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Politics : Proof that John Kerry is Unfit for Command -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: longnshort who wrote (25133)	2/2/2005 6:30:27 PM
From: lorne	Respond to of 27181

U.S. lawmakers to Annan: End Darfur violence or resign 2/2/2005 4:00:00 PM GMT aljazeera.com Two top U.S. lawmakers demanded UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to take an immediate action to end violence in the Sudanese western region of Darfur or resign. A spokesman for the UN rejected the call by Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas and Representative Frank Wolf of Virginia, saying that Annan wasn’t in a position to force any action. The two lawmakers also criticized a UN report, released on Monday, for not recommending an action to end the fighting, claiming that the report was influenced by internal UN politics. "We cannot wait any longer for credible action on Darfur," Brownback said. "The time is now for the secretary general, Kofi Annan, to lead or leave." The two Republican lawmakers also said that ending the violence in Darfur would be a test for whether the UN remains powerful in the 21st century. "The United Nations has failed over and over to prevent genocide," alleged Wolf, who leads the House of Representatives subcommittee that approves the U.S. payments to the United Nations. "If in the year 2005 the Security Council cannot deal with genocide ... I believe it's fair to ask what purpose is the United Nations serving in the 21st century." Brownback said that the UN Security Council action "needs to happen within the next couple of weeks." Both demanded the UN to impose sanctions on the Sudanese government, including an international weapons embargo, ban on investments in Sudan, and increasing the number of African Union peacekeeping troops in Darfur. They also said that the United States should form a coalition of African and other countries and end the violence in Darfur if the council fails to act quickly. Annan's spokesman, Fred Eckhard, said that the best he can do is keep trying. "I think it's wrong to assume that he could somehow force them to take a course of action and that, should he not be successful, he would be obliged to step down," Eckhard said. "I think that's inconsistent with the (UN) charter." Earlier, Annan demanded the Security Council to refer the Darfur case to the International Criminal Court at The Hague, based on a UN-appointed panel’s report which cleared Sudan of genocide in Darfur. The United States opposes the panel's report and insists that genocide was committed in Darfur, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. "We believe that the best way to address these crimes, as detailed in the report, is to establish a UN and African Union tribunal that would be based in Arusha, Tanzania." He said.