Sudan's government is likely to grant some autonomy to the violence-wracked Darfur region, but the rebels should help to end the world's worst humanitarian crisis, UN High Commissioner for Refu-gees Ruud Lubbers said.
Lubbers, who called for Khartoum to grant more autonomy to the region at the start of his current tour of Chad and Sudan, said Khartoum risked alienating the world if it continued its attacks in Darfur, one of the nation's most politically and economically powerless areas.
PHOTO: AP
"Sudan is under very great pressure," he said, adding that despite a "strange political atmosphere" the country was increasingly buckling under world opinion.
"The international community is watching Darfur with tremendous interest. It's not only Washington [which has called the violence in Darfur genocide] but also the Security Council and [Nigerian] President Obasanjo of the African Union.
"Sudan knows that, and I think will give Darfur limited autonomy under the framework of Khar-toum's territorial integrity."
The UN has called Darfur the world's worst current humanitarian crisis, and Germany has joined the US in describing the brutal campaign waged by Arab militias in Darfur as genocidal.
An estimated 50,000 people have been killed and 1.4 million have fled their homes, including 190,000 who have sought refuge in neighboring Chad.
The UN Security Council has passed a resolution which warns of possible sanctions, which Khartoum has termed "unjust and unfair" but promised to abide by.
The sanctions could affect Sudan's vital oil industry.
The bloodshed in Darfur began in February last year, when rebels demanded an end to the official neglect of violence and poverty in their region. The Sudanese government's response to the uprising was to give Arab militias known as Janjaweed a free rein to raid and pillage. The Janjaweed have been accused of widespread murder, rape and torture.
But Lubbers said the two rebel groups fighting in Darfur had a responsibility to end the violence by burying their differences.
"The government has an uphill task, because it has created the Janjaweed which is practicing violence ... but my message to the rebels is `You have achieved enough to sit down at the negotiating table, though you will be more successful if you agree on a first man [leader] to represent you. It is in your interest to start now.' Darfur has bled enough."
Lubbers also urged South African President Thabo Mbeki to join Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo's efforts to end the violence in Darfur.
"Mbeki did many good things," he said. "He is a great leader, but if he gives his political weight to support President Obasanjo it would be a great thing. The world is looking to Africa to resolve its problems and President Mbeki's voice is very important."
The UN refugee chief expressed fears over rising local resentment in Chad, one of the world's poorest and most arid nations, that the refugees were using too much of their meager water and firewood resources.
"It's now more irritating than explosive, but we have to prevent it from growing into an explosion," he said, adding that many Chadians complain that the refugees are better off than themselves.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
RSS