TEHRAN – President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has interpreted the colonial-inspired international court’s verdict against the Sudanese president as a pretext to divide the largest African country into pieces.

Last week, the International Criminal Court in The Hague accused Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Darfur and issued an arrest warrant against him.
“Colonialist powers want to cut Sudan into pieces in their own ways, they want to prevent this country from having a constructive role in Africa and the Islamic world,” Ahmadinejad told visiting Sudanese top official Ghazi Salah al-Din in a meeting on Monday.
The United Nations says up to 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million have fled their homes since the Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003. Sudan says 10,000 have been killed.
It began when African ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated Khartoum regime.
“There are people who have not responded to hundreds of crimes committed by Saddam and the recent bombing of a wedding ceremony in Afghanistan,” Ahmadinejad argued.
The oppressive powers are opposed to the Sudanese government because it is trying to protect its national interests and maintain its independence, he opined.
Salah al-Din presented al-Bashir’s written message to Ahmadinejad and briefed him on the latest developments in his homeland.
He also expressed support for Iran’s efforts to access peaceful nuclear technology, saying, “This civilian technology would benefit the entire Islamic world.”
Unfair action against Sudanese president
In a separate meeting with Salah al-Din, Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki condemned the international court’s “unfair” action against the Sudanese president.
“Such biased actions will create insecurity in the international system,” he stated.
Mottaki said the Non-Aligned Movement, Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Arab society, United Nations General Assembly and Islamic organizations should make every effort to prevent the West’s unilateral approach towards the Third World states.
Sudan is playing a key role in international and regional interactions, he added.
Salah al-Din said the International Criminal Court in The Hague is a European club which has lost credibility in the eyes of many countries.
The international court is playing a “dangerous game” against the Sudanese government which could increase insecurity in the world, he observed.