Ethiopian Review

WASHINGTON — The Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir could be arrested upon his arrival in Kampala, a Ugandan official said today.

The surprise announcement came at a press conference held today by the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo and Ugandan state minister for international relations, Henry Okello Oryem.

“An arrest warrant for Bashir has been deposited at the office of the Solicitor General,” Oryem said.

“It’s up to [Inspector General of Police] Gen. Kale Kayihura to arrest him,” he added.

Al-Bashir is wanted by the ICC on seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The ICC prosecutor filed an appeal for the inclusion of genocide charges that were dropped by the judges for lack of evidence.

Uganda is one of 30 African countries that ratified the Rome Statute making it legally obligated to execute arrest warrants for wanted individuals on its territory.

But an African Union (AU) summit in Sirte, Libya held earlier this month decided that no country in the continent shall cooperate with the ICC in apprehending the Sudanese president.

So far only Botswana publicly announced that they will not abide by the AU resolution and alleged that Libya forced the AU members to accept it without debate.

The Ugandan minister said that his government had an “unwavering” commitment to the ICC statute.

However, he added that arresting Bashir is a big step to be taken by Kampala.

“He [Bashir] is not a chicken thief whom you start arresting in an unceremonial manner so let’s wait for Bashir to arrive and see what the government of Uganda would do,” he said.

Ocampo sitting next to Oryem stressed that Uganda has a legal obligation to cooperate with the court.

“It’s a legal obligation not a political decision, it’s a court decision and Uganda, South Africa and the 30 African (member) state parties have this legal obligation, it’s clear” he said.

“South Africa informed Bashir that he could be invited to President Zuma’s inauguration, but if he is there he could be arrested,” the ICC prosecutor added.

Last week, the independent Sudanese Al-Sahafa newspaper reported that Bashir is scheduled to visit Uganda on July 26 to take part in the Ugandan-Turkish forum.

A Ugandan official said that Bashir will not be arrested since he was invited by his country.

There was no official confirmation from Khartoum on the visit.

An unidentified Sudanese official warned Uganda last week against any attempts to violate the AU resolution on non-cooperation with the ICC.

The official said that all African countries must adhere to AU decisions and any state that doesn’t do that is breaking the African consensus.

The warning came after Uganda issued a statement last Friday reiterating its commitment to the ICC.

Uganda’s stance on Bashir’s arrest warrant has been ambiguous despite backing AU decision criticizing it.

The Ugandan president Yoweri Musievini said last March that he wants neither to “condemn Bashir” nor “condone his actions”.

- Sudan Tribune