Exit plot for al-Bashir denied

Government denies secret meeting of security bosses

THE government yesterday denied secretly plotting a safe exit from South Africa for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, despite an international arrest warrant on war crimes charges.

Al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity over the conflict in Darfur, flew out of Pretoria last Monday despite a court order that barred his departure.

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, defending the government’s decision not to arrest al-Bashir, said the ICC was dangerous and South Africa should withdraw from it.

“If I was in government‚ I would say, give notice‚ get out of that‚ it was not what was envisioned,” Mantashe said on Talk Radio 702 yesterday.

“It is a tool in the hands of the powerful to destroy the weak and it is a court that is focusing on Africa‚ Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Have nothing to do with that‚ because it is dangerous.”

The government said it granted legal immunity to al-Bashir‚ along with all delegates at the African Union summit in Johannesburg.

At the weekend, the Sunday Times reported that a secret meeting of top ministers mapped a deal to protect al-Bashir.

It alleged that al-Bashir was escorted from the AU summit to his plane in Pretoria by President Jacob Zuma’s personal security detail.

But the authorities said no such meeting took place.

“Government categorically denies that there was a secret meeting held by the security cluster ministers,” government spokeswoman Phumla Williams said.

The government has come under fire from the ICC, rights groups, other governments and the opposition at home, over its failure to detain al-Bashir.

The High Court in Pretoria or- dered the government to explain this week why it defied the order that barred al-Bashir from leaving.

Williams confirmed it was “expected to provide the court with a report that explains how President al-Bashir left the country”.

Parliament will today debate the issues surrounding al-Bashir’s departure, the DA said yesterday.

It will also ask public protector Thuli Madonsela to investigate whether any public officials abused their powers to facilitate the move.

“It’s clear that a number of individuals, including the president, ministers . . . have abused their powers, firstly by ignoring the court order and secondly by ignoring the constitutional obligation to detain him,” DA spokesman Marius Redelinghuys said .

Al-Bashir has evaded justice since his indictment in 2009 for alleged serious abuses in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

The conflict began in 2003 when black insurgents rose up against his Arab-dominated government, protesting they were marginalised.

Meanwhile, the Congress of the People called for Zuma to be charged with contempt of court.

COPE spokesman Dennis Bloem said his party “knew all along that Zuma had actively helped President Omar al-Bashir escape”.

“It is quite clear the president . . . has a cavalier attitude to the laws of our country and is willing to show the middle finger to our courts of law. It is therefore no surprise that a culture of lawlessness is taking root in our country,” Bloem said.

“Crime is rampant and lawlessness is widespread. President Zuma is the very worst role model for South Africa. Criminals rationalise that if [he] can break the law‚ then so can they.”

Bloem quoted constitutional expert Pierre de Vos‚ who said: “Once a government flouts court orders‚ it undermines the legitimacy of courts‚ not only in highly charged political matters but in ordinary matters affecting ordinary citizens.”

Bloem said Zuma had to be “stopped from behaving as though he is above the law”‚ failing which “our country will be seen by the international community as another banana republic”.

“COPE looks forward to the high court issuing a contempt of court order against Zuma and his accomplices for assisting al-Bashir to flee.” – AFP, Reuters and RDM Newswire

‘ It is quite clear that the president is willing to show the middle finger to our courts

TODAY parliament is scheduled to debate how the government ignored both its international legal obligation as well as a domestic court order to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir last week. The debate will undoubtedly be a fierce one.

The al-Bashir scandal is the latest in a growing list of government decisions which are, at best, questionable and, at worst, display blatant disregard for the rule of law.

Today the executive must explain how South Africa – once the global beacon of human rights – chose to neglect its international responsibility and help a fugitive wanted for the rape and murder of 300 000 Africans to escape. All in the name of African solidarity.

Most crucially, President Jacob Zuma’s government must today account for its decision to ignore an order by our own court to arrest al-Bashir, setting a dangerous precedent which allows those in power to choose which laws to abide by.

It is important to note that the International Criminal Court is no holy cow.

In fact, there is merit to the criticism that this court is too often unfairly selective in its decisions on which leaders must stand trial for crimes against humanity.

However, we believe that secretly granting immunity to al-Bashir to impress our friends in the rest of Africa is not the way to deal with the questionable credibility of this court. We do after all have the option to withdraw from the ICC if we so wish.

Instead, our government has invariably sent out an unfortunate message that our country would rather find every way possible to shield al-Bashir from answering for the most despicable acts committed against fellow Africans in order to avoid a diplomatic fall-out with other leaders of our continent.

Granted, African politics are complex and when South Africa is involved, the complexities are even higher.

However, we believe that they are not enough to sacrifice what should be our sacred commitment to human rights and our own rule of law.