Rangoon (Mizzima) – President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan has sent a congratulatory message to Burmese President Thein Sein on the occasion of his successful election, the Sudan News Agency has reported.
The Sudanese president, who has been charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) with 10 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur, expressed his confidence that relations between the two nations will be strengthened for the interests of the Sudanese and Burmese people, the paper said.
Bashir remains head of state and has denied all charges.
The Sudanese president’s well wishes followed a similar letter from the North Korean government last week. Burma’s election of a new Parliament late last year and the installation of a new government this year was met by Western nations with widespread criticism for its lack of a free, fair election.
UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Burma, Tomás Ojea Quintana, first called for the creation of a commission of inquiry (COI) into human rights abuses and possible war crimes in Burma in a report to the UN in March 2010.
Since then, several international governments, including 12 European Union member states, have supported the launch of an inquiry in order to bring the perpetrators of human rights abuses in Burma to justice.
