On Sudan’s al-Bashir trip to Russia for FIFA World Cup final
By Mahmoud A. Suleiman
The attendance of the genocidal criminal, the fugitive from the International Justice Marshall Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir to watch the Football Finale in Russia is Slap on the face of the Darfur survivors and a betrayal of the victims of genocide.
President Omer al-Bashir and his corrupt regime over the past 30 lean years failed to develop football team that the people of Sudan to be proud of, honour and play before the people of the world the Sudanese National Anthem and jubilantly sing by saying: “We are the soldiers of God and the soldiers of the homeland”, which the Sudanese people almost have forgotten it today. Has the modesty of the president of the ruling regime in Sudan been lost, so that he is no longer ashamed? Is it conceivable that genocide criminal Omer al-Bashir receives an official invitation from a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to attend the end of the World Cup in Russia? It seems that the (ICC) has been betrayed and evaded by the Russian President Vladimir Putin if the alleged invitation of al-Bashir to attend the Finale of the International Football Tournament is true.
If the alleged news turns out true, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been betrayed by Russia the Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Omer al-Bashir Remains a Heavy Burden on the People of Sudan for three Decades and hence they must do what is possible to get rid of him and his regime.
The Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir will travel to Russia to attend the final of the World Cup between France and Croatia scheduled for Sunday 15th July 2018, according to the official Sudanese news agency SUNA.
Western leaders avoid meeting the Sudanese president, or taking part in any action, as a fugitive and a wanted criminal suspect.
It is noteworthy to report that on Tuesday the 10th July 2018, the European Union (EU) expressed regret that Djibouti and Uganda had not fulfilled their legal obligations and that they had not extradited President Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) which issued two arrest warrants in 2009 and 2010. However, the arrogant Omer al-Bashir tries to prove that he is free to travel around the globe in defiance of the International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment and arrest warrants for his implications in the crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocidal atrocities against the Sudanese civilian citizens in the Darfur region and he remains fugitive from the international justice, evading the (ICC), travelling widely to prove himself that no power would dare to arrest him. Below is the list of his recent travels according to the (ICC) records: https://www.icc-cpi.int/darfur/albashir
• al-Bashir leaves for Mauritania on June 30, 2018
• Bashir leaves for Djibouti July 4, 2018
• Bashir leaves for Uganda July 7, 2018
• Bashir leaves for Turkey July 9, 2018
• Bashir leaves for Russia July 13, 2018
The atrocities perpetrated by the Government of Sudan (GoS) and the Janjaweed militia during the third post-2003 Darfuri conflict constituted the first internationally condemned and acknowledged the genocide of the twenty-first century. Thus, President of Sudan Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir remains at large since 16 October 1993 at time of arrest warrants: 4 March 2009 on 5 counts of crimes against humanity, 2 charges were for war crimes and On 12 July 2010 3 charges of genocide
The Prosecutor v. Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315459641_The_Prosecutor_v_Omar_Hassan_Ahmad_Al_Bashir [accessed Jul 14 2018].
Bashir has become the present-day Ibn Battuta, entering the Guinness Book of Records which is the most important travel book around the world with the support of the money looted from the public purse of Sudanese people!
Ibn Battuta (1304 – 1368 or 1369) was a Moroccan explorer. He is known for the account of his journeys called the Rihla (“Voyage”). He travelled for nearly 30 years and covered most of the Islamic world. He also explored West Africa, Southern and Eastern Europe, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and China. This distance was more than Marco Polo travelled; about 75,000 kilometres (47,000 mi). Ibn Battuta was considered the greatest traveller of the medieval period. Battuta also made maps that were used by cartographers.
https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Battuta
Social networking devices were filled with comic and other comments full of irony, disgust and anger at Omar al-Bashir’s visit to Russia to attend the end of the World Cup. Some Sudanese wondered whether French President Macaron was shaking hands with Omar al-Bashir, stained with the blood of victims and lives Darfur, and therefore has been chased by the International Criminal Court and has been running away from international justice since 2009? Others also asked about the purpose for which Omar al-Bashir, his wife and his entourage of twenty-six individuals is visiting at the expense of the deprived people of Sudan while Sudan does not have a football team participating in the international tournament. Other Sudanese citizens said that at this moment, the rescue of the 12 children and their coach from the cave filled with water, which made all the peoples of the world follow the tragedy of the children of the cave and solidarity with them where the aid came from everywhere and can be said that the Government of Thailand and its people are the winners of the World Football Championship that coincided with the rescue of the Children of the cave with global football competitions! The twelve boys and their soccer coach rescued from a flooded Thai Cave will watch a recording of the World Cup final which takes place on Sunday (July 15 2018), not the live broadcast, an official at the hospital they are staying in said. Others in Sudan hoped that the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) (Fatu Bensouda to be in Moscow, which would frighten Omer al-Bashir because he fears the International Criminal Court (ICC) more than anything else in his lifetime and has been doing everything to avoid arrest and surrender to The Hague prisons in the Netherlands. The (ICC) Chase of him has become the real nightmare that keeps Omer al – Bashir sleepless at night and day whether he like it or not and will remain his boogeyman under his bed whether he likes it or not.
