Sudan’s president arrives in Libya, holds talks with NTC
January 7, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president, Omer Hassan Al-Bashir, arrived Saturday in the Libyan capital Tripoli for a two-day visit and held talks with top officials from the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC).
According to Libya’s foreign minister Ashur Bin-Khayyal, the talks discussed ways to develop and reinforce bilateral relations in the fields of “security, technical support, and labour”.
This is Bashir’s first visit to Libya since the fall of the regime of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed by NTC fighters in October.
Sudanese and NTC officials later confirmed that Khartoum provided military support to the rebels during their six-month struggle to dethrone Gaddafi.
Bin-Khayyal told a WAL correspondent that the discussions, which were headed by the NTC’s chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil, took place in “a friendly and fraternal atmosphere” and reflected the good relations between the two countries after “the outstanding role” that Sudan played in supporting and helping the Libyan revolution.
Tripoli’s new masters appear unconcerned by the fact that Bashir is wanted by the same court they once asked to investigate atrocities committed by Gaddafi’s forces after the uprising against him started early last year.
Bashir faces two arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide allegedly committed in Sudan’s western region of Darfur.
Libya is not a member of the Hague-based court and is therefore under no legal obligations to arrest Bashir. But the NTC has asked the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to involve the ICC in investigating atrocities committed by Gaddafi’s forces following the outbreak of the uprising.
The UNSC unanimously adopted a resolution last February asking the ICC to investigate possible war crimes committed since the uprising.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and the ex-spy chief Abdullah al-Sanoosi for crimes against humanity. Saif al-Islam was captured by local rebels near the border with Niger last November but they have refused to hand him over to Tripoli’s central authority or the ICC.
Bashir’s visit has raised the concern of Human Rights Watch (HRW), an international organization.
“Following the end of decades of brutal rule in Libya, it is disturbing if Tripoli hosts a head of state on the run from international arrest warrants for grave human rights violations,” said Richard Dicker, international justice director at HRW.
“Welcoming al-Bashir — a suspected war criminal sought by the ICC — raises questions about the NTC’s stated commitment to human rights and the rule of law”, he added.
(ST)