Khartoum — The Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir will fly to Chad on Friday to attend the Community of Sahel-Saharan (CEN-SAD) summit, state media reported.
Sudan official news agency (SUNA) said that Bashir will be accompanied in the two-day visit by presidential affairs minister Bakri Hassan Saleh, foreign minister Ali Karti and minister of Environment and Forestry Hassan Abdel-Gadir Hilal.
SUNA did not confirm whether Bashir will travel to Libya afterwards as reported earlier this week by the state-linked Sudanese Media Center (SMC) to attend the celebrations commemorating the outbreak of the revolution that toppled the regime of late leader Muammar Gaddafi.
This will be the third visit by Bashir to Chad which is a signatory to the Rome Statute, the founding document of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Bashir has been wanted by the Hague-based court since 2009 on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region.
African countries rallied behind Bashir and issued resolutions stating that they will not cooperate with the ICC in apprehending the Sudanese leader even in Bashir visits to countries which have ratified the Rome Statue.
This has enabled Bashir to visit African ICC signatories such as Kenya, Djibouti and Chad without incidents.
During Chad's thorny relations with Sudan, president Deby vowed to execute the arrest warrant against Bashir and rejected AU resolutions granting him immunity. However, as relations improved Deby reversed his position.
The AU summit that took place in Addis Ababa last month omitted the usual mention of urging its members to ignore ICC warrant against Bashir.
Close to 100 human right groups and law societies across Africa signed a letter addressed to the Chadian president urging him to honor his country's obligations to the ICC.
"Permitting President al-Bashir to visit Chad without executing these warrants would run counter to Chad's obligations as a state party to the Rome Statute of the ICC, in particular Articles 86 and 89(1). It would also send damaging signals to victims of mass atrocities in Darfur and globally, and undermine Chad's credibility on issues of justice and accountability," said the letter seen by Sudan Tribune.
"[W]e urge the Chadian government to clearly affirm its commitment to cooperate with the ICC, as states such as South Africa, Uganda and Botswana, and Malawi have already done, and clarify that should President al-Bashir enter Chad, he will be arrested. This would be an important way to demonstrate respect for victims of the crimes committed, along with Chad's commitment to end impunity".
Similarly, the president of the ICC Assembly of State Parties Tiina Intelmann transmitted a demarche to ambassadors of Chad in New York and in Brussels today to urge cooperation by Chad with the ICC. She also wrote a letter to Chad's foreign minister Moussa Faki Mahmat.
Bashir also accepted an invitation by Deby to another summit taking place on March 11th in Ndjamena on "Africa's Green Belt", the privately-owned Al-Shorooq TV said.
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Its very difficult to hear that S.African states are ready to defy the dsecisions that were collectively and consciously made by thier brothers and sisters to do as they wish. This as usual shows this abedient assimilated behaviour practices of those who still wishes to pursaude thier white counterparts that they are truly conformist!!!!!!!!!!!!. This also suggest that if Africa does nto stick together with one direction satnding firm on even the uncomfortable issues thsi Union wont work. This again is the behaviour that undermined the democratic proccess in Cote d' Ivoire and the voting contarary to the rest fo Africa with Libya. It seems our southern family wants to prove they are differnt this si what the so called international community likes they can mis beahve violating ignoring tretaies resoloutions but they want the rtest of the world to do as they say?????. Many years ago during our struggle for Civil and Human Rightst we had some of our brothers and sisters who colaberated with the oppressors shameless;ly bowing and scraping lettingour struggle suufer many defeats because they would not recognise the power of Unity!!!!!!!. We do not have to like what or whom the position lies around but we must Honour our committment to each other; this is unquestionable, that is DEMOCRACY!!!! MAJOURITY RULES" The African Union does not have to make mention of h what their position is on the matter everytime they hold court; unless thier is a specific mention of the deviation from this point then it is fair to recognise the rsouloute absolouteness of this unwritten article of the constitution. Mnay nation adapt written and unwritten constitutions that are used to govern thier nations, itis imperative that we know that majourity rules>> whetehre the outside communities want to accpet that or not they must come to commonsense if they are demoractic that a concensus was taken and the majourity of states decided thier will be no compliance with the ICC. Again we must look at the wide disparity of those being persecuted (prosecuted) in comparison to those who regurlarly hide behind thier military abilities while doing vgarant criminality without being even scolded or warned????? Until we have parity from those who like to lead but do contarary to thier word then we have nopthing to prove; we certainly do not want to contribute to our own enslavement???????? This is part of their pschological aparatus they use to keep the black man in check make him feel guilty as if he has soemthing to prove to them!!!!!!!!! As a a people born free we owe these people nothing !! we were created as human beings we are not descendants of any apes or monkeys we were the original teachers on the planet and we must reestablish that!! . This is what is meant by the"AFRICAN RENASCIENCE" "UNITED WE STAND DIVIDED WE FALL"
We cannot contiue to hear and follow the west in everything as though we dont know anything. We are not bound by any court system that will continue to be bias. Why are only africans being prosecuted? Let all the nations exercise their sovereignty and stop dictating. Was Bashir not elected democratically? And now u are going for Uhuru Kennyata as if they are not humans. Let the west stay out of Africa and these wars will stop. They are fueling conflicts here and there for their gains. Now look at the work gadafui did for his people. Right now all the contracts are being taken by europeans who fueled the war. Egypt is in shammble fueled by them. Algeria cannot recover and syria is going forever because the rebels are told not to negotiat with teir government and live in peace. Many are killed everyday because countries want to impose their values on others!!!
IF AFRICANS ALLOW OTHERS TO DESTROY THEM, IT'S AFRICANS THEMSELVES WHO ARE GUILTY. THOSE IN THE WEST WHO ARE ACCUSED OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY FROM THE DAWN OF MANKIND ARE BE FREE TO ROOM THE WORLD AS THEY WANTED; BUT WHEN IT COMES TO A/AN GOOD AFRICAN PRESIDENT, HE/SHE IS SUBJECTED TO ALL TYPES OF ACCUISATIONS AND PRIVACY INVASION. AFRICA AND AFRICANS, WHEN ARE YOU "AFRICA AND AFRICANS" GOING TO STAND UP AND SAY: STOP THE ILLEGALLY AND FORCELY TARGETS OF OUT BEST AND BRIGHTEST IN THE CONTINENT?? WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO DO THAT AFRICA AND AFRICANS?? WITH ALL THE RICHES IN AFRICA; IT'S US "AFRICANS AND AFRICA" WHO SHOULD BE TELLING THESE PEOPLE FROM THE WEST WHO ARE BEND IN DESTROYING US "AFRICANS AND AFRICA" TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
Here is Bashir accused of heinous crimes against humanity, and yet some leaders are protecting him against answering for those crimes. Are his "mass atrocities" not committed on Africans? After going through so many years of colonialism, I would have thought that Africa would never protect or stand for ANYONE including its own, committing atrocities on its own people. Sadly all this protectionism of these murderous leaders sure looks to me that the life on an ordinary African is still of no consequence even in the eyes of Africans themselves.