Sudan to accept peacekeepers for Darfur – envoy
March 27, 2007 (WASHINGTON) — Sudan’s ambassador John Lueth Ukee said Tuesday that only minor issues stand in the way of his government’s acceptance of a 22,000-member U.N. peacekeeping force to be deployed in the violence-plagued Darfur region.
“We have not backed down from what we said,” Ukee said, alluding to commitments the Khartoum government made in support of the deployment at two U.N. backed conference last November.
He said his optimism about Sudan’s acceptance of U.N. forces was based on discussions in recent days with top officials in Khartoum.
“The ministers said there are certain things we have to agree on that should be resolved in next few days,” he said, speaking at a forum sponsored by the Institute on Religion and Public Policy.
Bahsir’s letter to Ban caused consternation in the Bush administration, which has made the U.N. deployment a centerpiece of U.S. policy toward Darfur. The letter prompted the administration to consider additional economic sanctions against Sudan.
Hundreds of thousands of Darfurians have died during four years of civil strife and more than 2.5 million people are living in rundown camps for the displaced. The Bush administration has blamed the government and government-backed militia for most of the suffering.
Large scale deployment of peacekeepers, under the U.N. plan, would follow initial preparatory phases. Ukee said his government has not stood in the way of implementing these stages. But, he said, U.N. inefficiency has blocked forward movement.
“They have done nothing,” he said, adding that there are no limits on the number of peacekeepers government would allow.
U.S. and U.N. officials have said that a major problem, beyond resistance from the Khartoum government, has been a shortage of peacekeepers available for duty in Darfur.
Ukee blamed anti-government rebels in Darfur for the absence of a permanent peace after four years of strife.
He said that instead of rallying in support of a single leader to negotiate peace, the rebels have fragmented into a multiplicity of groups.
“Every other night a new one forms,” he said. “A solution cannot come about under such circumstances.”
(AP)