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Miners on strike take pictures near barricades of burning tyres on the A-6 motorway, on the second day of a strike to protest the government's spending cuts in the mining sector, in El Montico, near Oviedo, northern Spain, May 24, 2012. Spain's economy is contracting for the second time since late 2009 and four years of stagnation and recession have pushed unemployment above 24 percent, the highest rate in the European Union. REUTERS/Eloy Alonso

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Members of the U.S. Army Old Guard place a flag at each of the over 220,000 graves of fallen U.S. military service members buried at Arlington National Cemetery, May 24, 2012. Memorial Day will be commemorated this weekend across the United States. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: MILITARY)

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Members of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly over the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan as part of the 25th annual Fleet Week celebration in New York, May 23, 2012. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz (UNITED STATES - Tags: MILITARY ANNIVERSARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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Students show emotions at the 2012 Joplin High School commencement ceremony inside the Leggett and Plant Athletic Center at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Missouri, May 21, 2012. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS EDUCATION)

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Sudan's Bashir says ICC has no jurisdiction

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KHARTOUM | Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:14pm EDT

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said on Monday the International Criminal Court had no jurisdiction in Sudan and added that its charges were lies, in his first comments since the court accused him of genocide and war crimes.

"From the beginning we said we are not a member of the court ... the court has no jurisdiction over Sudan," Bashir said in comments carried live on Sudan state television.

"Whoever has visited Darfur, met officials and discovered their ethnicities and tribes ... will know that all of these things (including ethnic cleansing) are lies," he added.

Bashir was speaking ahead of the signing of Sudan's new election law on Monday. At the ceremony Bashir, wearing traditional dress, was shown dancing with other ministers as a Sudanese band played.

The election law was expected to pave the way for Sudan's first free elections in 23 years, due in 2009, but analysts have warned the ICC warrant could remove the incentive for Bashir to hold a democratic vote and relinquish power.

The ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Monday accused Bashir of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes including torture and murder and asked the court to issue a warrant for his arrest.
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