صحيفة الجلف نيوز الإماراتية تنتقد رفض السودان للقوات الدولية

Sudan's position incomprehensible


Gulf News
09/03/06

If the government of Sudan is serious about its desire to put an end to the deaths and displacement of people in Darfur, then it must adopt a different stance to the one it presently holds.

The United Nations has for long wanted to send a peacekeeping force into Darfur an area of south-eastern Sudan that is the size of France in the belief the Sudanese Government is not doing enough to help the people. In fact, there are some diplomats who allege that rather than trying to quell any rebellion and restore a sense of normality to that region; government troops are deliberately targeting those anti-government factions that did not sign up to the peace treaty in May.

The is massing of government forces in Darfur which are thought will be deployed once the 7,000-member African Union peacekeepers' mandate expires in October reinforces this.

On Thursday, the UN Security Council voted to send more peacekeepers to Darfur, not only to police the region but also to enable relief agencies to work in the area. With the escalation of violence again, aid agencies have been reluctant to help, and the Sudanese Government has not assisted in any way.

Unfortunately, the good intentions of the Security Council look like coming to nought, as the Sudan Government as rejected the vote as "illegal" because the government was not consulted. It also alleges it is "inappropriate" to pass a resolution before seeking its permission. Sudan has therefore stated any move to send in a peacekeeping force would be unwelcome and seen to be provocative.

It is difficult to reconcile the Sudan Government's position on Darfur. More than 200,000 people have died there, and more than two million displaced, yet there seems no attempt by the government to put an end to the suffering in Darfur.