A Pan-African Conference on Trade Union in Sudan. President Bashir Hassan al-Bashir standing in attention., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
US-Sudan Tensions Resurface
By: Al-Nour Ahmad al-Nour Translated from Al-Hayat (Pan Arab).
اقرا المقال الأصلي باللغة العربية
The indications of a crisis between Khartoum and Washington have begun to loom on the horizon after Khartoum rejected an Ethiopian initiative. The initiative was designed to persuade the Sudanese presidency to withdraw the passport of President Omar al-Bashir from the US Embassy in Khartoum, after he had submitted a visa request to attend the UN General Assembly, to avoid any embarrassment.
Bashir has received an invitation from the UN secretary-general to attend the meetings of the UN General Assembly in New York. The Sudanese presidency had submitted the passport of Bashir to the US Embassy in Khartoum, which referred the matter to Washington to decide whether or not to grant him a visa to enter its territory.
It was learned that the US administration has asked the Ethiopian government, which has strong ties to Khartoum, to convince Bashir of the risks of going to the United States because of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision, which accused him of war crimes and genocide in Darfur. Yet Bashir remained committed to his stance and refused to collect his passport from the embassy.
Reports revealed that Khartoum is waiting for an answer from the US Embassy in Khartoum and is considering taking measures to confront it if Bashir is not granted a visa to attend the UN meetings.
The possibility of expelling US Charge d'Affaires Joseph Stafford or reducing diplomatic representation between the two countries — which is already at charge d'affaires level — is not ruled out.
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry rejected the behavior of the US administration, especially the statements made by the US State Department spokeswoman and the US permanent representative to the UN regarding the participation of the Sudanese delegation in the African Leadership Forum in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The Sudanese government said that talk of the ICC’s decision to obstruct the participation of African leaders in international forums simply expresses the disdain of the US administration for African leaders and people.
This is in light of the present and renewed African consensus against the ICC targeting African leaders, who are democratically elected by the people.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said that Washington had received a request for an entry visa for Bashir, and described this step as “deplorable, cynical and hugely inappropriate.”
Moreover, US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said that Bashir had applied for a US visa to attend the opening of the UN General Assembly in New York. She added that “he should not travel [to NY], given that he stands accused of genocide and war crimes.” Harf said that Washington has received a visa application for Bashir to attend the General Assembly, but “we condemn any potential effort by Bashir to do so.”
UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said, “It is first and foremost a matter for the United States to determine consistent with the applicable rules of international law.” He added, “Bashir is subject to an arrest warrant issued by the ICC. The secretary-general would therefore urge him to cooperate fully with the ICC.”
The head of the parliamentary committee on international affairs in the Sudanese parliament, Mohammed al-Hassan al-Amin, warned of the Zionist lobby in the United States, saying that Bashir cannot go there even if the relationship with the United States was good. Amin noted that there is no reason for the president to travel to the United States, highlighting its “hostile stances” against Sudan and the accusations it leveled against it in regard to supporting terrorism, in addition to the economic boycott imposed on Sudan.
He continued, saying that Sudan can be represented in the meetings of the UN General Assembly in New York by the vice president, reiterating that his objection to the visit has nothing to do with the criminal court, but rather the stances of the United States.
In addition to that, there was a fierce dispute between the Sudanese government and the European Union in the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva when the EU issued a statement prior to the statement of the UN’s independent expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan, Mashood Baderin, which was supposed to be presented before the Human Rights Council. The EU statement came in tandem with the statement that will be presented by Sudanese Justice Minister Mohamed Beshara Dosa.
The EU’s statement accused Khartoum of violating human rights in the provinces of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, noting that army members enjoyed immunities preventing their trials. Some European countries noted that the Sudanese government banned the independent expert from visiting South Kordofan and Blue Nile during his visit to Sudan.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and 18 other human rights organizations have issued a statement noting the deterioration of human rights in Sudan. The statement was perceived by the Sudanese government as a political, unjust stance.
Rahma Saleh al-Obeid, head of the permanent Sudanese delegation to the UN and Sudanese ambassador to Switzerland, noted that Sudan is preparing a report in response to the EU’s statement.
She said that statement contradicts the articles of the independent expert’s report. Obeid said that she was hoping things would be pushed toward an agreement within the council until Sudan is no longer under the auspices of an independent expert. Obeid added that in case concerned parties insisted on not coming to an agreement, Sudan will resort to voting to settle the issue of remaining under Article 10 pertaining to providing technical assistance.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2013/09/us-sudan-tension-omar-bashir-un-visa.html#ixzz2fUWsdg6o
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