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 Re: انتقادات للسودان في القمة الأفريقية وغانا ترأس الاتحاد (Re: sudani)
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Worries over al-Bashir push for AU
POSTED: 7:44 a.m. EST, January 29, 2007
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KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) -- Sudan said Sunday it would push for President Omar al-Bashir to become chair of the African Union this week, a move observers and rebels warned would jeopardize the body's efforts to pacify conflict-torn Darfur.
The 53-member AU meets this week in Ethiopia to choose its new chairman among African
of states. The spiraling violence in Sudan's western Darfur region, where the AU has 7,000 peacekeepers, is expected to top the agenda.
Many observers say al-Bashir is a party to the conflict and should not chair the organization.
Khartoum says AU leaders already agreed to select al-Bashir during last year's summit.
"African
of states will have to stick to their word, otherwise what is the point for the AU to hold meetings and reach agreements?" said Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali Sadiq.
But several African countries -- backed by Western nations -- oppose al-Bashir's bid to become chairman despite the agreement reported last year, diplomats in Khartoum said.
Countries with peacekeeping contingents in Darfur, such as Senegal and South Africa, are among those opposed, said the diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.
The Darfur crisis began in February 2003 when rebels from black African tribes took up arms, complaining of decades of neglect and discrimination by Sudan's Arab-dominated government. More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced.
The government is accused of unleashing Arab tribal militia known as janjaweed against civilians in a campaign of killings, rapes and arson.
The Sudanese government, which denies backing the janjaweed, signed a peace agreement with one Darfur rebel faction in May, but violence has worsened in the region, spilling over into neighboring Chad and Central African Republic.
Darfur rebel leaders warned they would stop considering the AU mission an honest peace-broker in Darfur if al-Bashir was selected.
"We are fighting al-Bashir and his army. ... There will be huge chaos in Darfur if he becomes AU chairman," rebel chief Khalil Ibrahim warned in a phone interview.
Ibrahim
the Justice and Equality Movement, the backbone of a rebel coalition that has repeatedly defeated government forces in North Darfur. The coalition recently threatened it would treat AU peacekeepers as a "hostile force" if al-Bashir becomes their nominal head.
"I hope all African leaders understand that we are very serious about this," Ibrahim said. "If they select al-Bashir, it will mean the AU instantly terminates its mission in Darfur."
Sadiq dismissed claims that a Sudanese chairmanship would put the African force in an awkward position in Darfur, saying the regional body's chief does oversee day-to-day peacekeeping operations.
The AU mission in Sudan declined to comment.
Khartoum opposes a U.N. Security Council resolution that calls for some 22,000 U.N. peacekeepers to replace the overwhelmed African force.
Experts say there is mounting pressure on African leaders not to select al-Bashir. "However, I don't know how they'll get around it," said Tom Cargyll, an analyst at Chatham House, a British think tank.
The AU's chairmanship is largely symbolic and has little effect on peacekeepers in Darfur, Cargyll said. "But knowing how Sudanese diplomacy works, they would certainly extract the maximum political capital from it," he said.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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