CHINA ASKS SECURITY COUNCIL TO BLOCK ICC ARREST OF SUDANESE PRESIDENT

BEIJING, Mar 5 (Bernama) - China on Thursday asked the United Nations
Security Council to block the prosecution of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir
on war crimes charges over strife-torn Darfur by the International Criminal
Court (ICC).

"China is opposed to any anything that can interfere with the Darfur and
Sudan peace situation," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on the
ministry's website.

The spokesman expressed Beijing's "regret and worry" at Wednesday's decision
by the ICC to issue an arrest warrant against al-Bashir, the first against a
sitting head of state.

Qin said the primary task of the international community now was to maintain
stability in Darfur and continue to push the peace process and joint United
Nations and African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission.

"We hope the UN Security Council would respect and listen to the appeals of
the AU, the League of Arab States and members of the Non-Aligned Movement, take
necessary actions according to the Article 16 of the Rome Statute, and demand
the ICC suspend the investigation or prosecution of the case," he said.

Under Article 16, the Security Council can pass a resolution to defer
investigation or prosecutions by the ICC for a renewable period of 12 months.

China is among the permanent members of the Security Council.

The UN estimates 300,000 people have died in Darfur in the western part of
Sudan since 2003 due fighting between rebels and government forces backed by
Arab militiamen.
-- BERNAMA