UK Blair calls on EU to help stop Darfur violence
Sept 17, 2006 (LONDON) — Prime Minister Tony Blair has written to other European Union leaders, urging the bloc to press for an end to violence in Darfur, Blair’s office said Sunday.
Blair said Sudan should face international isolation if the Khartoum government did not comply with the will of the international community.
“The EU should play a central role in mobilizing world opinion on this issue,” he wrote in the letter to his counterparts in the 25-nation alliance.
“We should strongly call upon the government of Sudan and non-signatories alike to stop immediately the violence in northern Darfur.
“Both sides must abide by the commitments they made under previous cease-fire agreements.”
Sunday has been declared an international Day for Darfur by Amnesty International and other rights groups, who want United Nations peacekeepers to be sent to Sudan. The Sudanese government has so far resisted the deployment of a multinational force authorized by the U.N. Security Council. The mandate of a poorly funded African Union peacekeeping force expires at the end of the month.
In his letter, Blair said the EU should “urge the government of Sudan to rise to the challenge above, make the right decisions to protect the people of Darfur, and put Sudan back in its rightful place at the heart of the family of nations.”
“If it responds we should commit to provide substantial support for reconstruction and peace through debt relief and aid.
“But this window should not remain open forever. And if it fails to move we should agree further measures to isolate and pressure it.”
In London, religious leaders were holding an interfaith vigil Sunday outside the prime minister’s residence at 10 Downing St. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Muslim leader Skeikh Ibrahim Mogra and Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks have all written special prayers for the occasion.
More than 200,000 people have been killed in Darfur and more than 2 million have fled their homes since 2003 when ethnic African tribes revolted against the Arab-led government. The government is accused of unleashing brutal Arab militiamen known as Janjaweed in the remote western province.
(AP/ST)