* President asks African Union to stop Bashir attending
* Sudan leader wanted by international court
* Malawi seeks to secure overseas aid
By Mabvuto Banda
LILONGWE, May 4 (Reuters) – Malawi President Joyce Banda
said on Friday she had asked the African Union to prevent
Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is wanted by the
International Criminal Court on genocide charges – from
attending a summit in her country.
Banda is trying to restore a flow of overseas aid cut under
her predecessor’s rule, leaving a gaping hole in a budget that
relies on overseas assistance for about 40 percent of its funds.
Bashir visited Malawi last year when President Bingu wa
Mutharika was in power, which sparked international criticism
that Malawi was not living up to its international court
membership obligations to honour an arrest warrant.
Banda, who became president last month, said she had asked
the African Union not to invite Bashir to the African heads of
state summit to be hosted by the impoverished southern African
nation in July.
“I have written them because of the economic implications
this may have on Malawi,” she told a news conference.
Continued…
