Danish FM says Plan B for Darfur needed

March 1, 2007 (COPENHAGEN) — Danish Parliament considered sanctions and a no-fly zone to put pressure on the Sudanese government, according to reports from Copenhagen on Thursday.

“Sudan’s growing humanitarian crisis in Darfur requires a watchful eye,” Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller stated during a parliamentary hearing held on Wednesday.

Citing the recent International Court of Justice case about whether Serbia failed to prevent genocide, Moeller noted that Sudan’s government had failed to protect those living in the western Darfur region. An estimated 300,000 people have died during the four-year conflict.

Moeller suggested that sanctions and military action could be tools used to put pressure on Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir.

“It should be made clear to the Sudanese government that the international community will react with a Plan B,” Per Stig Moeller said.

The foreign minister repeated a pledge that Denmark would be willing to deploy a peace-keeping force in Darfur “if called upon” or send aircraft to enforce a no-fly zone above the region.

(Xinhua)