South Sudan: civil society groups call for arrest of Sudanese president Bashir
By Ngor Arol Garang
March 17, 2012 (JUBA) – A coalition of major civil society organisations in South Sudan on Saturday rejected the position of the Juba government that it has no obligation to arrest Sudanese president Omer el Bashir, when he attends an upcoming summit in the country’s capital Juba.
The civil society groups argue that South Sudan can arrest Bashir under Article 86 of the Rome Statute because the case against him – Bashir is accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed in Sudan’s western Darfur region – was referred to the International Criminal Court by the United Nations Security Council. As South Sudan became the UN’s 193rd state after seceding from Sudan in July last year it has the right to arrest Bashir, the activists say.
This comes following a pronouncement in which South Sudan’s chief negotiator, Pagan Amum, on Wednesday said his country “has no an obligation to arrest” Sudanese president Bashir, if he comes to Juba as part of the “framework agreement”, which the two parties last week signed in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, because they are not members of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
But Jok Alier Jok, a member of the country’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement said during an interview with Sudan Tribune on Saturday that he personally “does not approve” of allowing president Bashir come to Juba because his visit has a lot of “implications” attached to it.
“I do not support the visit of the Sudanese president Bashir because of obvious reasons, one of which is that we should not play with the international justice although it will complicate things including triggering return to war but which is painful than comprising universal justice . The only thing which the leadership can do is to hold the summit elsewhere in the republic of South Sudan”, said Jok.
The official proposed that one of the alternatives is to schedule a meeting between the two leaders outside South Sudan, possibly in Khartoum. There were reports last week that Bashir and Kiir might meet in Ethiopia, not South Sudan.
The talks over the outstanding issues between the two countries are deadlocked as the African mediators lost hope of achieving progress with the two teams negotiating in Addis Ababa.
Sudan said last week that its ready to show some flexibility and reconsider its demand for $36 per barrel, but it blames Juba for refusing any compromise.
South Sudan is expected to offer Sudan $2 a barrel, when the two leaders meet, Alex de Waal, who has been working with the African Union mediating between the two sides, said in London on Tuesday.
Jok further argued that holding a summit which would be attended by president Bashir or any of those indicted by the ICC would portray South Sudan as a nation that does not abide by the requirements of international justice.
Dong Samuel Luak, Secretary of South Sudan Law Society (SSLS) accused Bashir of being the source of instability in Sudan and South Sudan and that getting him to The Hague would be a way to bring peace to both countries.
“South Sudan has been a victim of war crimes and crimes against humanity including ethnic cleansing, all of which were masterminded and perpetuated by various leaders in Khartoum but el Bashir shoulders the lion’s share of these crimes”, he said.
Bashir came to power in a military coup in 1989, six years in to the SPLM’s civil war with the Khartoum government. In 2005 after 2 million people had died and four million displaced the SPLM and Khartoum’s ruling National Congress Party signed a peace deal granting South Sudan the right to self determination.
Tensions were strained during a six year interim period but relations between Juba and Khartoum further deteriorated after South Sudan’s independence with both sides fearing the other is intent on regime change. The two sides accuse the other of backing rebel groups in their territory.
However, on 13 March delegations from the two countries participating in the African Union brokered talks initialed two agreements on border demarcation and the status of nationals residing in both countries.
Despite this positive step Sudan’s foreign minister, Ali Karti, has said that security issues allowing for the implementation of the border and four freedoms arrangement should be resolved before the two presidents meet.
Luak told said that he also objected to receiving Bashir arguing that this would severely affect South Sudan’s international relations.
“Although the government of South Sudan may not be legally obligated to arrest Bashir, hosting him in this manner would send a wrong signal to both the international community and the survivors of his atrocities”, Luak said in a press release.
Other human rights activists including South Sudan Human Rights Society for Advocacy (SSHURSA) expressed similar sentiments stressing that the visit of president Bashir would contradict commitment of the government to respecting international law including international human rights standards.
“When Bashir is greeted at Juba International Airport with all the pomp and circumstance of a visit by a head of state, he will have won importance of the victory before he even steps off the plane”, said Edmund Yakani, program coordinator with Community Empowerment for progress (CEPO).
If, “we do that, South Sudan will join a shortlist of nations that have tacitly supported Bashir’s crimes by failing to treat him as indicted war criminal”, he added.
Since his indictment by the court in 2009 Bashir’s international travel has been severely restricted. However, the Arab League and African Union have shown solidarity with Bashir and he has made high profile visits to China, Kenya, Chad and some other countries.
“Sooner or later Bashir will have to account for the war crimes as well as crimes against humanity and of course genocide charges for which he is indicted by the ICC”, said Biel Boutous, an executive Director of the South Sudan Human Rights Society for Advocacy.
“The government should demonstrate that it takes international crimes seriously by refusing to meet Bashir in Juba and immediately moving to ratify the Rome Statute and core Human Right treaties”, he adds in a press release.
(ST)