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China says it can do no more to help end Darfur violence

China said yesterday it had done all it could to help ease the bloodshed and suffering in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region, which has put the spotlight on China’s close ties to the country.

China has faced widespread Western criticism that it has not used its oil, arms and business stakes in Sudan to press for an end to deadly havoc in the vast, arid Darfur region.

“The Darfur issue is still confronted with many difficulties ... it’s imperative that the international community make concerted efforts,” assistant foreign minister Zhai Jun (翟俊) told an international symposium on the issue.

“We have done as much as we can do,” Zhai said. “China remains committed to resolving the Darfur issue and has made unremitting efforts.”

The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated regime and state-backed militias, fighting for resources and power in one of the most remote and deprived places on earth.

China, the main buyer of Sudan’s oil and a key investor in the economy, has repeatedly been accused of not doing enough to make Khartoum stop a brutal campaign that has contributed to an estimated 300,000 dead.

Last year, the rebel Justice and Equality Movement attacked a Chinese-run oil field in Sudan as part of a campaign to force Chinese oil companies to leave, and has previously demanded China pull its peacekeepers out of Darfur.

China’s Darfur envoy, Liu Guijin (劉貴今), said such groups did not understand what Beijing was trying to do in the region.

“Some important opposition groups have some views on China, but it’s hard to simply call them an anti-Chinese force,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a forum on Darfur in Beijing.

Liu said activist groups had not given an accurate picture of China’s role.

“The western media and in particular the activities of some non-governmental organizations have caused China’s role to be distorted in the eyes of the rebels,” Liu told reporters. “Some prominent opposition groups have been influenced by this.”

Meanwhile, Zhai said a hybrid UN and African Union peacekeeping force was still not fully deployed six months after it was established, and that opposition groups remained outside the political process.

“The armed rebel groups and government forces have exchanged fire constantly, which frustrates the security and humanitarian situation of the region,” he said.

In recent months, Western rights groups have tried to use the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, which is to begin in August, to push China to do more to end the crisis in Darfur.
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