The Horror of Bashir for the (ICC) will remain haunting and pursuing him as long as the arrest warrants have not achieved the desired goal.
Despite the attempt of the media owned by the Bashir regime to promote that the government of al-Bashir has received a pre-invitation from Russia demanding the presence of al-Bashir to Russia for important meetings with President Putin, but a document obtained by the “Rakuba” confirmed that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has applied to the Russian government, for attending the closing of the World football Cup matches currently held in Russian territory.
It is noteworthy that Omer al-Bashir and his entourage of 26 individuals have not received any invitation from the Russian government to attend the end of international football competitions.
Sudanese social media interactors are asking an interesting question:
As to whether President Omer al-Bashir’s visit to Russia to attend the World Cup finals is based to an invitation from President Putin and if it is so what will happen if France or Croatia wins the Cup? Will President Emmanuel Macron accept congratulatory hand-shake from Al-Bashir, or how will the Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovi? react in case her turn to do so? Would the two Presidents disregard their International obligations and ignore the International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment of the Sudanese President Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir. A Sudanese activist indicated that the expectations are that the Great Football Teams who will be playing the World Cup would refuse to play unless al-Bashir leaves the Stadium!
Earlier,” the Sudanese official news agency said SUNA indicated that: “Bashir will go to Moscow on Friday for an official visit to Russia, during which he will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to develop them. The agency went on saying: “The President of the Republic will see the end of the World Cup on the sidelines of the World Cup and 25 heads of state at the invitation of President Putin.” Furthermore, the agency pointed out that the talks between Presidents Bashir and Putin will focus on “economic relations, building a strategic partnership for development, along with the promotion of joint cooperation in the political and economic fields, increasing investment opportunities, especially in the fields of agriculture and energy, Armed Sudanese, which is supported by Russia.” It is noteworthy to recall that In November 2017, al-Bashir made a historic visit to Russia, during which he met with his Russian counterpart and the two countries signed a package of economic and military agreements, the results of which have given no fruits so far!. However, the current alleged visit of al-Bashir to Russia is nothing but an expensive touristic journey at the expense of the Sudanese public coffers to the seat of the former Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) where al-Bashir meant to entertain his wife and the children of his wife from her previous marriage and the individuals in his closed circle of confidants coinciding that with the international Football Tournament. On the other hand, if the spectators of the final World Football Cup have become aware of the presence of Omer al-Bashir among the audience they will shout heckling him and ask him to leave the football arena; he is a persona non grata! While the President of Thailand will be a warmly welcome from the audience watching the final Football Tournament for his caring national attitudes towards his people trapped in a cave flooded by the waters. France plays Croatia in the World Cup final in Moscow on Sunday, at 10pm in Thailand. The world soccer governing body FIFA had invited the 12 Thai boys and their coach to attend the final football tournament in Moscow but they cannot go for medical reasons. The Thai news reported that the 12-member “Wild Boars” soccer team and their coach spent more than two weeks trapped inside a flooded cave in the northern province of Chiang Rai.
They have been recovering in hospital since they were rescued over three days last week and will be discharged on Thursday. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/thailands-rescued-cave-boys-will-not-be-watching-world-cup-final-live
Bashir’s marathon travels are nothing but a form of a psychological complex of inferiority feeling and accordingly, he has to resort those hapless move outs seeking some temporary relief from his ceaseless tension.
The Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow will host the finale to the 2018 World Football Cup. Russia’s sporting Mecca as it is referred to, has previously hosted the 1980 Olympics, 1999 UEFA Cup Final and 2008 Champions League Final. The question that poses itself is as to whether Omer al-Bashir will be the Guest of Honour rubbing shoulders with the French President Emmanuel Macron and the President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovi?.
Vincent Thomas Lombardi the American football player, coach, and executive in the National Football League has been quoted as saying: “Football is like life – it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/football
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=vince+lombardi&oq=Vince+Lombardi&aqs=chrome.0.0l6.1487j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman is an author, columnist and a blogger. His blog is http://thussudan.wordpress.com/