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By Godfrey Olukya 14-10-2013
President Yoweri Museveni over the weekend met and held a meeting with the Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir at the sidelines of the ongoing AU summit in Addis Ababa Ethiopia.
The two leaders who discussed various bilateral issues concerning their two countries had earlier joined African Union leaders attending the Extraordinary Summit of the African Union. The session was convened under the theme “Africa’s relationship with the International Criminal Court (ICC).”
The special summit comes amid mounting tensions between The Hague-based court and AU leaders.
During the opening session, the current Chairperson of the AU who is also the Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn said AU is committed to ensuring peace and security for the African continent. He said that the member countries are concerned over the manner in which African issues have been handled by the ICC. 34 countries of the continent are members of the ICC.
Prime Minister Desalegn said that for the past seven years, the United Nations and the ICC have ignored the concerns of AU and said that Africa will never support leaders who compromise the rights of our people.
He was pleased to note that President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and the Deputy President Ruto have taken measures to address the issue of ensuring justice for the post elections victims in Kenya.
He condemned the killing of innocent people in Nairobi, Kenya during the terror attack on the 3rd October 2013. He also condemned the recent killing of people in Nigeria. He further expressed his sadness over the drowning of over 300 people near Lampedusa, an Italian island when their vessel went down last week.
Mr. Dessalegn called on the international community to support Sudan during the forthcoming elections.
The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma strongly condemned the recent terror attack in Kenya. She said that AU looks forward to sustained peace and security in Kenya. She stressed that the elected leaders of Kenya must be allowed to continue with their mandate to serve their people through democracy.
She stressed that the UN and ICC must ensure that stability in Kenya is sustained.
The African Heads of State stood up for a minute of silence in memory of the Western Gate victims, the Nigerian ones and the Africans who drowned in Lampedusa.
END