March 13, 2012 (WASHINGTON) – The Sudanese government expressed
skepticism about the authenticity of remarks attributed to an
unidentified Iraqi official who said that they received a request from
the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) to arrest
president Omer Hassan al-Bashir should he attend the Arab League summit
in Baghdad later this month.
- Sudanese President Omer Hassan al-Bashir (Reuters)
"The Interpol officially notified us about its intention to arrest
Sudanese president Omer al-Bashir should he arrive in Baghdad to attend
the Arab League meeting," the Iraqi foreign minister official told
Kurdistan News Agency (Aknews).
"According to Interpol and the agreements concluded with Iraq, it has
the right to implement the arrest warrants issued by the international
courts in Iraq," the official said.
The summit that will start on March 29th will be the first
non-emergency meeting of the 22-nation body to be held in
violence-wracked Baghdad in more than 30 years.
Sudan confirmed it will take part in the summit but has yet to decide at what level.
In an interview with the Qatar-based Al-Raya newspaper published last
Sunday, the Sudanese president described the situation in Iraq as
“non-assuring” when asked about attending.
“[T]he Iraqi government is [operating from] inside the Green Zone
surrounded by concrete walls and this is neither a comfortable situation
nor an ideal one” Bashir said.
“We support peace in Iraq, we support unity in Iraq, we are worried
about Iraq but we are not happy with the situation in Iraq. So far we
have not made a decision to participate in the Arab summit. This will be
decided by the pertinent [government] bodies in Sudan” the Sudanese
president said.
Bashir maintains the status as the first head of state to be indicted
by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of orchestrating
war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Sudan’s western
region of Darfur.
Because of the outstanding warrant, Bashir travels only to friendly
nations that can guarantee he will not be apprehended. Only ICC members
have a legal obligation to arrest Bashir although the United Nations
Security Council (UNSC) 2005 resolution referring Darfur to the
Hague-based court urged all nations to cooperate.
Iraq is not signatory to the Rome Statute which is the founding text of the ICC.
"If Bashir was arrested in Baghdad, then this [would] put Iraq in a
great embarrassment in front of the Arab countries and [would] affect
the Iraqi-Arab relations, and if Iraq didn’t allow the Interpol to
arrest him, then its international reputation [would] be affected," the
source added.
The Interpol has not issued a Red Notice for the arrest of Bashir as
it did with most ICC suspects at large. Court officials said in the past
that Bashir’s status as a sitting head of state does not necessitate
raising awareness to his movements through an international warrant.
The report did not say when Interpol contacted Iraqi authorities
regarding Bashir. It is not clear why the Lyon-based police organization
singled out Iraq to make such an unprecedented move.
The cooperation agreement between the ICC and Interpol enable the two
sides to exchange police information and criminal analysis, and to
cooperate in the search for fugitives and suspects. It also gives the
ICC access to the Interpol telecommunications network and databases
ICC has no police force and relies on state cooperation to enforce arrests.
In Khartoum the Sudanese foreign ministry spokesperson Al-Obeid
Marwih said it is inconceivable that Iraq would invite Bashir to the
summit only to arrest him on its territory. He pointed out that Interpol
does not have the mandate to go after any Sudanese official calling the
news "fabricated".
The United Nations says up to 300,000 people have died since conflict
broke out in Darfur in 2003, when ethnic minority rebels took up arms
against the Bashir’s Arab-dominated regime for a greater share of
resources and power.
(ST)
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