Sudan renews opposition to foreign interference in Darfur crisis
KHARTOUM, July 29 (AFP) — The Sudanese government and political parties remain defiant in opposition to foreign interference in the crisis-hit Darfur region, press reports said Thursday.
First Vice President Ali Osman Taha was quoted by the daily Al Rai Al Aam as saying that his country “rejects any interference in its internal affairs whatever were the pretexts and justifications that attempt to infringe the country’s sovereignty and resources.”
Taha said the government “is capable of shouldering its responsibilities and national duties of restoring and maintaining security and stability in Darfur,” where the United Nations estimates up to 50,000 people have died in the conflict pitting government forces and their Janjaweed allies against two rebel movements.
The UN Security Council on Wednesday debated a US draft resolution threatening sanctions against the Sudanese government over the raging conflict in western Sudan.
Algerian Ambassador Abdallah Baali said at least seven of the 15 Security Council countries had reservations about mentioning sanctions in the resolution, which needs nine votes to pass.
Among them, Russia and China argue that the threat of sanctions against Sudan would be counter-productive, and that Khartoum should be given time to make good on its July 3 pledge to rein in pro-government militias attacking Darfur’s black population.
Sudan’s pro-government and opposition political parties, meeting late Wednesday at the headquarters of the ruling National Congress party, unanimously backed Taha’s stance.
They said the Darfur crisis should be resolved by the African Union (AU) against the background of peaceful coexistence among the tribes of the region.
The Islamist Popular Congress and communist parties were absent from the meeting, Al Rai Al Aam said.
Meanwhile a students union here has decided to send 750 students to military training camps to prepare to take part “in confronting any foreign forces,” Al Sahafa daily reported Thursday.
Also Thursday, the Sudanese Lawyers Union lambasted the international community in a statement, saying “Zionism and a neo-crusade” were targeting Sudan and “conspiring to undermine the fraternal ties between the Arab and non-Arab tribes in Darfur.”
The AU this week said it may transform its protection force into a “full-fledged peacekeeping mission” in the Darfur region to force the Janjaweed militia to lay down its arms in line with a ceasefire deal.
The two rebel groups in Darfur rose up against Khartoum in February 2003, claiming that the mainly black African region had been ignored by the Arab government.
The uprising was prompted by a heavy-handed crackdown by Sudanese troops and Janjaweed militias, which have carried out what aid and human rights groups have called “a massive campaign of ethnic cleansing.”