Sudan warns against UN replacement of African forces
Sudan-UN, Politics, 3/9/2006

The Sudanese foreign affairs minister al-Sammani al-Wasila on Wednesday warned against a deployment of the UN forces without Sudan's consent, saying this will lead to the escalation of the crisis and will be also damaging for the efficiency of the African Union to interfere in the future in other conflicts in Africa.

The US which is seen as supporting a UN force in Sudan, when asked about recent protests in Khartoum about foreign presence and opposition to the UN forces, said thru the US Department Of state spokesman Sean McCormack "Deputy Secretary Zoellick is now having meetings in Brussels and beginning tomorrow in Paris on this very matter.  We've had a number of good discussions.  I think that certainly, the other members of the EU delegation and Deputy Secretary Zoellick are of one mind on these issues.  I think we've had -- they've had good discussions about the need to strengthen the AU mission and also, they've had good discussions about the importance of making a transition to a UN mission, of which the AU would form the core.

"So, these are ongoing discussions, Joel.  It's something that we have been working on, as you noted, over -- intensively over the past month and we hope, in the coming days and weeks, to see some acceptance of that transition from an AU mission to a UN mission, but you're going to need to hear from the AU on this matter.  So, there's going to be an effort, as Deputy Secretary Zoellick is now doing, to engage the AU on this issue.

"As for the protests in Khartoum, you know, again, you don't -- these are not protests that pop up spontaneously. I don't think that this was a group of Sudanese citizens of their own volition who decided that they were going to come out and protest against the UN mission.  I would note that there already is a foreign presence in Darfur and that they're playing a very important role, and that is the AU mission and their presence there has saved lives.  And that is -- they're going to continue to perform that important mission.  We hope to expand that mission to a UN mission.

But ultimately -- you mentioned the Abuja talks -- ultimately the way that you are going to address the issues that exist in Darfur, as well as throughout Sudan, is through political dialogue.  You saw that with the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.  We believe that that agreement can serve as a model for resolving other conflicts that exist between parties in and around Sudan.  So one of the focuses of Deputy Secretary Zoellick's discussion is on that -- getting the Abuja process moving forward.  I believe that he is going to be meeting in Paris with Mr. Salim, who is the AU chair of the Abuja talks, to talk about ways to move that process forward."

The Sudanese foreign affairs minister Wasila said, in statements to the press in Nairobi following a meeting with the President of Kenya Moai Keibaki, that the time needed to equip and deploy the UN forces on the ground in Darfur, west Sudan, threaten to waste the already achieved gains of the African force.

He explained that the forces of the African Union estimated at 7800 troops and observers achieved a trustworthy experience to deal with in the problems of the district. The Sudanese minister stressed that the genuine solution for Darfur crisis is maintained by settling the political issues through the talks between the government and the rebels, rather than transferring the authorization of the African Union to the UN.

He also called on the need of solving pending issues which obstruct Abuja talks in order to achieve peace in Darfur. The minister warned that the African Union has no right to transfer its authorization to the UN or make any other move without the consent of the Sudanese government.

Previous Stories:
  Sudan rejects UN forces deployment in Darfur   (3/4/2006)
  Sudan complains of Security Council leaks on Darfur crimes   (3/2/2006)
  Brunik warns against catastrophe of deployment UN forces in Darfur   (3/1/2006)

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