Sudan/ Eritrea

Beshir travels to Eritrea, continues to defy ICC warrant

Article published on the 2009-03-23 Latest update 2009-03-23 16:25 TU

Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir speaks to a crowd in Khartoum protesting his arrest warrant.
(Photo: Reuters)

Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir visited Eritrea Monday, in defiance of the international warrant for his arrest. In a gesture of solidarity, Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki sent an invitation to Beshir on 11 March, just one week after the International Criminal Court issued the warrant. Many other African states and Arab states, as well as China, have asked the ICC to suspend the warrant.

"The drama being orchestrated by the so-called ICC amply
demonstrates the anti-people stance and defamatory conspiracy on the part of external forces," the Eritrean government said in its
invitation.

The warrant has increased the uncertainty surrounding Beshir political future, Richard Dicker, head of the international justice programme at Human Rights Watch in the Hague, told RFI.

In previous instances, he says, arrest warrants have tended to isolate and marginalise sitting heads of state. But there is no guarantee that foreign states will help in arresting Beshir.

Sudan's highest religious authority, the Comittee of Muslim Scholars, issued a fatwa urging Beshir not to travel to the Arab summit in Doha at the end of the month, the country's media reported.

"It is inadmissible for the President of the republic to take part in the Arab League summit in Qatar under current conditions while the enemies of God and of the nation are creeping around," the text said.

Sudan has said it will not co-operate with the court and has taken steps to defy mounting Western criticism, including expelling 13 international aid agencies.

Beshir faces five counts of crimes against humanity and two counts of war crimes. It is the first time the ICC has issued a warrant for a sitting head of state.