Sudan president asks Saudi King to press Washington on ICC deferral

November 16, 2008 (WASHINGTON) – The Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir asked his Saudi counterpart to bring up the issue of his indictment with US officials, an Arab diplomat in Washington told Sudan Tribune.

The request was made during a two day visit by Al-Bashir to the Saudi capital last month where he met with King Abdullah privately.

In mid-July the ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced that he is seeking an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir.

The ICC’s prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo filed 10 charges: three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder. In early October ICC judges have officially started reviewing the case in a process that could possibly drag on to next year

According to the diplomat who asked not to be named, the Sudanese head of state urged the Saudi monarch to use his country’s strong relations with Washington and press them to drop their opposition to a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution freezing the International Criminal Court (ICC) move against Al-Bashir.

During the meeting Al-Bashir lashed out at “Western conspiracies against Arab and Muslims” the diplomat said. King Abdullah however, was noncommittal on heeding to Al-Bashir’s plea on mediating with the US.

The US, which is not a state party to the ICC, has emerged as the staunchest opponent to suspending ICC prosecution of the Sudanese president.

In September the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met briefly with Sudan 2nd VP Ali Osman Taha in New York where they discussed the ICC issue.

Rice provided Taha with a list of conditions including facilitating the deployment of African Union-United forces in Darfur (UNAMID), lifting restrictions on aid workers and reaching a political understanding with all opposition forces.

The US top diplomat said that Washington wants to see progress made on these benchmarks within a specific timeframe that expires mid-December.

Only then will the US be willing to discuss a deferral of Al-Bashir’s indictment with Sudan, Rice told Taha. She also told him that Washington’s policies are separate from that of its allies in an apparent reference to London and Paris more lenient position with regard to the deferral.

In September US special envoy to Sudan Richard Williamson told the US Commission on International Religious Freedom that Washington will veto any Article 16 resolution introduced in the UNSC.

“If asked—if forced to vote today—the United States, even if it was 191 countries against one, would veto an Article 16 [resolution],” Ambassador Richard Williamson said.

Al-Bashir’s appeal to the Abdullah is likely to be an indication of increased pressure on the Sudanese pressure who failed to secure a UNSC deferral despite support by the African Union (AU), Arab League, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).

China which is a strong ally of Sudan, has suggested last month that it does not intend to introduce an Article 16 UNSC resolution.

“There are some ideas to freeze the decision [ICC] from the AU and Arab League but as of yet no country or organization formally introduced a resolution at the UN” China’s special envoy to Africa Liu Guijin said in response to a question on whether his country will table a resolution.

Last week the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak paid a surprise and brief visit to Khartoum where he held a closed meeting with Al-Bashir believed to have mainly focused on the ICC row.

The contents of the meeting were not disclosed but last Friday an Egyptian official warned that Sudan’s stance on the ICC is “weak” and will not protect Al-Bashir from prosecution.

“I thoroughly examined the ICC Statute to look for something that could aid Sudan’s position. Even though Sudan is not a state party this will not prevent the ICC jurisdiction in these cases and dropping all immunities” the Egyptian State minister for Legal and parliamentary affairs Mufid Shihab said during a forum at the Saudi Embassy in Cairo.

The Egyptian official stressed that the only way out for Sudan and its president is to take “concrete and concise steps” and that there is no point of taking extreme positions on rejecting the ICC.

The statements by Shihab marked a radical shift in Egypt’s position which has backed Sudan in position against the ICC.

The Egyptian minister, who is an international lawyer expert, has previously said in August that Khartoum is not bound by the ICC since it is not a member of the court and emphasized that Al-Bashir enjoys immunity as a head of state.

Last week Al-Bashir downplayed his indictment by the ICC and described it as a “mosquito buzz”.

The Sudanese head of state also blasted Western countries and accused them of trying to topple his regime during the last 20 years.

“We will not be broken and we will not kneel or be driven because they will not prolong our life or reduce our term in office” Al-Bashir told a rally in Eastern Sudan.

“Money and ruling is not in the hands of US, France & UK. They are all underneath my shoes” he said angrily.

Sudan has not ratified the Rome Statute, but the UN Security Council (UNSC) triggered the provisions under the Statute that enables it to refer situations in non-State parties to the world court if it deems that it is a threat to international peace and security.

(ST)