Berlin opposes aid to Sudan

BERLIN, July 2 (AFP) — The G8 should deny Sudan debt relief and international financial assistance to force its government to improve a “catastrophic human rights situation”, Germany’s junior foreign minister Kerstin Mueller said Saturday.

“Members of the G8 should send a clear political message to Sudan next week that it must stop the violence in Darfur and find a political solution to the situation”, she said.

Aid to Africa is expected to be a key point of discussion for the leaders of the world’s seven richest countries plus Russia (G8), who will meet for a two-day summit on Wednesday in Gleneagles, Scotland.

The UN has estimated that approximately 3.5 million people will require food aid this year in Sudan.

Mueller said that Germany was ready to raise humanitarian aid to the country if the government made moves toward democracy and promoted rule of law.

She also said that the Sudanese government must cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague over alleged war crimes committed in the country’s Darfur region.

In 2004, Berlin provided 34 million euros of humanitarian aid to Sudan.