Al-Bashir should be arrested, not invited

He is back in town. Omar Hassan al-Bashir, president of Sudan, against whom the International Criminal Court, or ICC, has issued an arrest warrant, has been invited to a meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, or OIC, in Istanbul. Last year, al-Bashir visited Turkey twice and despite national and international protests the Turkish government seems to have no intention at all of changing its policy on allowing a person into the country that is under strong suspicion of being responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

First the facts. Between 2003 and 2008, according to United Nations estimates, 300,000 people were killed in Darfur, a region in Sudan where armed groups oppose the central government. A campaign against these rebels was organized that included unlawful attacks on that part of the civilian population of Darfur perceived to be close to the organized armed groups. In March 2009, the ICC found that al-Bashir, as the de jure and de facto president of Sudan and commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, is suspected of having coordinated the design and implementation of that campaign.

Until today, 110 countries have ratified the Rome Statute establishing the ICC. The Court will only intervene if national legal systems are unable or unwilling to do so. The Court can automatically exercise jurisdiction over crimes committed on the territory of a state that is a member of the ICC or by a national of that state. ICC members must cooperate with the court, including surrendering suspects when requested to do so by the court. Turkey has not yet ratified the Rome Statute despite promises made by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan dating back to 2004.

Second the ethics. All around the word people wonder how it is possible that Turkey, a country aspiring to join the European Union, acts against basic EU values by allowing al-Bashir to travel back and forth. How can Erdoğan accuse the rest of the world of being too soft on Israel after that country’s crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and at the same time host a person who is avoiding facing international justice for the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur? How can Turkey, as a member of the UN Security Council, or UNSC, dismiss explicit calls on all Security Council members to arrest al-Bashir and simply disobey UNSC Resolution 1593, which expressly urges all states, whether party or not to the Rome Statute, to “cooperate fully” with the ICC?

These double standards are often explained by referring to some sort of perverted Muslim solidarity between the ruling AKP and the Sudanese regime. On top of that, analysts say Ankara’s latest welcome for al-Bashir is as much about economic interests as ideology. A few days ago, The Wall Street Journal quoted Turkish ministers on the rapidly growing trade volume between the two countries and gave examples of Turkish companies providing uniforms to the Sudanese army and lobbying hard for billon-dollar contracts in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. According to the newspaper, many of the Turkish businessmen involved are close to the AKP.

Let there be no misunderstanding. The ongoing fuss about al-Bashir’s visits to Turkey harms the country’s international standing and reputation. To get out of this weird and damaging situation Turkey should proceed to do the following as soon as possible: 1. Make it clear that from now on the Sudanese president is absolutely unwelcome, 2. Hand him over to the ICC when and if he should enter Turkey in the future, 3. Ratify the Rome Statute and recognize the judicial power of the ICC.

Turkey should show solidarity with decent democrats, not with crooks.