The agreement among Sudan, the African Union (AU) and the UN to
allow 3,000 of the world body's troops and equipment in Darfur is a
positive move towards peace in the region, Foreign Ministry
spokesperson Liu Jianchao said yesterday.
"It's time to undertake constructive measures to implement the
agreement, instead of talking about new sanctions," Liu said at a
regular press meet.
Sudan agreed on Monday to the UN support plan's second phase,
which calls for the deployment of 3,000 UN troops and six attack
helicopters in Darfur to support the 7,800-strong African force.
Also, they will help prepare for the next phase of the plan during
which a much larger UN force would be sent to the region.
The step was welcomed by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,
who declared his willingness "to move expeditiously, in close
cooperation with the AU, with the deployment."
On Wednesday, however, US President George W. Bush and British
Prime Minister Tony Blair threatened Sudan with stiffer sanctions
if it didn't take quick and concrete steps to contain violence in
Darfur. Blair said talks would start on Thursday (local time) in
New York on a new UN resolution.
But many UN Security Council members oppose fresh sanctions on
Sudan in the near future. Senior envoys from Russia, China and
South Africa told reporters that they did not believe the time was
right after Sudan had agreed this week to let in extra
peacekeepers.
"It is better not to move in that direction (imposing
sanctions)," China's deputy UN ambassador Liu Zhenmin said on
Wednesday. "I think in a few weeks, or a few months, the political
process will produce some results."
"That's why China believes... (while) all these actions are
being taken, the Security Council should avoid imposing any
sanction."
Russia's stance
Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, too, said "it is not the
right time" to consider new sanctions.
"It would be very strange," he said. "After a long while, we
have this positive development in the dialogue between the UN and
Khartoum, and to come back with some sanctions all of a sudden
would not be good."
Bush said on Wednesday that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir
must allow more UN support forces, facilitate deployment of a full
UN-AU peacekeeping force, stop supporting violent militias and let
humanitarian aid reach the people in Darfur.
"If President Al-Bashir does not meet his obligations, the
United States of America will act," Bush said.
In Sudan, President Al-Bashir accused the US administration of
being the major cause of these problems.
"All the rebel movements in other countries are described as
terrorist organizations, but any group in Sudan that raises arms
against the government is described as deprived and marginalized,"
the official Sudanese SUNA news agency cited Al-Bashir as
saying.
Al-Bashir made the remarks at a mass rally in his hometown of
Hosh Banaga in northern Sudan in the presence of a US media
delegation.
Also on Wednesday, a confidential UN panel report said the
Sudanese government and the rebels both were shipping weapons and
ammunition into conflict-ridden Darfur, a charge Khartoum has
denied.
The UN has not released the report so far, but the New York
Times posted it on the Internet on Wednesday, saying it had
received it from the diplomat of a country that wanted it
publicized.
The report was sent to the Security Council committee monitoring
sanctions against Sudan, which includes all the 15 council members.
The members have been asked to decide whether or not the report
should be made public.
(China Daily April 20, 2007)
