Indonesia defends allowing visit of Sudanese leader

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia defended
on Monday its decision to allow Sudanese President
Omar al-Bashir, a suspected war criminal, into the
country for a summit of Muslim nations.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest
warrants for al-Bashir in 2009 and 2010 because of
suspected involvement in crimes against humanity,
specific war crimes and genocide. The charges stem
from reported atrocities in the conflict in Darfur.
Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha
Nasir said Indonesia is not an ICC member state
and has no legal mechanism or obligation to arrest
al-Bashir.
"It is a matter between him and the ICC, not the
question of Indonesia," he said.
The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta said it was
"concerned" by al-Bashir's travel to Indonesia for a
meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Like Indonesia, the U.S. is not a party to the Rome
Statute treaty that established the ICC.
The embassy said in a statement that the U.S.
strongly supports the ICC's efforts to hold
accountable those responsible for crimes against
humanity in Darfur.
Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo met
with al-Bashir during the summit. The Sudanese
leader didn't comment after the meeting.
Indonesian officials said the two discussed solidarity
with Palestine and deeper economic ties.
Indonesia has promised to ratify the Rome Statute
but there is continuing political opposition, partly
because past atrocities by the Indonesian military
might lead to ICC cases.
Last year, al-Bashir reportedly canceled a trip to an
Asia-Africa conference in Jakarta after protests by
rights groups.