Sudan summons Saudi diplomat as dispute over Bashir’s flight drags on
August 8, 2013 (WASHINGTON) – The Sudanese foreign ministry summoned the Charge d’affaires (CDA) at the embassy of Saudi Arabia in Khartoum to request a formal explanation on why Riyadh blocked a plane carrying president Omer Hassan al-Bashir last Sunday who was on his way to Iran to attend the inauguration ceremony of president-elect Hassan Rouhani.
GACA further emphasized that rules and procedures require the Sudanese government to request a diplomatic permission 48 hours before the flight and coordinate with Riyadh as such.
But Sudan’s Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) responded saying that they communicated the details of the flight to the control tower at Jeddah airport few hours prior to the plane’s departure and mentioned that they were told that the aircraft is carrying a Top Very Important Person (Top-VIP) without specifically naming Bashir.
Following the airport’s refusal to authorize passage of the plane, the pilot made a last ditch attempt and told air traffic controllers that Bashir is one of the passengers on the flight. According to SCAA, the Saudis stood by their position forcing the plane to turn back home.
GACA noted that the plane is registered abroad and has blanket permission to land at any Saudi airport only if its registered owner is onboard adding that it cannot be leased or used for commercial purposes.
Sudan countered this argument by saying that the plane is owned by Midrock Aviation company which is based in Jeddah.
An online Linkedin profile of the pilot named Pervez Iqbal mentioned by Sudan show that he has been working since 2007 at Midroc Aviation which is registered in Jeddah.
Saudi Arabia’s CDA in Khartoum Saeed al-Ghamdi told the pro-government Ashorooq TV that he was called by the Arab Bureau at the Sudanese foreign ministry to receive a formal query from the government on the incident.
He downplayed the significance of what happened calling it “simple” that would not impact bilateral relations and reiterated that a permit was required to clear the flight.
Today the GACA released a fresh statement affirming that they were not told about Bashir’s presence as Sudan alleged and underscored that communicating information about the flight does not constitute approval.
The criticized the SCAA for not following the rules and protocols saying it “should have known better”.
On Sunday, Iran’s ISNA news agency quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi as saying that flight permissions for Bashir’s plane had been obtained in advance but offered no details.
A similar situation occurred in June 2011 when Turkmenistan and Tajikistan refused to grant permission to Bashir’s plane in order to reach China where he was to start a state visit. As a result he was forced to return to Tehran where he was attending a summit there and decide on a new route to reach Beijing.
Observers speculated that Sudan’s growing ties with Iran could have irked the Saudis prompting them to block Bashir’s flight.
Sudan twice allowed Iranian warships to dock in Port Sudan last year, drawing concern by the United States and its allies in the Gulf.
In an editorial last November titled “The fall of masks between Iran and Sudan”, the Saudi pro-government Al-Riyadh newspaper blasted Khartoum over allowing entry to the Iranian warships, saying there is no “logical justification” for a relationship between the two countries.
Bashir has generally seen his travel difficulties mount in the wake of the two warrants issued by the Hague-based International Criminal Court in 2009 and 2010 for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide over the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region.
He was forced to cancel many appearances since then for fear of arrest.
Saudi Arabia, however, was one country Bashir frequently visited after his indictment as Riyadh is not party to the ICC statute.
(ST)