US House urges China to press Sudan over Darfur
June 5, 2007 (WASHINGTON) — The U.S. House of Representatives urged China on Tuesday to use its influence and economic leverage to stop what President George W. Bush has called the genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region.
The lawmakers charged that China, which buys much of Sudan’s oil, has stood in the way of halting bloodshed in the western Sudanese region, but stopped short of joining calls to boycott the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing made by some politicians, activists and celebrities.
“China should act consistently with the Olympic standard of preserving human dignity in Darfur, Sudan and around the world,” said the resolution passed by the House on a vote of 410-0.
The resolution urged China to stop selling Sudan arms and suspend economic cooperation with Sudan until Sudan “stops its attacks on civilians” in Darfur and engages in negotiations with Darfur rebels to achieve a peace deal.
The House resolution is nonbinding, but expresses the sentiments of American lawmakers angry that China has continued its economic dealings with Sudan and defended it against international efforts to impose sanctions over years of strife in Darfur.
“There is no way to sugarcoat this. China is the principal trading partner of a genocidal regime that has thumbed its nose at the international community,” Rep. Barbara Lee, a California Democrat and sponsor of the resolution, said during the debate.
House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said: “This resolution is a wake-up call to the Chinese government: The United States Congress is monitoring China’s collaboration with Sudan’s repressive regime. And we will not stand idly by.”
The United States imposed new unilateral sanctions on Sudan last week and sought support for an international arms embargo out of frustration at Sudan’s refusal to end the strife in Darfur.
China, which has veto power on the U.N. Security Council, has urged the international community to show patience with Sudan, saying the sanctions will hurt efforts for peace in the western Sudanese region.
Beijing also opposes sending U.N. peacekeepers to Darfur — where the United Nations estimates that fighting by government-linked militias and rebel groups has killed 200,000 people and forced 2 million more to flee their homes — without Khartoum’s consent.
Earlier this week, longshot presidential candidate Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said the United States should think about boycotting the summer 2008 Olympics in China if Beijing does not do more to help stop the bloodshed in Darfur.
(Reuters)