China tries to prevent weapons in Darfur
July 5, 2007 (BEIJING) — China’s special envoy to Sudan pledged Thursday that Beijing will try to prevent the weapons it sells to Sudan from being used in violence-wracked Darfur.
Liu outlined no specific measures to prevent this from happening, but said he had discussed where Chinese arms would go and how they would be used with Sudan’s government.
“I can assure you that China has applied strict criteria in exporting weapons to Sudan,” he said.
Beijing says its “limited” sales do not breach the U.N. embargo on weapons entering Darfur, but human rights activists say there is nothing to prevent the Sudanese army from taking the gear into the region.
Fighting has killed more than 200,000 people and driven 2.5 million people from their homes in Darfur since 2003, when ethnic African rebels took up arms against Sudan’s Arab-dominated government.
Human rights group Amnesty International said in May that the “the bulk” of the arms in Sudan were transferred from China and Russia, with Sudan importing $83 million in arms from Beijing and nearly $35 million in military equipment from Moscow in 2005, the latest available figures.
Amnesty did not provide specific up-to-date figures.
The rights group alleged the equipment was used by the Sudanese armed forces and militia for direct attacks on civilians and indiscriminate attacks in Darfur.
The group included photos in its May report of Russian and Chinese aircraft allegedly in Darfur. One photo, allegedly from March, showed three Chinese “Fantan” fighter jets on the tarmac of an airport in Nyala, the capital of the southern Darfur region. The report said the aircraft were “specifically designed to be used for ground attack operations.”
Russia and China both denied the accusations.
Liu said China was “only one of the countries that has sold weapons to Sudan and it is not a major exporter in this regard.” However, he said he was unable to give specific export figures or details about what kinds of weapons are sold.
(AP)