China defends alliances with African repressive regimes

Nov 2, 2006 (BEIJING) — China has defended its alliances with African states accused of gross human rights abuses, as the leaders of over 40 nations from the continent gathered in Beijing for a high-profile summit.

“The cooperation between China and Africa is for the well being of the peoples of both sides,” foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said at a regular briefing.

“Our principle when handling our relations with other countries is to never try to impose our social system, development mode, values and ideology upon other countries.”

Liu was responding to a statement by the New York-based Human Rights Watch, which urged Beijing to use its rising global political clout to press for human rights improvements in African nations, most notably Sudan and Zimbabwe.

“China’s policies have not only propped up some of the continent’s worst human rights abusers, but also weakened the leverage of others trying to promote greater respect for human rights,” the statement said.

The group called on China to suspend aid to Sudan that could be used in Khartoums brutal campaign against the people of Darfur, and to press Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir to permit the presence of a UN peacekeeping force.

Darfur is a region the size of France where at least 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million been left homeless since a rebellion against the Khartoum government broke out in early 2003.

The fighting pits the regime in Khartoum and allied Arab militia against Darfur’s mostly black African population, which is seeking autonomy for the region.

Human Rights Watch urged China, which receives vital oil supplies from Sudan, not to “stay silent while mass killings go on in Darfur.”

Liu said Beijing supported sending UN peacekeepers into Darfur, but maintained that such a deployment should only come with the consent of the Sudan government.

Beshir has consistently refused to allow UN peacekeepers into Darfur.

Human Rights Watch also called on Beijing to stop selling technology to Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe that could be used as tools of oppression.

Beshir arrived in Beijing on Wednesday ahead of the two-day China-African summit starting Saturday, while Mugabe is due to land on Friday.

China has hailed its summit with the African nations as the biggest international diplomatic event to have been staged in the country since the Communists came to power in 1949.

(AFP)