America..."leading the way"
Sudan Agrees to Blair Demands for Peace Initiatives (Update5)
Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir agreed in talks with U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair to demands for more peacekeeping troops to protect 1.5 million refugees in the western Darfur region of the oil-rich African nation.
A Sudanese Foreign Ministry statement, issued after Blair talked with Bashir in Khartoum, said Sudan will accept an increase from 380 African Union troops to 3,500 ``or more.'' Humanitarian protocols, which guarantee aid workers free access and movement, may be signed ``immediately,'' the statement said.
``We need several thousand'' peacekeeping troops in Sudan, Blair said at a press conference after delivering a list of five demands to Bashir. ``It is important that the Sudanese government give their full cooperation.''
In fighting between government forces and rebels in the last two years, about 100,000 people have been killed and 1.5 million chased from their homes. The United Nations says the refugees in Darfur currently pose the world's biggest humanitarian crisis.
In addition to meeting Blair's demands for accepting more peacekeepers and honoring humanitarian protocols, the Sudanese ministry said the nation's troops won't conduct ``offensive operations'' and refugees will be repatriated.
Peace Accord
A peace accord between the Sudanese government in the north and Sudan People's Liberation Army in the south will be concluded ``as soon as possible,'' the ministry said in response to Blair's demand for a settlement by the end of next year. They have been warring since 1983 over how to divide the country's resources including oil.
``The UN's power to use sanctions or any other method of compliance remains,'' Blair said. ``It would be better if we could make progress. The important thing is not merely to get the statement of intent but to see that it's seen through.''
Blair and Bashir met in the Republican Palace, the seat of the colonial government from 1898 until independence in 1956. After the meeting, Blair flew to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a conference tomorrow of the Commission on Africa.
The U.K. will accelerate payment of the remaining 18 million pounds ($32 million) of Britain's 65 million-pound budget this year for to aid Sudan, Blair said. Next year's budget will increase to 100 million pounds.
Outside Troops
Asked whether the U.K. may commit troops to Sudan, Blair said, ``I don't think there is any desire on the part of the African Union for outside troops, be they British or American, to come in.''
Jan Pronk, the UN envoy to Sudan, said yesterday in New York he was concerned that the 53-nation African Union may be unable to deploy 4,000 soldiers until early next year for security in Darfur, the Associated Press said. U.S. Ambassador John Danforth said monitors are needed ``as quickly as they can get there,'' the report said.
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said last week that 5,000 troops can be mobilized quickly if hundreds of millions of dollars can be provided.
Pronk declined to comment on the possibility of the UN or other nations providing a ``bridging facility'' to get troops to Sudan faster, the AP said.
``We will of course help, logistically, financially,'' Blair said. ``We will help them gear up. But my very strong understanding is there isn't a desire for British troops to come here.''
Barbara Stocking, director of Oxfam, which sponsors aid workers in Darfur, said, ``While Blair's short trip alone will not directly save lives, the prime minister can help thousands by shifting British policy up a gear. This concrete action will directly help stop the violence.''
`Difficult Challenges'
``Cooperation with the government has improved significantly, access has improved, but we still face difficult challenges,'' said Greg Barrow, spokesman for the UN World Food program.
Armed bandits have been stopping trucks to take food bound for refugees, he said. ``It's very difficult to establish if our trucks get stopped who is to blame.''
The UN has demanded that Sudan disarm the Arab Janjaweed militia, which Bashir has said is beyond the control of government troops. The Janjaweed, who attacked government army bases and police stations in 2003 to protest that they weren't getting their share of the nation's oil riches, is blamed for many of the troubles in Darfur.
Barrow said the UN food program has a $204 million budget this year to feed 1.2 million people in Darfur, and ``we're hoping to expand the program to feed 2 million by the end of the year.''
Crisis `to Continue'
In addition to the 1.5 million refugees in Darfur, the UN estimates that 200,000 more have fled to relief camps in neighboring Chad. Barrow said, ``This crisis is going to continue to the end of next year and perhaps beyond.''
While Britain backed the U.S.-sponsored a resolution against Sudan, adopted by the Security Council on Sept. 18, the U.K. has declined to join the U.S. in accusing Sudan of ``genocide.'' Instead, the U.K. has left it to the UN to investigate the matter.
The Security Council raised the possibility of imposing sanctions on the nation's oil industry unless Bashir's government makes Darfur safe. China threatened to veto the resolution condemning Sudan, saying sanctions weren't needed, and then joined Russia, Pakistan and Algeria in abstaining from a vote.
Oil Exports
Sudan relies on oil revenue for three-quarters of its export earnings. It started exporting petroleum in 1999 and plans to boost production to 500,000 barrels a day by the end of next year from 345,000 barrels a day in June. China's state oil companies are the biggest investors in Sudan's oil industry.
The U.S. banned trade with Sudan in 1997, and in 2002 barred Americans from doing business with the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Co., a group that taps Sudanese crude and ships it to overseas customers.
Except for Sweden's Lundin Petroleum AB, western oil companies have pulled out of Sudan as violence flared between government and rebel troops during the past two decades. Chevron Corp. explored in the region from the 1960s to 1985. Talisman Energy Inc. of Canada sold out in 2003 as did OMV AG of Austria. Total SA of France suspended work in Sudan but retains rights to drill, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
China National United, or Chinaoil, and China National Chemicals, known as Sinochem, were awarded contracts in August to buy half of the Sudanese Nile Blend crude oil for sale in the fourth quarter.
Drilling Projects
Those companies, controlled by the Chinese government, also have stakes in drilling projects in Sudan and in a pipeline that exports most of the nation's crude. Oil & Natural Gas Corp. of New Delhi works in Sudan.
Sudan also needs outside help to expand petroleum refineries at Port Sudan on the Red Sea and Khartoum in the center of the nation. Those plants, with a combined capacity of 72,000 barrels a day, produce gasoline for cars and butane for cooking. The government wants each plant to produce 100,000 barrels a day.
With a population of 39 million, Sudan has an annual gross domestic product of about $15.6 billion and external debts of $21 billion. Britain allocated 62.5 million pounds ($112 million) of aid for Sudan this year.
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