| AU set to defy Bashir-Warrant | Send to a friend |
| Monday, 26 July 2010 11:21 |
 KAMPALA, SundayThe African Union (AU) will advise member states not to detain Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, according to a draft AU resolution seen by Reuters. Bashir was indicted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur last year. This month the court added genocide to the charges, accusing him of directing rape, torture and murder in the remote west of Sudan. "(The AU) reiterates its decision that AU member states shall not cooperate with the ICC in the arrest and surrender of President Bashir," the draft resolution says. More than 30 African leaders will gather at an AU summit in the Ugandan capital Kampala from today to Tuesday. Although the summit is expected to be dominated by the Somali crisis, Sudan and Bashir's indictment will also figure. The continental body stopped short of telling its members not to arrest Bashir at a January summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Bashir went to Chad this week in defiance of the warrant on his first visit to a full member state of ICC since he was charged. The court said Chad should arrest Bashir, but Chad said after Bashir's arrival it was under no obligation to do so. The Sudanese leader returned home after attending a summit there and his spokesman said the trip was "more than a double victory" over the court. Some 30 African countries are ICC members. But there is a legal dispute over whether their membership of the ICC or the AU takes precedence. The draft singles out chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo for criticism. "(The AU) expresses concern over the conduct of the ICC prosecutor who has been making unacceptable statements on the case of President Bashir, of the Sudan and on other situations in Africa," the draft said. Some African leaders say the court is fixated on prosecuting Africans and ignores war criminals on other continents. AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping has said the decision to prosecute Bashir has undermined peace efforts in Sudan. "We have to find a way for (the Sudanese) to work together and not go back to war," Ping told reporters at the summit. "This is what we are doing but Ocampo doesn't care. He just wants to catch Bashir. Let him go and catch him." Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
