Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, left on Wednesday for the Arab League summit in Baghdad, official radio reported.

“Bashir left Khartoum for Baghdad, heading the country’s delegation in the Arab League summit,” state-run Radio Omdurman said.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s office had announced on Sunday that Bashir would attend the meeting, but until Wednesday’s radio report there had been no official comment about the trip within Sudan.

Iraq is not a signatory to the ICC’s founding Rome Statute, according to a copy of the treaty posted on the UN’s website.

The Iraqi foreign ministry has said on its website that “the protection of President al-Bashir is guaranteed one hundred percent,” adding that the same applied to all summit participants.

Thursday’s meeting of leaders from the 22-member Arab League is the first in the Iraqi capital since now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

The Hague-based ICC issued an arrest warrant for Bashir in 2009 for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur, the country’s western region. A later warrant added genocide to the charges.

Bashir, who has since made several visits abroad, especially to other African states, leaves as diplomats from Sudan and South Sudan work to avert war after border clashes this week sparked international fears of a wider conflict.
Source http://africagist.com/2012/03/28/sudans-bashir-heads-to-arab-summit-despite-icc-warrant/

God and Allah blessssssssssssssh Iraq for taking such a stance!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Arab_League_summit

Confirmed participants[edit] Arab League representatives Algeria - President Abdelaziz Bouteflika [9]
Bahrain - to be announced
Comoros - to be announced
Djibouti - President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh
Egypt - to be announced [10]
Iraq - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki & President Jalal Talabani
Jordan - King Abdullah II
Kuwait - Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah [11]
Lebanon - President Michel Sulaiman [12] [13]
Libya - to be announced
Mauritania - to be announced [14]
Morocco - to be announced [15]
Oman - to be announced
State of Palestine - to be announced
Qatar - to be announced [16]
Saudi Arabia - Ambassador to the Arab League & Egypt Ahmed Qatan [17]
Somalia - to be announced [18]
Sudan - President Omar al-Bashir [19]
Tunisia - to be announced [20]
United Arab Emirates - to be announced
Yemen - President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Al-Hadi [21]
[edit] Other participants United Nations - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [22]
Arab League - Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby [23]
United Nations \ Arab League Special Envoy on Syria - Kofi Annan [24]

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/80700/iraq-not-to-invite-non-arab-countries-to-baghdad-summit

Baghdad (ANTARA News/Xinhua-OANA) - Iraq will not invite non-Arab countries to attend the Arab League summit in Baghdad slated for March 29, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki`s office said in a statement on Sunday.

"Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki rejected the idea of inviting non-Arab countries to attend Baghdad Arab summit," Maliki`s office quoted him as saying during an interview with Iraq`s Afaq satellite channel.

"There will be invitations for international and regional organizations, but we do not see any reason to invite non-Arab countries," Maliki said.

Earlier, Baghdad said it had completed its preparation for the summit and was ready to receive the Arab leaders.

Iraq sees the summit as a significant milestone in its history that would lead the country to play a powerful and positive role in the Arab world. (*)
Editor: B Kunto Wibisono
COPYRIGHT © 2012

Innaresting!