ARAB SUMMIT REJECT WARANT FOR BASHIR

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir (C) attends the closing session of the Arab League summit in Doha, capital of Qatar, on Monday evening, March 30, 2009
DOHA: Leaders attending the 21st Arab League (AL) annual summit ended the meeting here Monday with the adoption of a final communiqué on joint rejection of the arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, inter-Arab reconciliation and the Middle East peace process.
Announcing the end of the Doha summit, AL Secretary General Amr Moussa read the text of the final communique, saying the Arab leaders attending the summit reached an agreement on rejecting the arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Bashir for his alleged war crimes in Darfur.
Moussa said the Arab leaders also support continuation of talks between the Sudanese government and anti-government groups on Darfur under the mediation of Qatar.
The communique means a formal rejection of the international war crimes charges brought by the ICC against Bashir.

The rejection was widely expected after many Arab leaders denounced the ICC's arrest warrant for Bashir, which was issued on March 4.
"We emphasis our solidarity with Sudan and our dismissal and rejection of the decision handed down by the International Criminal Court," Moussa quoted the communiqué as saying. He said that the decision to arrest Bashir was aimed "at undermining the unity and stability of Sudan".
Courtesy: Xinhua