Darfur: US diplomat defends China

Andrew Natsios, US special envoy for the Sudanese crisis province of Darfur, has defended China against accusations of not doing enough to persuade the government in Khartoum to stop the violence in Darfur. China’s “subtle diplomacy” complements the US administration’s threats of sanctions, said the former head of the US development agency USAID during a Senate hearing in Washington. There has been “a lot of China-bashing in the west”, but Natsios said he did not think that was helpful.

During a visit to the Sudanese capital at almost the same time, a high-ranking officer from China’s Foreign Ministry urged the government of President Omar al-Bashir to finally accept the UN peacekeeping plan for Darfur. Beijing made political and economic efforts, advising the “Sudanese brothers” to accept the plan. Shortly afterwards, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry announced that Khartoum agreed to the deployment of 3000 UN soldiers in Darfur, along with combat helicopters for the African Union mission in the region.

Meanwhile, the New York Times ran a story about a confidential UN report, according to which Khartoum has been secretly flying arms to Darfur. The government is said to have used planes which, painted white, were disguised as UN aircraft. The Sudanese ambassador to the UN claims such accusations are lies, saying the planes were simply transporting arms from the south of the country to other regions. (ell)