[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 160 (Monday, October 24, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1910-E1911]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              MALAWI: HOSTING A WAR CRIMINAL WITH IMPUNITY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 24, 2011

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I submit for the record a copy of a letter I 
sent to all of the Board Members of the Millennium Challenge 
Corporation (MCC) urging that Malawi immediately cease to be an MCC 
recipient in light of the government's decision to host Sudanese 
President Omar al-Bahsir--an internationally indicted war criminal. I 
also submit two news stories about the visit.
  I take no comfort in the fact that on July 26, MCC placed a hold on 
Malawi's compact activities ``due to concerns about the government's 
commitment to good governance, rule of law, and human rights.'' This 
decision was made prior to Bashir's visit. If anything, Malawi's recent 
red carpet welcome of Bashir is further evidence that they are ill-
suited to receive MCC funding, especially in the face of economic 
challenges here at home.
  An October 20 BBC story reported that, ``Mr Bashir was welcomed by a 
military guard of honor when he arrived in the capital, Lilongwe, for a 
trade summit last weekend. . . .'' This is unconscionable--Bashir has 
blood on his hands from the genocide in Darfur as well as the unfolding 
atrocities in the Nuba Mountains.
  And yet, the administration has been publicly silent. If Malawi's 
actions don't prompt a response, I don't know what does.
  Martin Luther King famously said, ``In the end, we will remember not 
the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.'' The long-
suffering people of Sudan will not soon forget our silence.

                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                 Washington, DC, October 18, 2011.
     Hon. Ron Kirk,
     U.S. Trade Representative,
     Washington DC.
       Dear Mr. Kirk: I write today to share with you the enclosed 
     letter I sent to President Obama, Secretary Clinton, and Mr. 
     Yohannes last week. I am deeply concerned that the Malawi 
     government welcomed Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on 
     Friday, essentially rolling out the red carpet for this 
     internationally indicted war criminal. I believe this should 
     be of concern to you, too.
       As I stated in my letter, Malawi should be dropped 
     immediately from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) 
     compact. The MCC compact with Malawi should not just be put 
     on an operational hold but should be cancelled indefinitely. 
     The very thought of U.S. taxpayers providing money to a 
     country that has opened its doors to a wanted war criminal 
     should be reason enough to cancel both MCC and American 
     foreign aid funding altogether for Malawi.
       As you know, Bashir is responsible for the deaths of 
     thousands of Sudanese people. If funding for Malawi is not 
     cancelled, the MCC will be complicit in aiding a country that 
     has supported a genocidal government and would henceforth 
     lack legitimacy and should be completely shutdown. The 
     American people should expect nothing less.
       Bashir's warm welcome by the Malawian government is a clear 
     demonstration of its lack of commitment to good governance--a 
     core principle of MCC partnerships. Every time a country 
     allows Bashir to enter, it provides this war criminal with 
     credibility. The longer he is in office, the more people will 
     be killed.
       Bashir is strikingly similar to Slobodan Milosevic, except 
     that this tragedy is not taking place in Europe but rather 
     among the poorest of the poor in Africa. As you may know, I 
     was one of only 16 Republicans to vote against a 1999 
     resolution to try to cease military operations in Yugoslavia 
     after President Clinton had intervened to end the genocide--
     similar to that of what is taking place in Sudan today.
       I have enclosed several new photos that I received from a 
     contact living in the Nuba Mountains. He continues to 
     document the destruction and terror inflicted upon innocent 
     people on a daily basis by Bashir's

[[Page E1911]]

     troops. I have only sent four out of the hundreds of pictures 
     he has taken because many of them are too graphic to be 
     shared.
       During these difficult economic times, we should not allow 
     scarce American tax dollars to support countries that empower 
     war criminals like Bashir. I look forward to your response 
     and hope you will use this opportunity to demonstrate that 
     the U.S. will stand up to those countries that help 
     perpetuate Bashir's rule.
       Best wishes.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Frank R. Wolf,
                                               Member of Congress.
                                  ____
                                  

