AMMAN, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Jordan's lower house opposed the charges filed
by the International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor against Sudanese
President Omar al-Bashir and voiced support to the Sudanese stance on the issue,
Jordan's official news agency Petra reported Thursday.
"We are following up on developments related to the decision of the ICC and
we are convinced that it is of a political nature that serves the interest of
some countries," said Jordanian Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament Abdul
Hadi Majali when meeting Ghazi Salahiddin, advisor to the Sudanese president.
The speaker hailed the Arab stance which rejects the ICC charges, adding
the lower house of Jordan fully supports Arab positions in general.
Majali also urged all Sudanese forces to adopt a unified position to
confront the ICC move.
On July 14, The Hague-based ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo
formally requested an arrest warrant against Bashir for alleged war crimes and
crimes against humanity in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.
It was the first time that the ICC was asked to charge a sitting head of
state, a move decried by Khartoum as undermining peace efforts in the restive
Darfur.
Sudan, which is not a signatory to the court, has rejected the ICC
allegations, dismissing them as "null and false" and maintaining the ICC has no
jurisdiction over Sudan.
On July 19, Arab foreign ministers lashed out at the accusations made by
Moreno-Ocampo, describing the move as "unacceptable" and "unbalanced."
At the end of an emergency meeting of the Arab League (AL), the Arab
foreign ministers said the move of the ICC chief prosecutor would undermine
Sudan's sovereignty, stressing that only Sudanese courts have jurisdiction on
this kind of issues.