Danforth scoffed at China’s objection to the measure

UNITED NATIONS, September 10 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The UN Security Council emerged divided over a proposed US resolution tightening the pressure on Sudan over Darfur , as the United States said it hoped for a vote as early as next week.

At a meeting of the 15-nation council, Russia , Pakistan , Algeria and especially China voiced strong objections to the draft, which hangs the threat of sanctions over Sudan , diplomats who attended the session told Agence France-Presse (AFP) Thursday night, September 9.

“There's a lot of work to do. Several delegations do not want sanctions,” said Ambassador Abdallah Baali of Algeria , the lone Arab member of the Security Council.

The resolution, like a similar measure passed on July 30, demands that Khartoum disarm and rein in the Janjaweed militias and take other steps to end the violence or face international sanctions.

The US draft specifically mentions the possibility of sanctions against Sudan 's oil industry. Sudan currently produces about 320,000 barrels of oil per day.

The oil concession in southern Darfur is currently in the hands of the China National Petroleum Company.

The measure sets out another 30-day period for Sudan to comply with the previous resolution and cooperate with African Union monitors watching for violations of the April ceasefire between the government and the rebels.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan would report back to the council at the end of the period and if Sudan has not complied, the council “will take further actions” on sanctions, according to the draft.

‘Good Basis’

French ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said he wanted a vote next week, stressing that the council needed to take action quickly and calling the US draft a “good basis” for further discussions.

“The council has to keep some pressure on the government of Sudan ,” de La Sabliere said, expressing hope for “a resolution that would be adopted by a large majority”.

US Ambassador John Danforth scoffed at the notion that China 's objections to the resolution could lead Beijing to use its veto power on the council to block the measure.

“If anybody wants to take that responsibility -- just stepping back and letting people die and be shot down by helicopters and raped -- I don't see how that can be explained,” he said.

He maintained that the goal was to end the bloodshed in Darfur as soon as possible.

“It's been an all-out attack on civilians,” Danforth told reporters after the meeting. “My hope is that we'll pass a resolution next week. I think time is of the essence, and I think every day counts.”

Washington has been piling pressure on the government in Khartoum , which is accused of arming and backing the Janjaweed militias accused of being behind much of the atrocities in the troubled region of Darfur .

‘Reelection Ploy’

“We strongly believe the Bush administration is trying to distract internal and international attention away from what is taking place in Iraq,” said Ismail

Sudan Friday, September 10, rejected US charges of genocide in Darfur as a “reelection ploy” by US President George W. Bush.

Foreign Minister Mustafa Othman Ismail said the Bush administration was using a humanitarian crisis in the region to distract attention away from the mounting US death toll in Iraq .

“We strongly believe the Bush administration is trying to distract internal and international attention away from what is taking place in Iraq to avoid pressure from the Democrats during the ongoing presidential election,” Ismail told AFP in an interview.

“They should not use our humanitarian crisis for their own political agenda.”

The minister, on a five-day visit to South Korea , was responding to US charges of genocide in the Darfur region.

Speaking to the US Congress earlier on Thursday, September 9, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said the killing amounted to genocide.

He said the United States “will propose that the next UN Security Council resolution on Sudan request a UN investigation into all violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law that have occurred in Darfur , with a view to ensuring accountability”.

The US House of Representatives has already declared the violence in Darfur genocide.

But the European Union said in August no evidence was found on genocide taking place in Darfur

“We are not in the situation of genocide there,” Pieter Feith, who visited Sudan on behalf of the EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana, leading an EU fact-finding mission in the region.

Rebels’ Welcome

The leader of the two rebel groups in Darfur , meanwhile, welcomed Thursday, September 9, the verdict of the United States that “genocide” has been committed in the western region.

“It is a welcome development. This has been our position all along that the Sudanese government and its militia, the Janjaweed, have continued to kill innocent civilians in Darfur,” spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) Abdelhafiz Mustafa Musa told AFP at the peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria.

“We believe the international community will now take more practical and decisive action against the government to compel it to stop the atrocities," he added.

Spokesman for the Justice and Equality Movement (JEF) Ahmad Hussain Adam said the United Nations should punish the perpetrators of the genocide.

“We are very happy and appreciative of the report. The US should go a step forward by helping to bring the perpetrators to book,” he said.

“Genocide is crime against humanity according to UN conventions which Sudan is a signatory. The law must apply and the Sudanese government and its proxy the Janjaweed must be disarmed and punished,” he said.