Sudan has not shut door on UN troops – South Africa
June 22, 2006 (JOHANNESBURG) — Sudan has not shut the door on deploying U.N. troops in Darfur, but Khartoum must be consulted to allay its suspicion of the plan, South Africa said on Thursday.
Sudan President Omar Hassan al-Bashir told visiting South African President Thabo Mbeki on Tuesday it was out of the question for U.N. troops to be deployed in the Darfur region of western Sudan to replace an African Union (AU) force there. Bashir spoke of a “colonial” agenda by the global body.
Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, South Africa’s foreign minister, told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in Johannesburg that Sudan’s main complaint was that the U.N. had consulted virtually everyone on the Darfur situation but ignored Khartoum.
“Khartoum’s concern was that the U.N. had never discussed the deployment with Sudan as a country. The U.N. talked to the AU, to us, and to everyone else but not to the Sudanese and they felt that was not right,” Dlamini Zuma said.
“That was the cause of the suspicion by the Sudanese of what the U.N.’s motives might be. They are not against the U.N. but they need to be convinced that the deployment is necessary.”
Sudan has likened the deployment of U.N. troops in Darfur to a Western invasion that would attract jihadi militants and cause an Iraq-style quagmire.
But analysts say Khartoum objected because it feared the soldiers would arrest any officials or militia leaders likely to be indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.
“Khartoum prefers that the U.N. finance the current mission by the AU whose mandate can be changed into a U.N. mandate, and there are provisions for that,” Dlamini Zuma added.
South Africa was keen that Bashir’s government and opponents in Darfur implement an agreement reached in Nigeria so Sudan could focus on rehabilitation and economic growth, she said.
“The agreement in Abuja says nothing about making the population suffer. All parties have to act to end hostilities so people can live at peace again,” Dlamini Zuma said.
The United States and the United Nations have been pressing for the U.N. force, arguing that the existing AU force of 7,000 does not have the resources to end three years of conflict in Darfur, where more than 2 million have fled their homes.
Mbeki said on Tuesday South Africa wanted to see the U.N. assist in a way agreed by the government and the African Union.
Bashir told Sudanese members of parliament on Monday that he would not let U.N. troops deploy as long as he was in power.
Dlamini Zuma said she was not suggesting that Bashir had backed down from his stance, but said a major step had been taken with his agreeing to talk to the United Nations.
“As we speak talks are going on and the subject is U.N. deployment. That’s an important step,” Dlamini Zuma said.
(Reuters)