Annan says Darfur is priority before leaving UN
Dec 3, 2006 (UNITED NATIONS) — U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he would make the killings in Sudan’s Darfur region his priority until the day he leaves office on Dec. 31, according to an interview to be aired on Monday.
“It’s very tragic and painful, not only (to me) as secretary-general but as a human being and as an African,” Annan said.
“I’m going to work on it — Darfur and one or two other issues which I’m working on — up until the last day,” he told BBC television and radio, which released a transcript.
Annan said the Security Council’s August resolution authorizing some 20,000 troops and police made intervention dependent on Sudan’s agreement, which has not been forthcoming.
“Sudan has made it quite clear to the whole world that it will not accept U.N. peacekeepers,” Annan said. “If the Sudanese do not give their consent, no government, not yours or mine, is going to give troops for a peacekeeping operation in Darfur.”
Sudan wrote Annan a letter last week, accepting U.N. support to an African Union force of 7,000, which has not been able to stop violence that has killed some 200,000 people. Another 2 million have been driven out of their homes since early 2003.
But Sudan wants a voice in deciding how many troops can be on the ground, which is difficult to sell to U.N. Security Council members who have to pay for the operations. Sudan has accused the West of exaggerating the violence in Darfur while its Arab allies have in general backed Khartoum’s position.
“I have gone out and indicated to the Sudanese that if they cannot protect their people, and they are refusing to let the international community come in and assist, they will be held individually and collectively responsible for what is happening and what happens,” Annan said.
The conflict broke out in 2003 when non-Arabs took up arms to fight for a greater share in power and resources. The government then backed Arab militia known as janjaweed, who have pillaged, raped and killed. Since then, anti-government rebels have unleashed violence, which has spilled across the border to neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic.
(Reuters)