US genocide claims encouraged Darfur rebels to shun peace talks: FM

KHARTOUM, Feb 7, 2005 (Al-Khartoum) — The government has accused anew the US Administration of encouraging the Darfur rebels to be reluctant to cooperate with its efforts to resolve the Darfur crisis.

In his letter to the former US Secretary of State Colin Powell yesterday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mustafa Osman Ismail said the US Administration’s description of events in Darfur as genocide has encouraged the rebels to be stubborn, before adding, however, that despite that the government still believes that there is still room for a serious cooperation between the Sudan and the USA in order to achieve a swift solution to the Darfur crisis.

Mustafa Osman Ismail praised the sincere efforts of Colin Powell and other US State Department efforts to bring peace to Sudan.

Mustafa also sent a similar letter to Ambassador John Danforth on the occasion of the end of his term of office as the US permanent representative at the UN. In his letter, he praised Danforth’s efforts during his job as the US president’s special peace envoy to Sudan, which, he said, had led to the signing of the peace deal with the southern rebel group SPLM.

He further pointed out the government’s readiness to bring about the democratic changes which were outlined in the peace agreement and use them as a springboard to bring about good governance for all.

He also confirmed the government’s readiness to use this peace deal as model to resolve peacefully other conflicts such as the Darfur crisis with the US help.

Material provided by the BBC Monitoring Service.