Sanctions on Sudan will hurt peace efforts -China

June 7, 2007 (BEIJING) — China hit back at critics of its policy on Sudan on Thursday, saying forcing U.N. troops on Khartoum would complicate efforts to resolve the Darfur crisis and calling attempts to link its policies there with the Olympics “ridiculous”.

Liu Guijin, China’s representative on African affairs, said pushing Sudan to accept a proposed hybrid force of U.N. and African Union peacekeepers would hinder efforts within Sudan to forge a resolution to the conflict in Darfur.

“If you are to address the issues of a sovereign state, than the solution will not work without the support of and collaboration from that government,” Liu told Reuters in an interview.

Should Sudan delay approval of the force, the United States and Britain want to push for sanctions, something China — a veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council — has opposed.

“The Sudanese government has indicated that it is ready to have discussions with the rebel leaders for the purpose of bringing them to join the DPA (Darfur Peace Agreement).”

“In this circumstance, to announce more sanctions will further complicate the situation,” Liu said.

China is a major investor in Sudan’s oil industry and sells weapons to its government, prompting calls for it to use its leverage to pressure Khartoum over Darfur, where some 220,000 have died and 2 million displaced in fighting between government-linked militias and rebel groups.

China’s role has also made it a target of critics who say it is abetting the bloodshed in Darfur and who have called for a boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games over the issue.

Liu said the two were unrelated.

“The 2008 Olympic Games is a sports event,” he said. “To link a sports event with the position of the Chinese government on the Darfur issue is ridiculous.”

(Reuters)