Jordan's parliament dismisses Beshir genocide claims

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

AMMAN (AFP) — Jordan's lower house of parliament on Thursday rejected accusations from an international prosecutor that Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir masterminded genocide in Darfur, saying the claims were politically motivated.

"We are convinced that the accusations are of political nature that seek to serve certain objectives and interests of some countries," speaker Abdul Hadi Majali told visiting Sudanese presidential adviser Ghazai Salaheddin.

Majali called on "all Sudanese political powers to unite against the claims," a lower house statement said.

Beshir is the first head of state to be accused by the International Criminal Court prosecutor of 10 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Sudan's western region of Darfur,...