INTERVIEW-Sudan hopeful of more time from UN – diplomat

By Madeline Chambers

LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) – Sudan is hoping for more time from the United Nations to rein in marauding militiamen in Darfur and more money from the West to help do it, the Sudanese envoy to Britain said on Wednesday.

Ambassador Hasan Abdin also told Reuters that sanctions could sabotage efforts to restore stability to the entire country and not just the vast western desert region, where more than a million people have fled their homes.

“We are hopeful there will be an appreciation (by the U.N.) of what has been done and that Sudan will be given breathing space to complete and deliver on the programme,” Abdin said.

The U.N. Security Council on July 30 gave Sudan until the end of August to prove that it has made progress towards disarming the militias – Arab fighters known as Janjaweed – or face unspecified sanctions.

“It has always been clear that on the question of the disarming of the militas, a month is too short … the area is huge and the militias are outlaws, always on the run and this is why we say we need more logistical support,” Abdin said.

Asked whether he expected Sudan would get more time, he replied: “I’m optimistic, yes.”

Sudan denies charges from rights groups that its own forces are in league with the Janjaweed, who have burned and looted non-Arab villages in Darfur since two rebel groups there took up arms last year.

A spokeswoman for the U.N. special envoy to Sudan Jan Pronk voiced fresh concern on Wednesday that the Khartoum government was still not moving fast enough to restore security under plans agreed with the world body.

Abdin said part of the problem was insufficient aid.

“What is lacking now is the international community delivering on its promises to give more aid,” he said. “We want to see more aid, especially in logistics, to help the government do what it has said it will do.”

Pronk’s spokeswoman said the next 10 days would be critical in determining whether Sudan was meeting its obligations under the U.N. deadline.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is expected to visit Khartoum and Darfur early next week, with senior U.N. officials due in Sudan on Aug. 26.

Britain has given 62.5 million pounds ($114.4 million) since September 2003, making it the second largest donor to Darfur after the United States.

But Abdin said trucks and communication equipment were still needed in the region, in the midst of the rainy season.

He said U.N. sanctions would be disastrous and could even jeopardise the fragile peace in southern Sudan, where the government and rebels have made strides over the past two years towards ending decades of conflict.

“The agreement in the South is a recipe for solving the economic and political problems of Sudan at large and this should not be sabotaged by sanctions,” Abdin said.