Sudan AU Govt Request for Postponing PSC Meeting

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— The African Union (AU) on Monday rejected a request made by the Sudanese government to delay the meeting for the Peace and Security Council (PSC) that was to take place tomorrow in the Libyan capital.
Earlier today, Sudanese foreign ministry spokesperson Muawiya Khalid was quoted by state media as saying that the government asked the AU for a postponement to a later date.

Khalid said that the Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti is expected to depart Libya and fly to Kuwait for an official visit to discuss bilateral relations and preparations for the East Sudan donors' conference.
"The meeting will take place as scheduled" on Tuesday in Tripoli, the AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramadan Lamamra told Agence France Presse (AFP).
"The positions of the Sudanese parties are not on the agenda," he added.
Lamamra said former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who chairs an AU panel on Sudan, would present a report on the situation and that the meeting would also discuss events in the Ivory Coast and Guinea as well as other troublespots on the continent.

Karti announced on Sunday that his government decided to withdraw from the Africa-EU summit in Libya and even walked out of the closed-door meeting of African ministers who were trying to forge a common position ahead of the meeting which started on Monday.
The Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir was supposed to jet in to attend the summit for which he was invited but the Libyan government made it clear that they are not willing to risk ruining the gathering after the EU members threatened to walk out if he shows up.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) indicted Bashir in March 2009 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and in July 2010 on charges of genocide, all linked to alleged atrocities in Darfur.
The Sudanese top diplomat said Bashir's no-show at the summit was "to avoid embarrassment to Libya" and that the decision was taken "under pressure from Europe."
On Sunday the Sudanese presidency issued a statement accusing European countries of "hypocrisy" for urging Bashir to implement Sudan's 2005 north-south peace accord while at the same time trying to "undermine" his legitimacy.
Europe's stand was "an attack on the African Union and Sudan while also undermining the idea of real dialogue and cooperation between Africa and Europe,"