Tuesday, August 31, 2004

Irish Prime Minister urged to press for UN intervention in Sudan - Khartoum had done "absolutely nothing" to meet UN demands

Irish aid agency GOAL has called on the Prime Minister of Ireland, Bertie Ahern, to use his influence to press for UN Security Council intervention in Sudan.

GOAL chief executive John O’Shea said today the Sudanese Government had done "absolutely nothing" to meet the UN demands.
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Note: GOAL knows Khartoum from past experience. What difference will another 30 days make? And, in the following years, what will happen when the West's back is turned and Sudan finds it needs areas of land cleared, to make way for new oilpipes and infrastructure?
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CONDITIONS WORSEN in Darfur, UN agencies say

Conditions for 1.2 million Sudanese displaced in Darfur continue to worsen amid violent attacks, spreading disease, and heavy rains which wreak havoc with aid convoys, United Nations agencies said on Tuesday.
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BE REASONABLE, Sudan urges UN

Sudan says it is hoping for a "reasonable" security council decision on sanctions, its foreign minister said yesterday as the deadline for compliance with UN demands expired.

The security council had given Sudan 30 days to show it was serious about disarming Arab militias. "We wish ... the relationship with the security council will not be the way of confrontation," the foreign minister, Mustafa Ismail, said in a television interview.

Hilary Benn, Britain's international development secretary, told Radio 4's Today programme: "The situation has changed substantially, and that is a result of huge international pressure."

Continued pressure was vital, he added.

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