By Opheera McDoom
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan on Thursday rejected a deal withthe International Criminal Court to hand over two indictedofficials in exchange for dropping the court's arrest warrantfor President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo however ruled outdropping his call for a warrant for Bashir on suspicion ofgenocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, amove that some powers fear could derail peace efforts there.
"There will be no direct cooperation with the InternationalCriminal Court and no sending any Sudanese citizens to TheHague," Sudanese presidential adviser Mustafa Osman Ismail tolda forum on Thursday.
The decision to refer Darfur to the ICC came from the U.N.Security Council so any proposal to resolve the crisis shouldalso come from there, he said.
ICC judges are expected to decided in October or Novemberwhether to issue a warrant for Bashir's arrest.
Moreno-Ocampo asked the ICC for the warrant, accusingBashir of a campaign of genocide in which 35,000 people werekilled outright, at least 100,000 died a "slow death" and 2.5million were forced to flee their homes in Sudan's Darfurregion.
China, South Africa and others have expressed concern thatan indictment of Bashir could damage the stalled peace processaimed at ending the 5-year-old conflict in Darfur.
Moreno-Ocampo, in his first public comments since askingfor Bashir's arrest, said this was not a factor for him.
"I am the prosecutor and I have to do my judicial part ofthe work for the court," he told reporters. "I kept myindependence and I cannot be a political factor," he said whenasked whether arresting Bashir would harm peace negotiations.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon offered a differentview, saying the ICC also must consider ramifications of itswork. "We must seek to strike the correct balance between theduty of justice and the pursuit of peace," he said.
Western diplomats in New York have said a deal could bestruck to drop or suspend the warrant for Bashir if he agreedto hand over Humanitarian Affairs State Minister Ahmed Harounand militia leader Ali Kushayb, indicted by the ICC last year.
DEAL RULED OUT
A senior Sudanese government official, agreeing withIsmail's stand, ruled out a deal. "This is non-negotiable," theofficial told Reuters. "Any talks will be held within thedeclared position of Sudan."
Sudan has asked Russia, China and members of the ArabLeague and the African Union to help it pursue a SecurityCouncil resolution suspending a warrant for Bashir for 12months.
Diplomats in New York say the Arab League and the AU'sPeace and Security Council are expected to call on the SecurityCouncil soon to block any ICC moves in the interests ofbringing peace to Darfur, devastated by the five-year-oldconflict.
Sudan is likely to get both Arab and African support at theUnited Nations. AU officials have expressed concern that theICC's first four cases have all focused on Africa.
Senegal's president said on Thursday that U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush had told African leaders at one point that theUnited States might send troops to Darfur if they did not actto halt what he saw as genocide there.
"Myself and other African colleagues tried to dissuade himfrom this and convince him to leave us to try to sort out thisproblem among us Africans," President Abdoulaye Wade said in astatement issued in Dakar on Moreno-Ocampo's request for anarrest warrant for Bashir.
White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said: "The presidentis committed to supporting the AU-UN peacekeeping force."
Only about 2,000 people attended the latest in a series ofdemonstrations against the ICC in Khartoum on Thursday, but forthe first time senior government officials addressed the crowd.
Bashir's top adviser, Nafie Ali Nafie, told the rally: "Thecourt will not find any respect from anyone in Sudan."
The protests have been organised by Bashir's rulingNational Congress Party, but opposition politicians and otherSudanese have also expressed concern the ICC action could be atodds with the causes of peace and justice in Sudan.
The United Nations strengthened security before the ICCannouncement, withdrawing non-essential staff from Darfur andevacuating families from Khartoum in case of a backlash.
On Wednesday, an officer from the joint U.N.-African Unionpeacekeeping mission was shot dead in a carjacking in Darfur.
Just north of that attack, in Beida town, the aid agencyTearfund's said its premises were broken into and staff werebeaten by armed men.
(Additional reporting by Patrick Worsnip in New York)
(Editing by Giles Elgood)
