Sudan cancels participation in Malaysia conference Article Comments (3) Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 18, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government informed Malaysia that it will not be able to participate in the ninth Langkawi International Dialogue (LID) at any level due to "unforeseen circumstances". Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak delivers his keynote address during the Langkawi International Dialogue 2011 in Putrajaya outside Kuala Lumpur June 19, 2011 (Reuters) "They [Sudan] are not here...they have informed us...due to some unforeseen circumstances," Malaysian foreign Datuk Seri Anifah Aman was quoted as saying by state news agency Bernama. Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir canceled his appearance at the conference despite confirming attendance before. This came following outcry from rights groups and even officials from within the Malaysian government. Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over genocide and war crimes charges he allegedly masterminded in Sudan’s western region of Darfur. Sudan’s foreign minister Ali Karti was reported to replace Bashir in leading his country delegation as a result. It is not clear if this reflected anger on the part of Khartoum. The Malaysian Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said earlier this week that he would recommend at the cabinet meeting on Friday to withdraw Bashir’s invitation. “I am taking this matter seriously and I want to discuss in the Cabinet because the Cabinet has decided that we should accede to the Rome Statute” Abdul Aziz was quoted as saying by Malaysian media. “As such, I would strongly recommend to the government to withdraw the invitation,” he added. Abdul Aziz said that if Bashir decides to fulfill the invitation because it can be an embarrassment to Malaysia. "There’s a big issue about him not being arrested even though we are not a member of ICC yet" Abdul Aziz said. Malaysia announced last March that it plans to ratify the Rome Statute which is the founding treaty of the court. However, as of now the Asian nation has no obligation to apprehend Bashir should he visits. The top diplomat in Malaysia said that his country sent invitations to all heads of states. "Do you think that a man who has been issued a warrant of arrest will come to Malaysia?" Anifah Aman said on Thursday. The theme for LID 2011 which opens on Sunday is “Enhancing Smart Partnership for Socio-Economic Transformation”. This year’s dialogue has been designed with the objective of expanding the existing social and economic network between Malaysia and the participating countries from Africa and the Caribbean. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
