Sudan says South African government vowed to ignore ruling by High Court judge
June 14, 2015 (WASHINGTON/KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government asserted that they have received strong assurances from South Africa that it has no intention to abide by the High Court ruling regarding president Omer Hassan al-Bashir.
“The Foreign Minister of South Africa, assured us that they are proud of the participation of President al-Bashir and that they are responsible for protecting him, adding that this [issue] belongs to them and their opposition and we must not be concerned about it” Ghandour said.
The Sudanese diplomat asserted that Bashir himself is not worried about this and will return home as planned after completing his programme of work.
He slammed the International Criminal Court (ICC) as targeting Africans on behalf of western nations and said that their moves are “of no value”.
The judge from the South African High court reaffirmed the decision he issued on Sunday morning ordering the government of Johannesburg not to allow Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir to leave.
Judge Hans Fabricius in Pretoria listened to the government attorneys argue that communicating the order to all officials in pertinent agencies is impractical and failure to implement the ban should not result in a finding of contempt if Bashir ended up leaving.
They also that asserted that Bashir would not leave as the African Union (AU) summit he is attending is not due to conclude until Monday.
But the attorney representing Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) accused the government of shielding info on Bashir and insisted that an order is issued to place airports under surveillance of the Home Affairs to ensure that the Sudanese president does not leave.
The government attorneys asked for adjournment till tomorrow to prepare to rebut SALC application since they did not have time to do so today.
Following intense deliberations, the judge issued a new decision stating that Bashir is prohibited from leaving South Africa until a final order is made on SALC application and ordered the government to take all necessary steps to prevent him from doing so.
Judge Fabricius ordered the Director General of Home Affairs to “effect service of the order on the official in charge of each and every point of entry into and exit from [South Africa]”.
The order was addressed to the Director of Home Affairs, South African Police Service , the National Director of Public Prosecutions, the head of the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation and the Director of the priority crimes Litigation Unit.
The interim order issued by the judge today came to allow time to hear the request of applicants who asked for “mandamus” against the government to compel it to arrest president Bashir.
On Monday morning the judge is expected to hear the merits of this case but it is not clear when he might make a decision.
Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2009 over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Darfur conflict.
The case is a complex one centering mainly on the issue of immunity for heads of states and whether Bashir attending a regional summit would enjoy it despite the ICC warrant.
On Sunday, ICC judges said that South Africa has an obligation to execute the arrest warrant against the Sudanese leader and that there exists no legal argument relieving them from doing so.
South Africa will likely refer to the AU decision ordering member states not to cooperate with the ICC in the case of Bashir.
In August 2009 the South African Department of Foreign Affairs issued a detailed statement outlining its position on the AU resolution regarding Bashir from a legal and political perspective.
“An international arrest warrant for President al-Bashir has been received and endorsed by a magistrate. This means that if President al-Bashir arrives on South African territory, he will be liable for arrest” the statement said.
In Khartoum, the Sudanese foreign ministry emphasized that Bashir’s program of work would continue as normal in South Africa and that the court order would not impact it.
The ministry added that Bashir’s safety is not threatened and that South African authorities told them that they are committed to the AU decision on cooperation with the court.
South Africa’s ruling African National Congress said on its Twitter account Sunday that it “holds the view that the International Criminal Court is no longer useful for the purposes for which it was intended.”
BASHIR DEPARTURE
There has been much confusion about Bashir’s whereabouts for much of Sunday after he missed a lunch banquet for AU leaders.
Afterwards Sudanese government spokesperson Ahmed Bilal told Bloomberg that Bashir is on his way back to Khartoum. But the Sudanese foreign ministry later denied this.
Bashir was also seen at the AU convention center acting normally.
It is widely expected that despite the court ruling, the South African government will allow Bashir to leave the country and try to tell the court then that he left without their knowledge rendering the legal case moot.
Some reporters on Twitter said that Bashir’s presidential jet was moved to Waterkloof military airbase from Tambo International Airport on Sunday night in what appeared preparation for his departure.
They mentioned that the judge order does not oblige the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) which owns the base, to implement the decision barring Bashir from travelling thus posing a legal loophole.
Jakkie Cilliers, executive director of the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies, told the Financial Times (FT) it was highly unlikely that South Africa would detain Bashir but said the situation was “hugely embarrassing” for President Jacob Zuma’s government.
“They are in a difficult position,” he said. “The South African government must have a rabbit hole here, I can’t believe they were not planning for this.”
US & EU Positions
The European Union (EU) and the United States issued carefully worded statements urging South Africa to adhere to its obligations and hold perpetrators of war crimes accountable.
“In accordance with established approach of the EU and its Member States, the EU expects South Africa, a founding State Party of the Court, to act in accordance with UN Security Council 1593, in executing the arrest warrant against any ICC indictee present in the country,” the EU said.
The US noted that while it is not an ICC member “we strongly support international efforts to hold accountable those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes”.
“In light of the atrocities in Darfur, we call on the Government of South Africa to support the international community’s efforts to provide justice for the victims of these heinous crimes” the US State department said.
The US embassy in Khartoum said it instructed its personnel to avoid large gatherings in light of the row relating to Bashir’s presence in South Africa.
BASHIR SAYS ICC ‘DEAD’
In statements to the Turkey-based Anadolu news agency, Bashir said that African leaders “refuse guardianship and that they the masters of their decision,”.
He went on to say that the ICC “is finished and the summit of South Africa are only for the funeral and burial”.
Despite demands by Sudan however, it is not expected that the AU summit would call for mass ICC withdrawal.
The National Umma Party (NUP) of Sudan led by former Prime Minister al-Sadiq al-Mahdi said that while they support justice and accountability, there is need for bearing the political considerations.
Al-Mahdi proposed offering Bashir suspension of ICC proceedings through United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in return for pledges from him on peace and democratization.
The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of Sudan called for mass demonstrations to receive president Bashir upon his return tomorrow.
(ST)