Sudan president scoffs at Darfur sanctions
June 19, 2007 (GIAD INDUSTRIAL CITY) — Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir said on Tuesday he was not concerned by the prospect of more US sanctions, saying existing ones had helped his country to stand on its own two feet.
He was speaking a day after the top US diplomat for Africa said the threat of more sanctions against Sudan would only be lifted when Khartoum makes good on its pledge to allow United Nations peacekeepers into the war-torn western region of Darfur.
Previous promises from Beshir had come to nothing and only actions, not words, would suffice, said Assistant Secretary of State Jendai Frazer after a UN Security Council delegation said it had secured agreement from Sudan’s government for a strengthened peacekeeping force to be deployed in Darfur.
“The US threat of sanctions is not based on promises from President Beshir but on action,” she told reporters in Pretoria. “Until there is action in respect of Darfur, further sanctions remain an option.
In his speech, Beshir said that “sanctions and attempts at embargo have only been positive for Sudan.”
Referring to the withdrawal of foreign oil companies from the country 20 years ago during the war with rebels in the south, he said: “That allowed us to turn to the East (Asia), and the East has never let us down.”
He also referred to armaments, saying the refusal of Western countries to supply the Sudanese armed forces had allowed his country to develop its own industry.
“The Yarmuk complex satisfies all our conventional arms needs, and we produce our own munitions, from the simple bullet to rockets.”
The president said the next challenge for Sudan will be to develop integrated industries and an agricultural sector that is competitive in world markets.
(AFP)