Sudan’s FM says United States, Britain unfair in pressuring his government

PARIS, July 22, 2004 (AP) — Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail on Thursday accused the United States and Britain of putting unfair pressure on the African country to resolve the crisis in Darfur, and suggested the two Western nations were repeating diplomatic steps they took before invading Iraq last year.

“The increase in pressure from the United States and Great Britain is … the same as the increase in pressure that they put against Iraq,” Ismail said at a news conference in Paris.

Ismail also said a draft resolution being considered by the U.N. Security Council that would place sanctions on Sudan if it fails to act against Arab-backed militias would serve no purpose except to complicate matters.

“I don’t know how such a resolution can be effective. We don’t need any resolutions,” he said.

He said Sudan had arrested 100 members of the militia, known as Janjaweed, and were preparing to put them on trial. A day earlier, Jan Pronk, the U.N. special envoy to Sudan, said the Sudanese government has made “no progress whatsoever” to rein in the militia.

Ismail said Sudan needed time to settle the problem.

The United States has been pushing for a Security Council resolution to impose sanctions on the Sudanese government which has been accused of supporting Arab militias blamed for atrocities against the black African population.