US says Sudan’ s Bashir will face ICC at “right time”

July 9, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — The US presidential special envoy to Sudan Scott Gration said that his government will continue dealing with embattled president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir despite an arrest warrant issued for him last March by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“Right now President Al-Bashir is the president of the country and we have to work with him to solve those issues that are facing the people [of Sudan] and [that] are facing the region,” Gration told Agence France Presse (AFP) in an interview from the Norweigian capital.

However, Gration warned that Bashir will ultimately need to face justice.

“But that does not mean that (Beshir) does not need to do what’s right in terms of facing the International Criminal Court and those charges,” he told AFP.

The ICC warrant against Bashir include seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. This week the ICC prosecutor filed an appeal for the inclusion of genocide charges that were dropped by the judges for lack of evidence.

Washington reacted cautiously to the ICC arrest warrant and a key U.S senator John Kerry told reporters in Khartoum last April that it has “complicated matters”.

Last week the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson said that Bashir “should do the right thing and face those [ICC] charges,”.

The African Union (AU) adopted a resolution last week stating that its members who ratified the Rome Statute shall not cooperate with the ICC in the extradition of Bashir in accordance with their legal obligations.

“We in the United States believe that everybody needs to be accountable, and in due time, when the situation is right, the international community will hold [accountable] folks that may have been involved in crimes against humanity and genocide,” he said.
Asked whether the announcement would complicate his dealings with Sudan, Gration said: “We will work through it”.

Sudanese officials have said that during their meetings with Gration the latter assured them that the US “has no interest in the issue of the ICC”.

The US official is due to arrive in Khartoum next week for talks on bilateral relations and the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), according to pro-government Sudanese Media Center (SMC) website.

SMC reported that Gration will meet with Sudanese presidential adviser Ghazi Salah Al-Deen and will travel to Juba, Darfur and Abyei.

The US State department said that Gration wans ti assess the latest conditions for internally displaced persons and for humanitarian workers in Darfur.

The visit to Abyei is in prepartion for the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on whether the region follows the North or South,

While in Juba Gration “will to participate in bilateral discussions with the Government of South Sudan; and in Khartoum to continue trilateral meetings between the two CPA parties as follow-up to the discussions begun in Washington in June 2009”.

It is not clear if Gration will meet with Bashir during his visit. US officials have avoided any direct meetings with the Sudanese president since the arrest warrant.

The US administration came under fire from Darfur advocacy groups for what they view as a lenient approach in dealing with Khartoum despite pledges made by Obama during his presidential campaign for tougher action.

Today US House representative Frank Wolf issued a statement questioning Obama’s commitment to human rights in a number of countries including Sudan.

“During the campaign, when asked about Darfur, Barack Obama said, ‘We can’t say ‘never again’ and then allow it to happen again. And, as President of the United States, I don’t intend to…turn a blind eye to slaughter.’ He also spoke of ‘ratcheting up sanctions.’”

“Now, almost six months into the administration, the State Department is still conducting a much vaunted ‘comprehensive review’ of U.S.-Sudan policy. Nothing concrete has emerged. The little that has leaked out in press reports is disturbing”

“The administration appears divided at the highest levels over whether genocide is even still taking place in Darfur. Furthermore, they are making overtures to Khartoum which are, at best, naïve.

US officials have suggested that they lifting sanctions and removing Sudan from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism are on the table. The US recently eased restrictions on the Sudanese mission in Washington and New York.

Also, the US embassy in Khartoum announced that it will resume visa issuance for Sudanese nationals after more than a decade.

(ST)