News

Sudan threatens to expel US envoy over visa row

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir during a past African Union meeting. His country has threatened to cut ties with the US following a visa row. PHOTO/AFP

By Mohammed Amin

Posted Wednesday, September 18 2013 at 08:44

In Summary

• Sudan warned that it will expel the US envoy to Khartoum if Washington continues with its hostile policy
• Sudan says United States has no legal right to stop them from attending the UN General Assembly
• US wants President Bashir to face charges before ICC

Sudan has threatened to cut its relations with USA following refusal by the Barack Obama administration to grant President Omar al-Bashir a visa to travel to New York to attend the UN General Assembly

The Sudanese ministry of foreign affairs strongly condemned the US position, describing it as contempt to Africa leaders, and warned that the country will expel the US envoy to Khartoum if Washington continues with its hostile policy.

The Director for US Affairs in the Sudanese Foreign Ministry Mohammed Al Toum warned that apart from expelling the US envoy to Khartoum, Sudan will also stop the flow of South Sudan's oil through its territories in line with the sanctions which do not permit foreign exports through its territory.

He called for Sudan to be removed from the list of terrorist sponsoring countries and for all economic sanctions to be lifted.

The spokesman of the Sudanese Foreign Ministry Abubakr Alsidiq expressed the country's wish to exercise its full right to participate in the highest level meetings at the 68th session of the UN General Assembly.

“According to the international laws, the headquarters country, the United States, has no legal right to object to participation of any official from any full member state in the United Nations activities,” he said in a statement.

“United States is not morally, politically and legally qualified to provide sermons and advices in respect to the International Humanitarian Law and the human rights under its own known record of war crimes and extermination against people, the last of which was the invasion of Iraq in the year 2003 and the killing of thousands of Iraqis,” the spokesperson said.

War crimes

The United States has advised Sudan’s President Bashir not to make the trip to New York to attend the UN General Assembly.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf asked Mr Bashir to first answer to the International Criminal Court (ICC) which has indicted him for genocide and crimes against humanity.

The two countries have tense diplomatic relations with Washington having placed Khartoum on its list of countries that sponsor terrorism, and has since 1997, imposed economic sanctions on Sudan.

The Hague-based ICC in 2009 and 2010 issued two warrants against Bashir for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide over the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region

Sudan is not a member of the ICC and Mr Bashir has so far refused to co-operate with the court.