Ramaphosa to answer Bashir questions

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: Katlholo Maifadi.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: Katlholo Maifadi.

Published Jun 16, 2015

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Cape Town - Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is the country’s special envoy to South Sudan, will lift the lid on South Africa’s failure to arrest Sudan President Omar Hassan al-Bashir when he answers questions in Parliament tomorrow.

Ramaphosa will be in the National Council of Provinces to respond to a range of questions, but opposition MPs are expected to take him on about the Bashir issue.

Although the list of questions on tomorrow’s agenda did not include Sudan or its leader, weekend developments will force MPs to pose questions to Ramaphosa on the government’s failure to arrest him.

The International Criminal Court had issued an arrest order for Bashir, who is facing charges steming from reported atrocities in the conflict in Darfur, in which 300 000 people were killed and 2 million were displaced in the government’s campaign, according to UN figures.

Ramaphosa has been South Africa’s special envoy to South Sudan for the past three years following his appointment by President Jacob Zuma.

Ramaphosa was in South Sudan more than a week ago when he met leaders of the SPLM and President Salva Kiir.

Darfur had been under attack from the militia group Janjaweed from the early 2000s resulting in the “slaughter of civilians”, but Khartoum had been blamed for the murders.

In 2009 the ICC chief prosecutor at the time, Luis Moreno Ocampo, indicted Bashir for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In his indictment, Ocampo said Bashir had masterminded the attacks on civilians in Darfur by ordering the Janjaweed to commit the crimes.

Ramaphosa will face the vexing question of whether South Africa acted within its obligations in international law.

A few years ago South Africa threatened to arrest the Sudanese leader if he travelled to the country.

Bashir’s travels outside Sudan have been restricted to countries which are not signatories to the Rome Statute.

Al-Bashir has been in power in his country for more than a quarter of a century since he led a military coup in 1989. - The Mercury

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