US State Dep. rejects Kerry critique of Bush response to Sudan’s Darfur
WASHINGTON, Oct 18 (AFP) — The US State Department refuted suggestions from Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry that the United States under President George W. Bush had been “toothless” in its response to the crisis in Sudan’s western Darfur region
While careful not to inject the department, which studiously avoids taking partisan political stands, into the campaign for the November 2 election, spokesman Richard Boucher said Washington had been at the forefront of international efforts to end the humanitarian disaster in Darfur.
“I would stay out of the politics of the situation, but I think anybody who looks at our record (will) see that the United States, the secretary of state in particular, has been leading the effort to try to change the situation in Darfur,” he told reporters.
The United States under Bush “has been leading the effort to get the channels of assistance opened and to take care of the people of Darfur … and has been leading the effort to try to bring security to the region of Darfur,” Boucher said.
“I think the United States has a very solid record as the largest contributor, the most energetic donor, the most active participant in the whole process, and the nation that, in many ways, has led to the help that has been provided there,” he added.
US Secretary of State has said there is “genocide” in Darfur.
And Washington has been highly critical of Sudanese government actions in Darfur, including its support of the Arab Janjaweed militia who are accused of mounting an ethnic cleansing campaign against the region’s indigenous black African population, Boucher said.
He said the United States has been active in supporting the African Union which now had ceasefire monitors on the ground and will soon deploy thousands of troops to Darfur.
On Sunday, Kerry castigated Bush’s response to the Darfur crisis and promised to resolve the crisis if elected president. He called for tough United Nations sanctions against Sudan and more US humanitarian aid for the crisis-torn region.
“Words without deeds are meaningless especially when people are dying every day,” Kerry said, maintaining that Bush had not acted appropriately after Powell made his “genocide” statement in September.
“Rarely have the costs of the Bush administrations inaction and failed leadership been clearer,” he said, accusing the president of settling for “empty threats” of sanctions from the UN Security Council.
The Security Council has under US pressure adopted a resolution threatening possible sanctions on Sudan but tougher measures have been opposed by some members of the panel, including China which wields veto power, who say such a move would violate Sudanese sovereignty.
The 20-month-old civil war in Darfur has displaced 1.5 million people and spawned what the United Nations has said is now the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The World Health Organisation recently charged that 70,000 civilians displaced by the Darfur conflict had died in camps from disease and malnutrition since March, a figure which Khartoum has disputed.