By Zerin Elci and Thomas Grove
ISTANBUL, TURKEY (Reuters) — Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir arrived in Turkey on Monday for a summit of African leaders this week in his first trip abroad since an international court moved to indict him for genocide.
International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo last month asked the court to issue an arrest warrant for Bashir on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, saying his state apparatus had killed 35,000 people and indirectly at least another 100,000.
Bashir has said he would not cooperate with the ICC and called the court’s move part of a neo-colonialist agenda to protect the interests of developed countries.
Asked about the possibility of an ICC warrant being issued while Bashir was in Istanbul, a Turkish Foreign Ministry official declined to speculate on what Turkey would do.
“Bashir was invited to the summit as an African country leader and there is no arrest warrant against him at this moment. If there are any requests, we will evaluate them then,” the official said.
NATO member Turkey has not ratified the treaty forming the ICC but is under pressure to become a member as part of negotiations to join the European Union.
ICC judges could take weeks or months to issue a warrant, but have never failed to issue one after it was requested by the prosecutor. The court returned from recess on Monday.
International experts estimate some 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million were driven from their homes since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing central government in Khartoum of neglect.
Sudan blames the Western media for exaggerating the conflict and puts the death toll at 10,000.
CONCERN OVER MEETINGS
U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said on Friday it was “concerned” by Turkey’s decision to welcome Bashir, who is expected to hold bilateral meetings with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a summit focusing mostly on energy and trade.
“The Turkish government should reject efforts by Sudan’s President Omar Bashir to secure a suspension of the International Criminal Court’s investigation against him,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement.
“Turkey should also convey a clear message that Khartoum must not respond to the investigation with retaliation against civilians, peacekeepers, or humanitarian workers.”
The summit in Istanbul is expected to be attended by leaders from 40 African countries, as energy-thirsty Turkey seeks to tap into the African continent’s vast resources.
Media reports said the prime ministers of Ethiopia, Morocco, Niger, Togo, Rwanda and Uganda would attend.
Turkey, which has signed liquefied gas agreements with Algeria, is seeking to boost investments and trade with sub-Saharan Africa, following similar moves by emerging powerhouses China and India.
Trade between Turkey and African nations rose to $13 billion last year from $5.4 billion in 2003, state-run Anatolian news agency quoted Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen as saying.
He said he believed trade would rise to $50 billion in 2012.
5 thoughts on “ICC indictment clouds Bashir trip to Turkey for Africa summit”
WHEN will terrorist Meles go? SooooooooooN.
There is speculation that both Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, the leaders of the two main parties, are interested in the role. However, neither has openly said so.
It was also unclear whether Musharraf would stay in Pakistan or go into exile.
After inspecting a guard on honor outside his hulking white marble palace in the capital, a pokerfaced Musharraf stepped into a black limousine and left the building — perhaps for the last time.
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, head of the main pro-Musharraf party, said Musharraf would live in Islamabad, where he owns a farmhouse on the outskirts.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said leaders of the ruling coalition would discuss later Monday whether to prosecute Musharraf in court on the impeachment charges.
Briefly, his political foes put those issues on the back-burner and got on with celebrating.
“It is a victory of democratic forces,” Information Minister Sherry Rehman said. “Today, the shadow of dictatorship that has prevailed for long over this country, that chapter has been closed.”
In the northern city of Peshawar, a crowd of people danced to drum beats and embraced at an intersection.
“It is very pleasing to know that Musharraf is no more,” said Mohammed Saeed, a shopkeeper among the crowd.
“He even tried to deceive the nation in his last address. He was boasting about economic progress when life for people like us has become a hell,” he said, because of economic problems that include runaway inflation.
Many Pakistanis blame the rising militant violence in their country on Musharraf’s use of the army against militants nested in the northwest. His reputation suffered fatal blows in 2007 when he ousted dozens of judges and imposed emergency rule. His rivals won February parliamentary elections and have since sought his ouster.
Musharraf, who has been largely sidelined since his rivals came to power, finally yielded after the coalition finalized impeachment charges against him and threatened to send a motion to Parliament later this week.
The charges were expected to include violating the constitution and gross misconduct, likely in connection with the ouster of the judges and the declaration of emergency rule.
