Sudan blames US for African Union chairmanship loss

Jan 24, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan blamed the U.S. for its loss of the chairmanship of the African Union Tuesday, saying Washington brought pressure on poorer countries dependent on its aid and sent a high-ranking official to help foil its bid to lead the organization.

Interior Minister Zubair Bashir Taha told the official Sudan News Agency that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer “came with specific plans and on the margin of the summit she conducted consultation …”

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir lost a bid to head the A.U. after some African countries, donor nations and human rights groups said his election would harm Africa’s image because his troops have been accused of committing grave abuses in an effort to stamp out a rebellion in the western Darfur region.

African officials negotiated a compromise under which the presidency went to the Republic of Congo and Sudan will assume the chairmanship in 2007.

Frazer could not be reached for comment after the summit ended late Tuesday night. But State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington: “We believe that the decision that the A.U. leadership arrived at is positive.”

The U.S. administration had opposed the Sudanese candidacy because the A.U. has a mission in the country with a mandate in part to protect people in Darfur and stabilize the region.

Taha said Sudan “denounced the continued plotting that is being woven against the Sudan so as to impede it from bringing to light its huge potentials.”

The U.S. accuses Sudan’s government of backing militia fighters who have committed acts of genocide in Darfur, where 180,000 people have been killed in three years. Washington has kept the East African nation on a list of countries accused of sponsoring state terrorism.

Sudan’s justice minister, Mohamed Ali al Mardhi, also criticized Washington Tuesday, saying “Americans and the Europeans” put pressure on African countries with weaker economies.

(ST/AP)