The Chinese government has played a "constructive role" in the
Darfur issue, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday,
stressing that "slow but credible and considerable progress" has
been made in recent times.
Addressing a press conference after a meeting on Darfur in
Paris, Ban said he was "satisfied" with China's contribution to the
diplomatic process.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the delegations of
18 countries and international organizations reiterated their
support for the joint efforts of the African Union (AU) and the
United Nations (UN) - sending a composite peacekeeping force and
striking a wider political deal between Khartoum and the rebel
factions in western Sudan.
Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui, who attended the meeting,
backed the "road map" for the political process in Darfur, which
was presented recently by the UN secretary-general's special
representative Jan Eliasson and the AU special coordinator for
Darfur Salim Ahmed Salim.
Zhang appealed to all sides to urge the Darfur rebels into
rejoining the peace process as soon as possible.
The implementation of the "road map" is at a "crucial" stage,
and pressure and sanctions on Khartoum would send the "wrong
signals" that could be "unfavorable" to confidence building between
the Sudanese government and the rebels. This can complicate matters
instead of resolving the Darfur issue, he said.
Earlier this month, Sudan agreed to the joint UN-AU force of
more than 20,000 troops and policemen as part of the second phase
of former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan's peace plan.
Zhang said the agreement reached among the AU, UN and Sudan is
an "important sign of progress" toward restoring peace in the
Darfur regions. It demonstrates the efficiency of the coordination
mechanism between the three parties.
But Zhang regretted that the political process on Darfur is
behind schedule compared to the peacekeeping operations.
China has donated more than US$10 million in humanitarian aid
for Darfur. Also, it will send a team of engineers to the
regions.
China is always ready to play a "positive and constructive" role
on Darfur and join hands with the international community to
restore peace and stability in the Darfur regions and help with
their development, he said.
"This is not the time to talk about further sanctions," said Liu
Guijin, China's recently appointed special envoy for Darfur.
He decried the attempts to link the Darfur issue with the 2008
Beijing Olympic Games, saying they were "really unfounded (because)
the basic character of the Olympics is non-political".
"I met with Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir in Khartoum, and
he told me that the Sudanese government was actually ready to join
the negotiating table any time, anywhere," Liu told reporters on
Monday.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy praised Sudan for agreeing to
the joint UN-AU force but said: "We must be firm toward
belligerents who refuse to join the negotiating table."
"There are 19 rebel groups in Sudan now, and we must exert
enough pressure on them to return to the negotiating table," French
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said.
(China Daily June 27, 2007)
