Indicted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir continued his tour of sympathetic countries over the past week with stops in Libya, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
Bashir met with Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi—who also happens to be the current African Union president—on Thursday. Bashir was warmly greeted by Qaddafi who had condemned the ICC warrant for Bashir as “new world terrorism” and an attempt to “recolonise” former colonial territories.
The Sudanese president also attended the Arab League summit in Doha, Qatar—a summit that, despite all of its potential, rarely manages to accomplish anything meaningful. Bashir’s decision to travel to the summit may be seen as a direct snub of the UN, as Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was also in attendance. While the absence of Egypt at the conference coupled with a tantrum by AU president Qaddafi belied the “reconciliatory” intent of the summit, Bashir did manage to wrangle a surprisingly disconcerting statement of support out of the members. In all the praising of Bashir as a leader, not once did the Arab states think it was important to mention the grave humanitarian situation he has caused.
And today, Bashir traveled to Saudi Arabia for a pilgrimage to Mecca—arriving in Jeddah where he was personally greeted by Governor Prince Mishal bin Abdul Aziz.
While the statement of solidarity from the Arab League may seem to be an endorsement of Bashir, it is more likely an attempt by the AL to present a unified front against future indictments of its members. Several members of the AL could—and maybe should—face similar indictments in the future. These members hope that by condemning the ICC as “neo-colonialist” and “racist” they can discredit the court—at the same time, they hope that protecting and defending Bashir will render the ICC impotent. If they are to achieve either of these goals, then their tactic will be a success and they will be free to continue oppressing and abusing their own populaces.
The problem is, the ICC is not just going to go away. As much as African and Arab leaders offer big talk, align with, and support President Bashir, it’s likely that his friends will eventually fade. And like Milosevic and Taylor before him, Bashir will face his day in court.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.
