Sudan Prez Shrugs Off Genocide Charges

On his first visit to Darfur since being charged with genocide and other crimes against humanity, Sudan's president on Wednesday took notes as he listened to residents of the wasted region, and broke out in a tribal dance on a parched field in front of thousands of cheering supporters.

President Omar al-Bashir, dressed in a beige summer suit and dark sunglasses, exuded defiance but also sought to cast himself as a peacemaker, not war criminal, in fiery speeches on the same troubled land where he is accused of genocide.

For hours, state television broadcast live footage of thousands of Africans in brightly colored tunics screaming "God is great!" and waving banners reading "No! No! to the prosecutor!" and "We are with you, al-Bashir!"

Last week, the International Criminal Court's prosecutor filed 10 charges against al-Bashir for allegedly masterminding a campaign of extermination and rape specifically targeting three Darfur tribes. The United Nations says about 300,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been uprooted over the past five years.

"The president came to Darfur to send a message that (the ICC prosecutor) has no case," said Abdel Mahmoud al-Koronky, a member of al-Bashir's National Congress Party and former diplomat traveling with him.

In northern Darfur, al-Bashir met Wednesday with 600 refugees from various tribes, including those he is accused of ravaging, but the crowd in El Fasher appeared to be carefully hand-picked by his advisers. The president had no plans to visit any of the region's sprawling refugee camps. He promised to send them farming tractors and improve safety in their camps by giving security jobs to former rebels, but gave no details.

"The real sickness here is the suffering of the displaced, because they are the ones who lost their sense of security and safety in their hometowns," al-Bashir told the group in a private session.

In another apparent outreach toward Darfur rebel groups, al-Bashir said he would free from prison more than 80 young rebels who staged a brazen May attack near Khartoum, hundreds miles from their desert bases in the country's west. He called them "boys" and said they would be freed and pardoned, but did not say when.

On touching down in the torrid region, al-Bashir jumped out of his plane and walked briskly into a boisterous crowd of supporters, his ever-present silver-tipped cane in hand. Later, he crouched and waved the cane back and forth, rousing people in a traditional warrior dance. Doves were released into the 100-plus degree air.

Members of pro-government youth groups and workers unions were among those in the audience, but it was unclear how rally participants had been chosen, or whether al-Bashir's advisers had vetted them.

"Whenever al-Bashir or his regime is under pressure, they try to do just enough to alleviate the pressure, and that's what he's doing," said Jerry Fowler, president of the Save Darfur Coalition based in Washington. If no arrest warrant is issued for al-Bashir, he will "go back to business as usual," he said.

Among those cheering the embattled president was Asia al-Sidik Ibrahim, a 32-year old airport security assistant. "If he weren't good, do you think his government would have lasted 19 years?" she asked.

Sweat dripped from his forehead, and al-Bashir changed his clothes twice during the day, choosing light brown suits in slightly different shades.

His language was colloquial, peppered with references to Islamic verse and local Darfur traditions.

"We know God, and we fear him. We also fear the prayers of someone who has suffered injustice," the 64-year-old president said.

Al-Bashir avoided any mention of the genocide charges against him, but alluded generally to the case by calling it an attempt to foil his government's efforts to restore peace in Darfur. Sudan will not be intimidated by the threat of sanctions either, he said.

"We will only bow to God, who is the sole provider," al-Bashir said.

Without mentioning ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo by name, the president said: "Every time we take a step forward, make progress and signs of peace emerge, those people try to mess it up, return us to square one and distract us with marginal issues and false allegations."

As he addressed a crowd earlier Wednesday in Darfur's largest town, El Fasher, helicopters flew low overhead with large portraits of al-Bashir plastered on their sides.

Darfurians and tribal leaders approached al-Bashir to offer gifts. At one point, a man grabbed the microphone and shouted that al-Bashir should be nominated for president one more time in 2009 elections.

"It's all a show and a sham," said Jill Savitt, executive director of Dream for Darfur, an initiative to leverage the Beijing Olympic Games to pressure China on security issues in Darfur.

Darfur refugees have talked candidly with relief workers, telling them they are "overjoyed" al-Bashir has been charged, Savitt said. "This is a great act of showmanship and an obstruction tactic to continue his mass slaughter."

"For the first time, perhaps President Bashir is getting worried," she said. "It's an interesting development that such pains would be taken to present a different view."

At a sunset rally in the town of Nyala, al-Bashir touted what he called his accomplishments in the troubled region, such as increasing the number of schools in Darfur from seven to 195 over his 19 years in power.

"We have managed to restore peace in most of Darfur," he said. "Anyone who carries a weapon is a criminal, an outlaw and will be tried," he said.

Darfur is one of the "best places" in Sudan, he said. "But the devil has arrived and created disputes among people that made brothers kill each other without justification."

Al-Bashir's troubles in Darfur began in 2003 when ethnic African rebels in the remote western region took up arms against his Islamist regime because of what they view as discrimination against them, and to press for a larger share of state funds and services.

The charges against al-Bashir include three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of war crimes. Moreno-Ocampo also sought an arrest warrant for the Sudanese leader, but it will be months before a panel of judges decides on the request.

Al-Bashir acknowledged "injustices" in Darfur, but did not specify them or identify those he thought were responsible.

"Yes, we all know that there have been problems in Darfur and we know that there have been injustices. But we, from day one, sought to bring peace for all the people of Darfur," he said.

But, he added, "Ocampo's talk will not bother us or distract us from our work."