Sudan ready to consider Paris conference results
Sudan ready to consider Paris conference results
BBC Monitoring Service – United Kingdom
Published: Jun 18, 2007
Text of report by Sudanese TV on 17 June
[Presenter] Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu-al-Ghayt has said the focus of the international community should be on promoting peace in Darfur and ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid to the province. He reiterated at a meeting with Sudan’s Minister of State at the Foreign Ministry Ali Karti in Cairo, Egypt’s welcome of the Addis Ababa agreement. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Musa stressed the league’s concern about conditions in Sudan and efforts for peace.
[Reporter Mahmud Husayn] Karti stressed the need for the Arab League to exert more efforts to focus attention on the political track. Karti said the Sudanese government always believed in the need for synchronization between the political track and acceptance of the hybrid force, warning against the consequences of violating this condition.
[Karti] Our demand still stands that the international community should devote more attention to the political issue, because what is going on now in Darfur is a political dispute. If we do not reach a settlement to this political dispute, there will always be a constant need for troops and for security, and for more troops and more security, because any troops without political agreements can only mean more fires.
[Reporter] For his part, Musa said it was high time for the international community to launch a movement in the political domain. He pointed out to the existing cooperation between the Arab League and the African Union in this connection.
[Amr Musa] The composition of the forces and other issues including the political track were discussed. It is high time now for political movement on the Abuja Agreement.
[Reporter] Karti considered that the Paris meeting was arranged hastily. He said that the Sudanese government would announce its opinion on it in the light of the results it will produce.
[Karti] In our assessment, the Paris Conference is a summation, no more. But there are countries that wanted to meet, at France’s invitation. The issues that will be raised in it will not be more than what is happening at present [other political efforts]. But it was our assessment that such a conference could have been organized in a better way, with more time taken on it. In any event we shall wait. If what is proposed at the conference will be emphasis on political action, on the political track, we welcome this. But this undertaking cannot be completed away from the Sudan government. Our assessment is that ultimately, if there is a result for this conference, it will be presented to the government and it will give its word on it.
[Reporter] Sudan has honoured its commitments with its acceptance of the third UN support package, and it now becomes imperative for the international community to convince the Abuja holdouts to join the peace process and work out a settlement in Darfur. Mahmud Husayn, Cairo.
Source: Sudan TV, Omdurman, in Arabic 1900 gmt 17 Jun 07
BBC Monitoring