A defiant Musharraf, seated in an office between two national flags, listed the many problems facing Pakistan, including its sinking economy and a chronic power shortage. He said his opponents were wrong to blame him for the mounting difficulties and suggested they were going after him to mask their own failings.
“I pray the government stops this downward slide and takes the country out of this crisis,” he said.
Allies and rivals of the president said talks had suggested that Musharraf might quit in return for legal immunity from future prosecution.
Sharif’s party insists he should be tried for treason, which carries a maximum punishment of death.
“The crimes of Musharraf against the nation, against the judiciary, against democracy and against rule of law in the country cannot be forgiven by any party or individual,” its spokesman Ahsan Iqbal said Monday.
Qureshi would not say whether Musharraf might be granted a “safe exit” — speculation has focused on whether he might go into exile in Saudi Arabia or Turkey.
“That is a decision that has to be taken by the democratic leadership,” Qureshi, who is from the main ruling Pakistan People’s Party, told Dawn News television.
The ruling parties also came under immediate pressure from protesting lawyers to meet a promise to restore the ousted judges — a matter fraught with political calculations because of Sharif’s vociferous championing of their cause.
Law Minister Farooq Naek said both the means and the timing of their restoration remained open.
The international response made clear how world leaders had moved on from their reliance on Musharraf to keep his nuclear-armed nation on its current, moderate track.
Nations including British and Germany, who both have troops in Afghanistan and worry about al-Qaida plotting attacks on their soil from havens in Pakistan, urged the civilian government to bolster their security policies as well as Pakistani democracy.
However, the Afghan government, which accuses Pakistan of secretly aiding the Taliban, could not resist a parting shot.
Musharraf “was not someone good for Afghanistan,” Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary said, accusing him of being an ally of the United States in words only.
A U.S. Embassy spokesman declined to comment after Musharraf’s speech, referring calls to Washington.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday that while Musharraf had been a “good ally,” Washington was supportive of the new government and Musharraf’s future was an internal issue.
“Pakistan and the United States have a joint interest in fighting terror,” Rice said on Fox News television. “That’s what we’re concentrating on, that and helping Pakistan to sustain its economy, to build its schools, its health. We have a broad Pakistan policy.”
Greetings All…
Just Be Informed…
HUNDREDS OF AFRICANS LIVING IN ISTANBUL-THE ECONOMIC POWER HOUSE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY WOULD DEMONSTRATE AGAINST THE CRIME BOSES OF AFRICA ON WEDNESDAY AUGUST 20,2008 SO AS TO SHOW THE INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC THEIR STRONG OPPOSITION AND DEEP HATRED TO THE TYRANTS,THIEVES,BUREAUCRATS AND MILITARY STRONGMEN WHO HAVE BEEN RAVAGING MAMA AFRICA SINCE 1960!
Things to be done in the absence of Meles Seitanawi or in his presence as some other desperate countries do when their leader is or is not home:
If the blood thirsty Dictator Meles Seitanawi leaves Ethiopia for the African leaders’ submit in Istanbul, Turkey and stays there for two or more days, it will be a propitious time for the Ethiopian intellectuals to over throw him in his absence and declare freedom for the oppressed Ethiopian people. Yes, the army is always a problem for any change in a country like Ethiopia; how can someone convince this ethnically cohesive Woyanne army, the protector of a dictator and an alien to democracy? One has to bribe the army generals by promising them plenty of lands, free housing, and an attractive monthly salary. Once the army generals are convinced and are included in the treason against the Dictator Meles Seitanawi, and when Meles hears the plot, he will never come back but will beg the new Ethiopian government for the safety and security of his family. However, he must be told that unless he returned all the money he had stolen, his children would not be safe. This is step one, and step two is to pay millions of dollars to some terrorist groups in Turkey and have them assassinate him while he is in his hotel. Step three is that the Ethiopian people must have to wait patiently until Meles dies a natural death.
ICC DO NOT WEST YOUR TIME, ALL IS CLEAR ABOUT THIS DICTATOR, TAKE HIM TO JAIL FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.
Comment #3 is Assta B. Gettu’s comment.