A press statement issued by the South Sudanese political leaders and intellectuals described the ICC move as politically motivated and therefore politically targeting Sudan as a country. Following Sudan News Agency (SUNA) publishes text of the statement:- "We, the community of South Sudanese political leaders, political elites and intellectuals, meeting at Kenana Sugar Industrial complex, in the beautiful White Nile State of our country, to deliberate on a number of issues, over the overall political situation in Sudan, have today, the 1st April 2009, discussed as the very first item on our agenda the International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment of our President Field Marshal Omer Hassan Ahmed Al Bashir.

We wish to make the following statement on the ICC issue to the people of south Sudan in particular, the people of Sudan in general and to the world at large. While we regret the loss of lives and property that continue in Darfur, as a result of the civil strife there, we strongly and categorically reject the indictment of our president by the ICC.

We regard this move as politically motivated and therefore politically targeting Sudan as a country. President al Bashir, is our head of state, accountable only to us, the people of Sudan and no to any other body any where in the world.

Sudan is not a member of the ICC and the ICC move against our President is clearly orchestrated by outsiders, to subject Sudan to their whims. Targeting Sudan is part of a new international order that is aimed at controlling the developing world, without recourse to its people and leadership. We resent this attitude and we strongly reject this move.

We have no doubt, that President al Bashir seeks to establish peace in Darfur as he has already done in South Sudan and in Eastern Sudan by his signing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) and the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement into law. President Al Bashir heads the executive branches of all our government institutions which are implementing all these peace agreements.

An attempt to remove him from power at this juncture, by whatever means, including through the ICC indictment efforts, is an attempt to derail all the functioning Sudanese peace agreements. We appeal to all the true Sudanese political leaders of Darfur, both those who are carrying arms and those who are not carrying arms, to meet President al Bashir half way at the negotiations table, at Doha, the capital of the sisterly Gulf State of Qatar, where international negotiations efforts on Darfur are now centered, to agree with the President of the Republic on another comprehensive peace agreement for Darfur that is based on the DPA signed in May 2006.

President Al Bashir has already achieved peace for the people of South Sudan and the people of Eastern Sudan. We are confident that his intention is to do the same for the people of Darfur. The way of the ICC is only an insult on the national sovereignty of Sudan. Without sovereignty, none of us would have any right to fight for anything anyway, in Darfur anywhere else in Sudan. When we lose all our rights as Sudanese, in Darfur or anywhere in Sudan, the ICC , or any of those masquerading as saving Darfur will be no where to be seen. Long and bitter history and experience is clearly instructive on this.

To President Al Bashir, we wish to assure him that as long as he upholds the principle of search for peace, for all the people of Sudan and as long as he continue to implement the peace agreements that he has already signed into law for the good of all the people of Sudan no ICC will remove him from power. The gallant people of Sudan will see to it that no one other than them, can remove him from power.

The people of Sudan will not be misled by indictments from the ICC or from anyone else that are not interested in the peace realized for the people of Sudan. We wish to salute and applaud the strong support the people of Sudan, all the people of Sudan have given to the President of our republic, over the ICC charade. We appeal to all the political leaders of Sudan, to follow the strong path of nationalism shown by the Sudanese people and not to deviate in anyway. By this statement, we want to stand up and be counted, as upholders and defenders of President Omer Hassan Ahmed al Bashir. We defend him as the symbol of our national independence and national sovereignty.

Without our national independence and sovereignty we have no existence as a people and have no rights anywhere in the world. We acknowledge and appreciate the support of the African Union (AU), League of Arab states (LAS), the Group of 77, African Caribbean Pacific (ACP), Organization of Islamic countries (OIC) and other friendly countries. We utterly object to being treated as subjects, by those who appoint themselves as our savers. The hidden motives and agendas of those who masquerade as our savers should be clear to all of us Sudanese." BT/BT