KAMPALA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Uganda is willing to offer asylum to former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir should he apply, a state minister for foreign affairs said here on Tuesday.
Henry Okello Oryem, Uganda's minister of state for international affairs, told the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs that the ousted leader is a guarantor to the South Sudan peace process.
"If Bashir applies for asylum here that is something the government of Uganda can consider because Bashir is a guarantor to our peace talks," said Oryem, while presenting the ministry's budget requirements for financial year 2019/20.
Bashir and Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni are the guarantors to the peace deal in the neighboring South Sudan.
"We wish and urge that Sudan should remain intact whatever happens, no one should have aspiration or desire for Sudan to break," Oryem said.
"This is what Uganda is urging, privately and publicly. We don't under estimate that what happens in Sudan has an effect on Uganda."
The minister said the authorities in Kampala are closely monitoring the on-going events in Khartoum, where street protests have continued after the military removed Bashir from power last week.
"We are watching Sudan very closely and we classify Sudan as our immediate neighbor. The transition is very volatile and as far as we are concerned we urge the government in Sudan to respect the will of the people," said Oryem.
The Sudanese army ousted and detained Bashir on April 11 in response to four months of nationwide protests against his three-decade rule.
