The International Criminal Court (ICC) accuses Bashir of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, where the United Nations estimates 300,000 have died in a humanitarian crisis sparked by a brutal counter- insurgency campaign. Bashir denies the charges.
He was escorted into Nairobi's Uhuru Park, where the ceremony was taking place, by Tourism Minister Najib Balala, a fellow Muslim from the coastal city of Mombasa.
Last month the African Union criticized the ICC's warrant for Bashir and called for its suspension. Kenya has ratified the Rome Statute which established the ICC in 2002 and requires states to cooperate with the court. The ICC has no police force and relies on member states to enforce its arrest warrants.
The ICC's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, is also investigating possible crimes against humanity committed during Kenya's post-election violence in 2008. He expects to issue arrest warrants before the end of this year.
Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula confirmed Bashir was invited alongside other regional leaders for Friday's festivities. "His visit has no impact at all on Kenya's future commitment to the ICC," Wetangula said ,without elaborating.
Bashir made his first trip to a full ICC member state last month when he visited neighboring Chad, which also did not arrest him.
Rights groups said Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki's hosting of Bashir raised questions about the country's commitment to cooperate with the ICC on the Kenyan investigations.
"Kenya will forever tarnish the celebration of its long-awaited constitution if it welcomes an international fugitive to the festivities,"said Elise Keppler, senior counsel in the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch.
The New York-based rights group urged Kenya to arrest Bashir and hand him over to ICC.
"Whether Kenya allows a suspected war criminal into Kenya is a test of the government's commitment to a new chapter in ensuring justice for atrocities," said Keppler.
Darfur rebels also called on Kenya to hand over Bashir to ICC. Abdelwahid Nur, who heads a key faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army, said he wanted Bashir arrested and handed over to the International Criminal Court before he had a chance to return to Sudan.
Jibril Ibrahim, a senior official of the Justice and Equality Movement - the most heavily armed of the Darfur rebel groups - told AFP that Kenya's decision to host Bashir was "unacceptable."
"If the African Union switches from defending people to defending leaders, then genocide will continue in Africa," he said.
source: arabnews
