Sudan protests against UN leakage of officials list

Mar 1, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan handed over to the UN Security Council on Wednesday a protest against leakage of internal documents relating to situation of its western Darfur region, the state-run Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reported.

The documents, prepared by a UN investigation panel on Darfurwas leaked to some western media last week, have enraged the Sudanese government because the documents involved 17 Sudanese,including high-ranking officials, who were accused by the UN panel of impeding the peace process in Darfur.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol has sent the protest message to the chairman of the UN Security Council and asked for an explanation for the incident.

The UN panel has accused 17 Sudanese of impeding the peace process in Darfur and proposed sanctions being imposed on them, including travel ban, freeze of oversea accounts and other assets.

Sudan’s interior minister, defense minister and the director of its national intelligence service are named in the list, which should be inked by the Security Council before any steps being taken against them.

In the protest message, Akol held the Security Council are responsible for the documents leakage, saying this was “totally unacceptable because it took place even before the documents were reviewed by the council”.

“This incident has impacted the credibility of the Security Council and the cooperation of the Sudanese with the council on sensitive issues in the future,” Akol said.

(ST/Xinhua)