Sudan’s President, Wanted by International Court, Cancels Visit to U.N.
|
Version 0 of 1. The United Nations said Wednesday that President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague on genocide charges, has canceled his visit to the General Assembly, amid protests in Sudan’s capital. The prospective visit had vexed American officials: Mr. Bashir would have been the first visitor to the United Nations General Assembly with a standing warrant for his arrest by the International Criminal Court. The court’s judges had called on the United States to take him into custody if he stepped on American soil, and human rights advocates had called on the State Department to deny him a visa. “From now on, the only place he should plan to travel to should be The Hague where a cell awaits him,” said Philippe Bolopion of Human Rights Watch. Even as recently as Sunday, Mr. Bashir had defiantly announced his intentions to travel to New York, but since then protests have erupted in Sudan over the lifting of fuel subsidies. Six protesters were killed Wednesday in clashes with the security forces, Reuters reported. |