Sudan slams ‘unjustifiable’ US sanctions plan

Feb 8, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Khartoum slammed as “unjustifiable” a US sanctions plan threatened if the Sudanese government does not allow UN forces into the war-torn Darfur region.

“It is an unjustifiable development… which confirms the persistence of the United States in their policy of confrontation” with Sudan, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali Sadeq.

“Dialogue is the best means to solve the problem of Darfur,” he was quoted by the official SUNA news agency as saying.

“The United States and the international community have the responsibility to convince the armed groups to sit at the negotiating table instead of just continuing to ignore their destructive actions,” Sadeq said, referring to rebels still fighting in the western Sudanese region.

The sanctions package of US President George W. Bush is part of a three-tiered “Plan B” of coercive steps that Washington has repeatedly threatened to launch if Khartoum does not halt a campaign of repression believed to have left 200,000 dead and 2.5 million homeless since 2003.

Under the plan, first reported by The Washington Post newspaper Wednesday, the US Treasury would block US commercial bank transactions connected to the Sudan government, including those involving oil revenues — a delicate diplomatic issue given that China buys some 75 percent of Khartoum’s oil exports, the official said.

The aim would be to discourage foreign governments and companies from doing business with Sudan, which has a largely dollar-based economy.

The package would also put pressure on Darfur rebel leaders who have refused to participate in peace talks with the government.

(AFP)