Sanctions against Sudan won’t bring peace in Darfur – China
May 22, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — A Chinese envoy warned that threats of sanctions against the Sudanese government will not bring peace to Darfur as he toured the war-wracked western region Tuesday, official media reported.
Liu Guijin, the Chinese foreign ministry’s Africa director, said the language of threats would only prolong the suffering of the 2.5 million people who have been displaced by the four-year-old conflict, the official SUNA news agency said.
Liu pledged that Beijing, Khartoum’s major trade partner, would continue to play a constructive and positive role in seeking a settlement to the conflict, as he visited the region’s main city of El Fasher and nearby displaced persons’ camps, SUNA said.
The Chinese envoy announced in the capital of South Darfur, Nyala, that China would construct 120 schools in Darfur in order to enhance the educational process in the region.
China has drawn mounting Western criticism in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics over its failure to do more to rein in its ally, which stands accused of serious abuses in its suppression of the ethnic minority uprising in Darfur.
At least 200,000 people have died since the rebellion erupted in February 2003, drawing a scorched earth response from the military and allied militias, according to UN estimates.
(AFP/ST)