The United Nations Security Council on Friday passed a resolution insisting that Sudan disarm is militias and stop the violence in Darfur, which has been called "genocide" by the United States Congress and a variety of observers.
Full text of the UN Security Council resolution on Sudan.
Supporters of the resolution said it provided for strong measures if Sudan does not comply:
US Ambassador on the United Nations John Danforth said deleting the word "sanctions" did not alter the threat of sanctions against Sudan..."If you read article 41, it speaks of 'measures,' and it says these may include complete or partial interruptions of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio and other means of communication and the severance of diplomatic relations - so this is a sanctions provision," he said before the vote.
Sudan claimed victory in weakening the resolution, and quickly rejected it:
Sudan Foreign Minister:
But Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail had apparently had another interpretation in mind, as he hailed what he called a "weaker text" of the draft resolution."We expect an attenuated resolution to be issued by the Security Council today," Ismail told the independent Khartoum daily Akhbar Al-Youm Friday.
He said his ministry had set out a two-pronged plan to counter the draft resolution - "either to block its adoption altogether or to strive, in cooperation with our friends, to remove from it such references as genocide, ethnic cleansing and other extreme points and apparently this is what we have so far succeeded in achieving just hours before the vote." [Islam Online]
Sudan Information Minister:
''Sudan announces its rejection of the Security Council's misguided resolution,'' Information Minister Al-Zahawi Ibrahim Malik said in a statement.''Sudan expresses its deep regret that the issue of Darfur should reach, with this speed, the Security Council, and that it be snatched from its regional context,'' Malik said.
He said the Security Council had intentionally ignored efforts by Khartoum, the African Union and the Arab League to resolve the crisis.
''Sudan is regretful that the Security Council ... did not address itself to the rebel militias in Darfur whose military operations continue to obstruct humanitarian aid,'' he added.[from The Age]
Sudan UN Ambassador:
Sudan's U.N. Ambassador Elfatih Mohamed Erwa said his government was working to end the violence and such warnings would only harm its efforts. ``The United Nations by adopting this resolution does not serve the humanitarian case,'' he said. [Guardian]The Sudanese ambassador...said that he was "overwhelmed with sorrow and sadness over the hasty resolution" and that it came at a time when his government "is in a race for time to implement its agreement with the United Nations."
Sudan signed a joint communiqué in Khartoum with Secretary General Kofi Annan on July 3 pledging to rein in the violence in Darfur, and Mr. Erwa complained Friday that the accord was now being used as a "Trojan horse" by "some activists within the U.S. administration" to bring military pressure on the Islamic government in Khartoum.
He said that his government had responded immediately to the terms of the communiqué, deploying police officers and arresting militia members, but that the United States and its allies on the Security Council had acted in a "colonial" fashion.
"Aren't these the very same states that we see daily on TV monitors and their massive military machine while they are practicing the occupation of nations, pouring their fire on innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan?" he asked. [The New York Times]
Sudan's U.N. ambassador...accused the Bush administration of using the Darfur crisis to its political advantage in the election campaign. He condemned council members for the resolution and pointed a finger at the U.S. Congress for branding the crisis as genocide."The U.S. Congress should be the very last party to speak about genocide, ethnic cleansing and slavery. Let them go back to their history,"
Erwa said in a 25-minute speech. [Reuters]
China, who with Pakistan obstained, voiced support for the Sudanese government:
China, which abstained, said it believed the Sudanese government has been cooperating with efforts to end the violence. China ``hopes and believes that the government of Sudan will continue to actively honor its commitments,'' Deputy Ambassador Zhang Yishan said. [Guardian]
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