CAIRO: The question of whether Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir would be arrested upon arrival to Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh was never questioned by Egyptian officials. It has become a mute point in the region, despite an International Criminal Court warrant for the Sudanese president over charges of genocide in the war-torn region of Darfur. Instead Bashir met with his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday at what has become the seat of Egyptian government in Sharm el-Sheikh. According to the Egyptian foreign ministry, the presidents discussed ways to end the many conflicts in the region. They talked extensively on Darfur. Mubarak is said to have told Bashir that Cairo was looking to see what would happen with Sudan's internal conflicts. They hope that Bashir can maintain “territorial integrity” in the country. Sudan had the country's first election in nearly two decades and the final vote tally was confirmed on Sunday, with Bashir winning by a substantial margin. Many Sudanese opposition figures have cried foul, but the government in Khartoum has ignored most of their pleas. Southern Sudan is scheduled to vote on a referendum in January over staying part of Sudan or breaking off and forming their own country. Egypt is worried that if South Sudan votes to secede, it could affect treaties on the books, including a 1959 Nile Water treaty that Egypt has been fighting desperately to maintain. Despite the worries, Mubarak congratulated Bashir on his victory, while the Sudanese president wished Mubarak a speedy recovery from his gall bladder surgery in Germany in March. International observers, however, were disappointed with the Egyptian invitation of Bashir, saying that it shows the world that no Middle Eastern nation is willing to recognize international law. Jens Bjurman, a Danish international law expert, said that Egypt should stop claiming international treaties when dealing with Israel if they fail to recognize the warrant for Bashir's arrest. “We are not talking about simple crimes, we are talking about crimes of war and genocide,” he began. “The Egyptian government is being hypocritical when they start lambasting the Israeli government for not following international treaties and rulings. If Egypt doesn't stand up and say we will arrest Bashir, what grounds do they have to complain about Israel? None.” Bashir is accused by the ICC of genocide and crimes against humanity for his government's role in the violence that has been nearly non-stop in Darfur since 2003. According to United Nations statistics, some 300,000 people have died as a result of the violence and another two million have been displaced. BM
