Sudan has agreed to set up special courts to try alleged human rights abuses in Darfur which will be monitored by international bodies including the UN, an Arab League official said Wednesday as Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir danced before supporters on a visit to Darfur that bristled with security and dismissed accusations that he masterminded genocide in the region. “They agreed to establish special courts,” Hisham Yussef, chief of staff for Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, said. “They also agreed that the Arab League, the UN and the African Union would follow (the trials) but also ensure that laws in Sudan cover all the aspects required under international law.” The move follows a request by International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo to have Bashir charged with war crimes including genocide in the war-ravaged region of Darfur. If Sudan holds viable trials of those accused of crimes in Darfur, the ICC automatically drops its charges. “They will try whoever is accused of violating human rights laws, whatever the crimes are,” Yussef said. Meanwhile, traveling in convoy, backed by a helicopter and soldiers, police and national security driving in vehicles mounted with machine guns, Bashir arrived in El Fasher, the old Darfur capital, greeted by 5,000 to 6,000 supporters. Civil servants, tribesmen, students, men on camels and horses cheered the head of state, pledging allegiance and slamming a bid from the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for Beshir's arrest over suspected war crimes. “What Ocampo said about Darfur is lies... We have to find a solution to the Darfur crisis,” Bashir told the crowd. His first visit to Darfur since 2007, Bashir will spend two days touring the three state capitals in the vast arid region – El Fasher, in the north, Nyala in the south and El Geneina in the west. He is scheduled to inaugurate development projects and hold talks with state officials, local leaders and political party representatives.
