Opposition Parties to Attend ICC Conference in Kampala

20 May 2010 - (Khartoum) – The coalition of opposition parties in Khartoum say they will take part in an ICC conference to be held in Kampala, Uganda, at the end of the month.

A member of the coalition, Mariam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, said the coalition has prepared a memorandum which is to be presented to the ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo.

The coalition says it wishes to alert him about violations in the electoral laws during the recent elections in Sudan.

Mariam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi spoke to SRS in Khartoum on Wednesday.

[Mariam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi]: “A delegation is going to Kampala to participate in this conference. We have also prepared a letter to present to the ICC prosecutor Ocampo, because we think that what is going on in Sudan is different from his perspective on Sudan which is only concentrating on the Darfur conflict and the atrocities that have been committed there. There was widespread oppression and electoral law violations that took place during the elections. This will allow Ocampo to see the situation in Sudan much better. Like what happened in Kenya, Ocampo came to Kenya with an initiative from the ICC to investigate the election violence and we want to talk about the same issue. We think that all the issues in Sudan are connected to a large extent. What is complicating these issues is the illegal presence of these people in power in Sudan.”

Mariam also said that they will also discuss the issue of the referendum at the ICC conference.

[Mariam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi]: “We are telling the international community that the NCP people who rigged the elections will also rig the referendum. These people will not allow things to go on in Sudan without weapons. These issues can’t be postponed.”

Mariam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi was speaking to SRS from Khartoum on Wednesday.