Malawi gives up summit duties

BLANTYRE, Malawi — Malawi won’t host an African Union summit next month after a dispute over the southern African country’s refusal to host Sudan’s leader, who faces war-crimes charges, the vice president said Friday.

“Much as Malawi has obligations to the AU, it has also other obligations,” Vice President Khumbo Kachali said in a statement on state radio. “The Cabinet has decided not to host the summit.”

Earlier, according to Kachali, the government had received a letter from the African Union saying that it had no right to dictate who could attend the summit set to open July 6, and if it insisted on barring Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir, the summit would be moved to African Union headquarters in Ethiopia. Summits normally rotate among members states.

Joyce Banda has steered an independent path for Malawi since stepping in as president in April after the sudden death in office of Bingu wa Mutharika. Mutharika had welcomed al-Bashir at a regional summit last year.

Sudan’s al-Bashir has visited African, Asian and Middle Eastern countries despite International Criminal Court warrants for his arrest on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region.

Speaking at a news conference in May, Banda said a visit by Sudan’s president would be frowned upon by Malawi’s international donors.