Sudanese president to attend AU summit in Ethiopia
January 23, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir will fly to Addis Ababa next Friday to take part in the 16th Ordinary Session of African Union (AU).
The summit will be held under the theme “Towards Greater Unity and Integration through Shared Values”.
It is also expected that African leaders will reiterate their objection to the arrest of Bashir who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for charges relating to war crimes and genocide in Darfur.
Bashir has no reason to fear arrest in Ethiopia which is not signatory to the ICC Statute.
The AU has instructed leaders even those who are ICC members not to cooperate in apprehending the Sudanese leader irrespective of their international obligation.
However, Khartoum was angered over AU’s silence to Libya’s decision excluding Bashir from the from the 3rd Africa-European Union summit in Tripoli after the European bloc threatened a mass walkout should the Sudanese leader show up.
This will also be the first AU meeting since the South Sudan referendum took place earlier this month and early results point to a landslide vote in favor of independence.
African nations have been generally unenthusiastic about seeing a new state in South Sudan with concerns that it will fuel secessionist tendencies elsewhere in Africa.
(ST)
Lion Son
Sudanese president to attend AU summit in Ethiopia
I have seen nothing for AU instructed leaders even those who are ICC members not to cooperate in apprehening Mr. Bashir. He is a criminal who is wanted badly by the ICC to face justice and explain what he did in Southern and Western Sudan.
Therefore, I am appealling to ICC signatory countries who will be going to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to attend this summit to respect the ICC and do the work as they sidned for ICC.
Big Lion