Arab League calls for calm study of UN decision on Sudan
Mar 26, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — Secretary General of the Arab League (AL) Amr Musa on Sunday called for a calm study of a recent UN Security Council resolution on speeding up steps to replace African peacekeeping troops in Sudan’s western Darfur region.
Speaking to a press conference on the sidelines of an Arab foreign ministers meeting currently held in Khartoum in preparation for an upcoming Arab summit, Musa said, “The resolution needs a calm study on how to cope with Darfur issue.”
The AL chief asked the parties concerned to consider how the resolution would encourage the peace talks between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebel movements, whether it would help to achieve a success of the negotiations and to what extent it would maintain Sudan’s sovereignty.
The UN resolution would help the Arab countries to push forwardthe Darfur peace talks, which are held in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, said Musa.
The resolution, which was adopted unanimously by the 15-Nation Council on Friday, would give Secretary General Kofi Annan until April 24 to prepare a range of options for a United Nations operation in Darfur.
The UN resolution has called for faster preparations for the African Union to hand over its peacekeeping mission in Sudan’s western Darfur region to the UN.
However, the resolution has drawn strong criticism of Sudanese officials, who said that it sent negative signals to the Darfur rebel movements.
On Saturday, Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol told reporters that the UN resolution indicated a wrong reading of the international organization for a recent decision taken by the African Union Peace and Security Council to extend the African forces’ mandate until Sept. 30.
In addition, Ghazi Salaheddin, Advisor of the Sudanese president, also stressed that the UN resolution “will complicate political settlement of the Darfur crisis and worsen humanitarian and security situations in the region.”
(Xinhua/ST)