* 10.30am UPDATE
This just through from someone who was actually at the press conference Reuters was reporting on:
During that briefing, Pres. Mbeki was asked about the warrants. He said that the ICC warrants are part of the reality with which the Panel has to work but that the Panel has not yet formed a view on them.
Stay tuned for a rebuttal to Reuters from the Panel today.
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Six hours after Reuters reported that the Mbeki-led AU panel had come out in support of the ICC case against Bashir, AFP now reports the opposite.
Assuming AFP has it right, then Reuters somehow managed to get this quote they reported from Mbeki very out of context: “The consensus reached is that those charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity should appear in court and defend themselves,” he said. “The warrant has been issued. There is nothing that can be done.”
Based on this new info, the bulk of my post on this following the Reuters report last night should be disregarded. But my cynicism about the AU Summit decision last week stands, as does my frustration with the UNSC for not dignifying the AU with a response.
I posted on this at midnight last night and just woke up to the AFP report at 6am, but hopefully once it’s a reasonable time of the day over here I can get in contact with someone who knows first hand what the real story is. Perhaps the two reports are reconcilable – i.e. Mbeki supports a suspension but thinks that in the end Bashir should appear before the ICC to respond to the charges . . .
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