               [From the BBC News Africa, Oct. 14, 2011]

            Omar al-Bashir Arrest Request Rejected by Malawi

       Malawi has rejected calls to arrest visiting Sudanese 
     President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes in 
     Darfur.
       Mr. Bashir was welcomed by a military guard of honour when 
     he arrived in the capital, Lilongwe, for a trade summit.
       Malawi's Information Minister Patricia Kaliati told the BBC 
     it was not her government's ``business'' to arrest him.
       The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant 
     for Mr. Bashir in 2008.
       The European Union and human rights groups have urged 
     Malawi, which is a signatory to the ICC, to arrest Mr. 
     Bashir.
       ``Genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes must not 
     go unpunished and their prosecution must be ensured by 
     measures at both domestic and international level,'' a 
     spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said.
       Ms. Kaliati said Malawi could not detain Mr. Bashir as he 
     was attending a heads of state summit of the Common Market 
     for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), a regional trade 
     bloc.
       ``He's coming for business and we don't have any business 
     to do with the arrest of President Omar,'' she told the BBC's 
     Network Africa programme.
       ``We are very honoured to have these heads of state.''


                           Staunch ICC critic

       The BBC's Joel Nkhoma in Liliongwe says Malawi's refusal to 
     arrest Mr. Bashir is not surprising because President Bingu 
     wa Mutharika has become a staunch critic of the ICC.
       He accuses it of unfairly targeting African leaders and 
     believes that Africa should set up its own court to try 
     alleged war criminals, our reporter says.
       Mr. Bashir was the first head of state to be indicted by 
     the ICC, which accused him of genocide and war crimes in 
     Darfur.
       Mr. Bashir denies the allegation, saying the ICC is 
     controlled by Western powers hostile to Sudan.
       Several other African countries have also refused to arrest 
     Mr. Bashir and the African Union has urged the UN to suspend 
     the arrest warrant.
       Some 2.7 million people have fled their homes since the 
     conflict began in Darfur, and the UN says about 300,000 have 
     died--mostly from disease.
       Sudan's government says the conflict has killed about 
     12,000 people and the number of dead has been exaggerated for 
     political reasons.
                                  ____


                 [From Thomson Reuters, Oct. 13, 2011]

              Malawi To Allow Sudan's Bashir in for Summit

                           (By Mabvuto Banda)

       Johannesburg (Reuters).--Malawi will allow Sudanese 
     President Omar al-Bashir into the country for a regional 
     trade summit starting on Friday and has no plans to arrest 
     him under an International Criminal Court warrant, a senior 
     government official said on Thursday.
       ``Malawi believes in brotherly coexistence between COMESA 
     states and beyond so we will not arrest him. He is a free 
     person in Malawi,'' Deputy Foreign Minister Kondwani 
     Nankhumwa told Reuters.
       The decision will likely lead to the further diplomatic 
     isolation of Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika, who is 
     locked in diplomatic row with major aid donor Britain and 
     earned international condemnation after government forces 
     killed 20 protesters at anti-government rallies in July.
       COMESA is the Common Market for Eastern and Southern 
     Africa.
       The ICC issued an arrest warrant last year for Bashir on 
     charges of orchestrating genocide in the Darfur region, where 
     as many as 300,000 people have died since 2003.
       The European Union in August expressed concern about a 
     second visit to Chad by Bashir, saying he should have been 
     arrested. Bashir has also gone to countries including Kenya, 
     Djibouti and China since warrants have been issued.
       The ICC earlier issued a warrant in March 2009 for war 
     crimes and crimes against humanity. Bashir has dismissed the 
     charges by the ICC, the world's first permanent court for 
     prosecuting war crimes, as part of a Western conspiracy.
       The influential international right group, Human Rights 
     Watch, said Malawi was bound by its international obligations 
     to arrest Bashir.
       ``Malawi should instead uphold its commitment to justice 
     for grave crimes by cooperating with the ICC, as civil 
     society across Africa has called on their leaders to do,'' 
     said Elise Keppler, senior counsel with the group.

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