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Sudan berates US following concerns over Bashir's attendance at OIC Summit
Sudan responded on Tuesday to the US’ “concern” over the attendance of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, a war crime suspect, at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Summit in Jakarta on March 6-7.
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Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir (center) is seen after his bilateral meeting with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on the sidelines of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Summit on Palestinian issues in Jakarta on Monday. (AP/Dita Alangkara)
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Sudan responded on Tuesday to the US’ “concern” over the attendance of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, a war crime suspect, at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Summit in Jakarta on March 6-7.
The Sudanese Embassy in Jakarta stated that if the US administration “is very concerned about the International Justice and in support of its endeavors then it has to go forward and join the ICC [International Criminal Court] to be a party to its convention, or to shut up.” The US is not a member of the ICC.
The embassy’s press statement said that Bashir, who was issued ICC arrest warrants in 2009 and 2010 for genocide and crimes against humanity following reported atrocities in the conflict in Darfur, attended the fifth Extraordinary OIC Summit in support of “the innocent Palestinians being killed in cold blood by Zionist state under the full support and protection by the US.”
The US Embassy in Jakarta said it was "concerned" by Bashir's travel to Indonesia for the OIC meeting.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo met with Bashir during the summit. Indonesian officials said the two discussed solidarity with Palestine and deeper economic ties.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir has defended the government's decision to invite al-Bashir as a move to honor all participating OIC member states and treat all heads of state with equal respect. Since Indonesia was not party to the ICC, Arrmanatha said he had no comment to make on any dispute between Bashir and the ICC.
