-year-long crackdown in Darfur, which the United Nations says has left up to 300,000 people dead and forced about three million out of their homes.
Jumblat said Bashir "dragged Sudan into a deadlock because of his insistence on sending troops to Darfur."
These soldiers "carried out atrocities against civilians that cannot be tolerated in any form," Jumblat added.
In earlier remarks, Jumblat underlined the need for compromise with rival March 8 Forces and said a thaw in ties between Saudi Arabia and Syria should help strengthen stability in Lebanon.
Relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia have worsened following the 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri.
In August 2006, the row grew deeper after Assad gave a speech criticizing Arab leaders for their failure to support Hizbullah in the Israeli war on Lebanon, calling them "half-men."
Relations briefly improved in March 2007 after Assad moved to quell the crisis, describing ties between the two countries as "historic" and "longstanding."
Jumblat saw the exchange of visits between Riyadh and Damascus as a "good thing," that could lead to decreased tension among Lebanese communities.
In remarks published in several Beirut dailies on Friday, Jumblat did not rule out joining a new unity government after the June 7 parliamentary election, which is seen a major landmark.
But the Druze leader said he would first have to "consult" with his allies in the ruling March 14 coalition.
Jumblat believed that while winning would be a "moral boost" for March 14 Forces, losing "is not the end of the world."
Jumblat said he was not worried by the rapprochement between the United States and Syria.