Bashir not invited to AU summit in Kampala

ByaseL · 2010-06-07T11:16:32+00:00

UGANDA said Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who faces charges for war crimes in Darfur, had not been invited to next month's African Union summit in Kampala. Sudan angrily demanded an apology from Uganda on Sunday and called on the African Union to move the summit to another venue. Bashir has had to restrict his international travel since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him last year to face charges of masterminding atrocities in Sudan's western Darfur region. The ruling created a diplomatic dilemma for Uganda and other African members of the International Criminal Court who theoretically would have to arrest the president if he entered their territory. The office of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni released a statement late on Saturday saying Bashir had not been invited to the 15th AU summit, due to take place in Kampala in July. Sudan would be represented at the conference by "other government officials" said the statement. Sudan's foreign ministry said the statement showed Kampala had "ill intentions" against Khartoum. "We are calling on (Uganda) to withdraw this improper statement and to make an open apology to the Sudanese people," said Sudan foreign ministry spokesman Moawia Osman Khalid. "We are going to call for the African Union to withdraw this summit from Kampala to any other African capital that would be able to host all the African leaders without discrimination." Sudan, which is not a member of the Hague-based court, has dismissed the case as a Western plot. Khartoum has said its president is free to travel across the continent after AU heads of state voted not to cooperate with the indictment last year. But Bashir has so far limited his travel to non-member countries including Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya. Sudanese state media and Ugandan newspapers reported in July last year Museveni had called Bashir to apologise for comments from a junior minister that Kampala was mulling whether or not to arrest him at an economic summit. Bashir did not attend that meeting and in November pulled out of an Islamic summit in Istanbul, after reports Istanbul had come under pressure from the European Union to drop him from the guest list. Reuters

Thread starter ByaseL
Start date Jun 7, 2010

ByaseL

JF-Expert Member

Jun 7, 2010

BabuK

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