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October 7, 2004, Thursday SUDAN GENOCIDE: SUDAN BOWS TO BLAIR DEMANDS Gethin Chamberlain In Khartoum THE Sudanese government yesterday accepted an ultimatum from Tony Blair to clean up its act in Darfur or face the wrath of the international community. In face-to-face talks in Khartoum, Mr Blair spelt out five key demands, including the acceptance of a force of several thousand African Union soldiers, which he warned Sudan must meet. Downing Street aides later said that the Sudanese president, Omar Al-Bashir, had assured Mr Blair that they accepted his conditions. But Mr Blair said it was not good enough for Sudan to say that it would comply - it had to prove its good intentions by actions. He ruled out sending British or European troops to assist in the region, but pledged fresh financial assistance for an African Union (AU) force. And he warned Khartoum that the threat of sanctions to force it to comply with the will of the international community remained. Mr Blair told Mr Bashir that Khartoum had to co-operate with the enhanced AU mission; that it must identify the location of its troops and militias and return its forces to barracks to allow police and the AU to provide security; that an agreement should be reached with rebels who should also be made aware of their obligations; that the Sudanese government reach a comprehensive north-south peace agreement by the end of this year; and that the Sudanese government abide by humanitarian protocols. After the meeting Mr Blair said he had warned Sudan that it should be in no doubt that the UN and the international community would continue to watch the situation in Darfur. He said the fact that he was there indicated how seriously he took the problem. The British government and Mr Blair in particular are tiring of the failure to tackle the situation in Sudan, where the World Food Programme now says 1.5 million people have been driven from their homes, with another 200,000 having sought sanctuary in neighbouring Chad. Yesterday, Mr Blair said: "We cannot have a situation where thousands of people are dying and nothing is being done about the security situation that is bringing it about." He accused the Sudanese government of failing to stop the bloodshed. "There are still villages that are being attacked and subjected to violence," he said. He said Britain would offer logistical and financial help to the AU force, but would stop short of sending troops. He pledged GBP 12 million for the extended AU mission. When he arrived in the Sudanese capital yesterday, Mr Blair looked a little tired, but it was only 4: 30pm UK time; he had still had time to spruce himself up after the six-hour flight from London. His suit was neatly pressed. He wore a pink shirt and dark tie; there was no concession to his dress in the muggy heat of the Sudanese capital. Of his recent heart problems there was no sign. Neither was there any sign of the helicopter gunships that normally grace Sudanese airfields, the gunships that had been used to such deadly effect against the people of the Darfur region, contributing their bit to what the UN has described as the world's worst humanitarian disaster. Mr Blair was there, it was said by his people, to knock heads together, to talk tough to the Sudanese president. He arrived at the presidential palace on the banks of the Nile to be greeted by the vice-president Ali Taha and Mr Bashir. The men shook hands. They went inside for 45 minutes. Afterwards Mr Blair emerged on to the lawn of the British Embassy to reveal the progress of his talks. It had been hard going. By the time he stepped up to the rostrum in the sweltering heat of the Sudanese day he was sporting a fresh shirt and tie. Everyone had been concerned about the death, disease and destruction that had hit the Darfur region, and the terrible humanitarian situation that had resulted, he said. Britain had been at the forefront of attempts to do something about it, though he shied away from suggestions that he might commit British troops; there was no desire from anyone involved for British or European troops to be committed. What he had told the Sudanese - not just told, demanded, he said later - was that they must accept his five-point plan for the region. The Sudanese, for their part, told him that they accepted his plan - though the meeting had been behind closed doors. The Sudanese have given such assurances before. They told Kofi Annan that they had put an end to the violence, only for their own troops to be caught attacking villages again as soon as the UN Secretary General left the country. Some reports from refugees suggest that the attacks continued even while he was in the country. Mr Blair was aware of their track record, he said. What was important now was not that they accepted their obligations, but that they implemented them.
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................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
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