HaileMariam Desalegn called on African countries to withdraw from

 Written by NAN

THE Ethiopian Prime Minister, HaileMariam Desalegn, has called on African countries to withdraw their membership from the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the organisation is only serving the interests of Western nations.

The Prime Minister made the remarks while receiving the Sudanese State Minister for Information, Yasser Yusuf, who concluded a three-day visit to Addis Ababa on Monday.

Desalegn said that he totally agreed with the call on African countries to pull out of the ICC.

The prime minister had noted that the ICC had become a tool that serves the interest of the countries who, ironically, refused to be members of the court.

He expressed happiness that Ethiopia was not member of the court, because “the court is not the place for justice as all permanent members of the UN Security Council have stayed away from the court, but still use it to implement their political will’’.

He called for the need to revitalise the cooperation and exchange of programmes, information and news between Ethiopia and Sudan.

Desalegn urged the media to play a major role in reflecting the development and concerns of the people in the two countries.

He underscored the need to reflect on what was common and promote the economic, political or developmental interests of the two nations.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Sudanese minister had signed various agreements with the Ethiopian Government, including a news exchange between the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) and the Sudan News Agency (SUNA).

The two nations also agreed on exchanges between the countries television and radio stations as well as sharing experiences on various cultural, technical and professional fields.

The Sudanese minister was hosted by his Ethiopian counterpart, Ridhwan Hussein, who took the Sudanese delegation on tour to various information and media institutions in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian Capital. (NAN)

http://ethioforum.org/hailemariam-desalegn-called-on-african-countries-to-withdraw-from-icc/