Darfur talks break off
Sudan, Politics, 9/16/2004

Sudan's rebels and government broke off peace talks on security in Darfur region yesterday after three weeks with little progress and no deal. The government blamed the United States for the failure.

Both sides said that the talks had collapsed, although they left open the possibility of trying again after a halt of at least three weeks. Sudan's government -under threat of international sanctions over 19 months of violence in Darfur -insisted US criticism had heartened rebels past the point of compromise.

Sudan's top negotiator cited Secretary of State Colin Powell's declaration last week that Sudan's government and allied militia had committed acts of genocide against Darfur's non-Arab villagers. "The attitude of Colin Powell and America generally was the main cause of the stalemate," Sudanese envoy Majzoub Al-Khalifa Ahmad said.

"It sent a wrong message to the rebels, and that resulted in their hardening their position at the talks," Ahmad said, insisting that Sudan's problems "will never be solved from outside Africa." Meanwhile, the United States said it will push for a vote on its UN resolution on the bloodshed in Sudan's Darfur region, and offered strong words in the face of a possible veto from China.

The draft resolution threatens sanctions on Sudan's oil industry if the government does not rein in the Arab militias behind a spiral of violence in Darfur that has left an estimated 50,000 people dead. But in sign of sharp international disagreements over how to cope with the crisis, China has indicated it could use its veto power on the UN Security Council to sink the resolution, diplomats said.

"Anyone when vetoes will have to explain why they did not help protect the people of Darfur," Richard Grenell, spokesman for US Ambassador John Danfourth said yesterday.

Previous Stories:
  Garang: Genocide 'embedded' in Sudan's war strategy   (9/15/2004)
  Peace negotiations on Darfur stumble, Egypt supports Sudan's efforts to control the situation   (9/15/2004)
  Egypt, China refuse imposition of sanctions on Sudan, Washington is ready to amend its proposal at the UNSC   (9/14/2004)

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