Leader of British Conservative party to visit Darfur

Nov 19, 2006 (KHARTOUM) – Leader of the British Conservative Party and head of the British opposition David Cameron is to arrive in Khartoum Monday morning on a short visit to the country.

Cameron is expected to meet the Sudanese Foreign Minister, Lam Akol on Monday. In the same day he will fly to Al-Fashir, capital of north Darfur state in Western Sudan.

The British opposition leader is to conclude his visit on Tuesday and fly directly to London from Al-Fashir.

The Conservative Party showed concern over the Humanitarian aid and the protection of Darfur civilians.

Last September, the Shadow International Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell, urged British Prime Minister Tony Blair to intervene to avert imminent genocide in the stricken Sudanese region of Darfur.

Mitchell said: “Genocide looks imminent in Darfur. The International Community needs to face up to its responsibilities and ensure an effective force is in place in Darfur. Tony Blair and world leaders should turn up the pressure on Khartoum.”

Describing events in The Sudan as “sinister”, Mitchell warned that the plight of displaced refugees living in camps in Darfur was now “truly terrifying”.

Mitchell insisted: “The International Community needs to face up to its responsibilities and ensure an effective force is in place in Darfur. Tony Blair and world leaders should turn up the pressure on Khartoum. The Sudanese Government has accepted a UN force in the South; there is no good reason of principle why it should not do so in Darfur. The International Community is itself on trial. The much-vaunted responsibility to protect so enthusiastically embraced last year by world leaders in New York is looking more and more like a piece of meaningless mumbo-jumbo.”

(ST)