Ex- Sudan opposition MPs reject UN Darfur force, blame government
Feb 23, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The former Sudanese opposition MPs rejected international efforts to have U.N. peacekeeping troops take over from African Union troops in the country’s troubled Darfur, they also blamed the government for the current situation there.
MPs on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) said they will not endorse government policies on Darfur but also reject the presence of UN troops in Darfur.
Communist party MPs, who are member of the NDA, blamed the government for allowing the situation to come to such levels by not implementing the Resolutions of the Security Council. They called upon the government to implement those resolutions and start disarming the Janjaweed , convene the National Comprehensive Conference and implement fully the CPA with the SPLM and Cairo agreement with the NDA.
The NDA signed a reconciliation agreement with the Sudanese government last May in Cairo but it says that the ruling National Congress party does not honour its engagements. The NDA legislators said they support the bill of rejection but not in its totality as the root causes of the problem have to be resolved.
The daily Al-Watan in unconfirmed press report in Khartoum said that many SPLM MPs were not enthusiasts to vote the rejection bill.
The Sudan’s National Assembly in a statement adopted following a special session said that it “rejects all attempts to transfer the African Union forces’ mission in Darfur to forces from the United Nations.”
“The parliament members agreed unanimously on the necessity to safeguard Sudan’s sovereignty and its security and stability,” the statement said, reiterating Khartoum’s refusal to any kind of foreign interference in its internal affairs.
In an address to the special parliament session, Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol said that the AU forces had made contribution to easing tensions and controlling violence, as well as building up confidence of local residents and helping the displaced people to return to their homes.
(ST)