ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ

In light of the arrest warrant recently issued by the International Criminal Court against Omar al-Bashir, ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World News broadcasts The Doha Debates from Qatar, with the motion, β€˜This House believes that Arab states should hand over the Sudanese president to the International Criminal Court’.

Chaired by Tim Sebastian, the award-winning ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ correspondent and interviewer, the debate features four experts who will argue for and against the extradition of the Sudanese President, accused of war crimes and acts against humanity in Darfur.

The guest panel includes: Head of the Heikal Foundation for Arab Journalism, Hani Shukrallah; Justice and Equality Movement Spokesman, Ahmed Hussain Adam; Sudanese Politician and Adviser to the President, Dr. Ghazi Salahuddin Atabani; and Senior Research Fellow, CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research) France, Roland Marchal. The programme will air on ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World News on 2 May 2009.

Supporting the motion, Ahmed Hussain Adam said the indictment and trial of al-Bashir was essential for the region and for the world: β€œIt is the only way we can combat human rights violations and send a strong message around the world. Β It is good for our people and the Arab world because we cannot allow these people to kill us in the name of sovereignty.”

Dr. Ghazi Salahuddin Atabani argued: β€œThe ICC is not equipped or impartial enough to indict anyone for events in Darfur” saying that the ICC was "too politicised" and that evidence against the president was not strong enough.

The Doha Debates are a unique venture in the Arab world, providing a verbal battleground for conflicting opinions and arguments about the major political topics of the region. Past speakers have included ex-US President, Bill Clinton; President of Israel, Shimon Peres; Secretary General of the League of Arab States, Amre Moussa; Iraqi politician, Ayad Allawi; senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar; and British Conservative politician, Sir Malcolm Rifkind.

Programme times:
Saturday May 2nd:Β Β  07:10, 15:10, 19:10 GMT
SundayΒ May 3rd:Β Β  Β Β  00:10, 07:10, 15:10, 19:10 GMT