http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/au-summit-speculates-on-bashir-1.1871204#.VXt6Tc9VhBc
AU summit speculates on Bashir
June 12 2015 at 09:31pm
By Peter Fabricius
REUTERS
Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir is a fugitive from the
International Criminal Court. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
Johannesburg – Sudan’s President Omar al Bashir continued to keep
everyone guessing on Friday about whether he would pitch up in South
Africa for the African Union summit – and risk arrest by South African
authorities under an International Criminal Court (ICC ) indictment.
The Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC) which had said on
Thursday it is was preparing to seek an urgent court order to the
National Prosecuting Authority to arrest Bashir, said on Friday it was
holding off because of uncertainty about whether Bashir was actually
coming.
“We are holding off on proceeding until he actually arrives in
country,” said Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh, SALC Executive Director.
“We are hoping the SA authorities take their obligations seriously and
so we will not for the moment interject in their planning unless there
is a need to do so.”
However, she noted that her organisation was on standby to go to court
over the weekend if Bashir arrived for the high level component of the
summit which was due to start on Sunday.
Elise Keppler, Acting Director of the International Justice Program of
Human Rights Watch, said the situation seemed to be developing fast as
Sudan’s Information Ministry had confirmed Bashir would be coming to
South Africa.
A journalist in South Africa also received confirmation of a request
to interview Bashir and was told that he would be at the summit this
weekend.
However, diplomats have said that Sudan officials have told them
Bashir would not come as he was due to receive Eritrean President
Isias Afewerki on a state visit this weekend.
Some analysts believe that Bashir is toying with the human rights
organisations as he has done before, by keeping them and everyone else
guessing about his plans until the last moment.
“Having al-Bashir in South Africa without arrest would be a major
stain on South Africa’s international standing by sending the signal
it is not committed to justice for grave crimes,” Keppler said.
“Welcoming an ICC fugitive sought on charges of genocide is totally
contrary to South Africa’s domestic and international legal
obligations as an ICC member to cooperate in the arrest of al-Bashir.”
She noted that the AU’s Legal Counsel was tweeting instructions to AU
members reminding them of the AU decision not to arrest ICC fugitives.
“This is a direct call on AU members to contradict their international
treaty obligations as members of the ICC,” Keppler said.
Twice before, before President Jacob Zuma’s inauguration in 2009 and
before the World Cup in 2010, the South African government warned that
if Bashir arrived for these events, it would be obliged to arrest him
under its ICC obligations.
But an AU summit is different because it is not a South African event.
And also because the AU has an official policy of not cooperating with
the ICC.
Some AU officials have warned that if South Africa prevented Bashir
coming to South Africa for the summit, that would damage its standing
with the AU – particularly in the light of the recent xenophobic
violence in South Africa, much of which was directed against other
Africans.
That might explain why this time the South African government has
remained very silent publicly on what it would do if Bashir arrived,
though officials have reportedly been telling human rights advocates
in private either that they have let Bashir know he should not come or
that they would be obliged to arrest him if he does.
Most analysts believe Bashir will not come, to avoid causing a major
embarrassment to South Africa, whether it arrests him or not.
ANA
Received on Fri Jun 12 2015 - 20:35:10 EDT