US Bush warns Sudan to respect human rights in Darfur

April 28, 2006 (WASHINGTON) — US President George W. Bush called on the government of Sudan to act in “full compliance” with international calls for peace in the troubled Darfur region of Sudan.

“The message to the Sudanese government is: We’re very serious about getting this problem solved. We don’t like it when we see women raped and brutalized,” the president said at a White House press conference.

“We expect there to be a full effort by the government to protect human life and human conditions,” the president said.

He made his remarks ahead of a meeting with activists lobbying on behalf of victims of the violence in Darfur.

Bush said, “We expect there to be full compliance with the international desire for there to be peace in the Darfur region,” noting that the issue has been brought to the UN Security Council.

The US president made his remarks ahead of demonstrations to be held Sunday in Washington, San Francisco and several other US cities over the brutal treatment of civilians in western Sudan, where some 300,000 people have died in an ongoing civil war.

Bush called on Khartoum to rein in the government-backed Janjaweed militias alleged to have carried out much of the bloodletting.

“We expect the Sudanese government to be good-faith bargainers, we expect the rebels to be good-faith bargainers, but we also expect people — particularly the Sudanese government — to make a more concerted effort to control the Janjaweed and protect human life,” Bush said.

(ST)