Sudan plays down likelihood of foreign military intervention in Darfur
By MOHAMED OSMAN, Associated Press Writer
KHARTOUM, Sudan, Aug 05, 2004 (AP) — Sudan’s foreign minister said Thursday foreign military intervention to end the Darfur crisis was unlikely and vowed his government would meet U.N. Security Council demands to end the region’s violence.
Mustafa Osman Ismail’s comments followed the U.N. Security Council’s passing of a resolution last week giving Sudan 30 days to curb pro-government Arab militias blamed for the violence in Darfur or face diplomatic and economic penalties.
The militias, called the Janjaweed, have been blamed for violence that has killed 30,000 people, forced a million from their homes and left an estimated 2.2 million in urgent need of relief aid.
No Western government has threatened to invade Sudan over the Darfur crisis, but U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has mentioned the possibility of such intervention since it became clear the Khartoum government was failing to curb the 18-month conflict.
France has deployed a small force along Chad’s border with Darfur to stop the Janjaweed from crossing over.
Ismail said foreign powers, particularly the United States, are unlikely to send forces to Sudan, fearing a repeat of military experiences in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.
“America has learned their lesson in Iraq and understands the consequences of acting outside the international body in the past,” said Ismail in an apparent reference to Washington’s decision to invade Iraq last year without a U.N. mandate.
“So the Americans are keen to implement their agenda through the United Nations at the moment.”
In Washington, U.S. President George W. Bush issued a new call for peace in Sudan and an end to Arab militia violence in Darfur.
“The government of Sudan must stop the violence of the Janjaweed militias, and all parties must respect the cease-fire and allow the free movement of humanitarian workers and supplies,” said Bush after signing a US$417.5 billion wartime defense bill, which US$95 million in famine relief and humanitarian assistance.
Bush said it served American interests for the Darfur violence to end.
“Recent history has shown that the threats to our shores can emerge from failing states half a world away,” Bush said. “By acting early to end a crisis, we can make our world safer.”
The U.N. Security Council has given Sudan 30 days to curb the violence in Darfur or face diplomatic and economic penalties. Annan has said he expects Sudan to cooperate, but warned of consequences if Khartoum does not.
Ismail met U.N. special representative Jan Pronk in Khartoum on Thursday and the pair agreed on steps Sudan must take in the next 30 days to begin disarming Arab militias and other outlawed groups and improving security in Darfur, U.N. associate spokeswoman Denise Cook said.
The agreement must now be approved by Sudan’s Cabinet.
Cook quoted Pronk as saying that if the Cabinet approves the agreement and if it is implemented “then he was very hopeful that the Security Council would come to the conclusion that there was indeed substantial progress and that there was no need to consider further action.”
Pronk and Ismail had been meeting since Sunday as part of the Joint Implementation Mechanism to ensure compliance with commitments made by Sudan and the United Nations in a July 3 agreement aimed at easing the crisis in Darfur.
Ismail said his government would meet the Security Council resolution’s demands.
“Although it is unfair, we will do our best to cooperate with it,” he said.
The African Union has said it would send a peacekeeping mission of 1,600 to 1,800 troops to Darfur to speed up humanitarian aid and counter the repeated violations of an April 8 cease-fire deal between the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.
Ismail said Sudan will cooperate with the African Union once it submits an official proposal regarding troop deployments to Darfur.
“We will cooperate with the African Union but before that we will have to meet and discuss the mandate and the details of such a mission,” he said.