EC warns of 'Rwanda syndrome'
2006-10-03 07:28
Addis Ababa - European commission president Jose Manuel Barroso on Monday cautioned against "Rwanda syndrome" in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, which was on the throes of more than three years of violence.
In a landmark visit to the African Union's (AU) headquarters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Barroso also called for a robust presence of the international community to stall the humanitarian suffering in the region and "to avoid tragedy".
He said: "What we want first of all is to avoid ... a Rwanda syndrome where the international community goes out and does not fulfill its responsibility", referring to the 1994 Rwandan genocide in which at least 800 000 people were killed in a span of 100 days.
Barroso said: "We support a stronger humanitarian and security presence in Darfur ... to avoid a tragedy."
Govt rejects UN handover
He was speaking a day after visiting Khartoum with the aim of convincing the Sudanese government to accept a United Nations peacekeeping force in the war-torn Darfur.
But, the government had repeatedly rejected the UN handover, arguing such a move risked worsening the situation in the region, a position restated by President Omar al-Beshir on Sunday.
He reiterated his "absolute rejection" of the idea and underlined instead the need to boost the AU forces "to help it carry out its mission of maintaining peace and stability in Darfur".
But, Barroso expressed optimism in finding a solution to the Darfur conflict, which had killed an estimated 200 000 people while some 2.5 million others had been displaced.
'Our agenda is peace'
He said: "I'm confident that some progress will happen. What is important is to work together to keep our message clear so that we can find a solution to this problem, our agenda is peace.
"The question of the presence of the UN or the AU should be seen as an instrument and not as an end in itself. What we want is peace in Darfur."
During his visit, the EC also signed a $70m aid package to the cash-strapped AU to support its institutions.
According to Barroso: "It is a question of solidarity and responsibility, our historical links are so strong, they (Africans) are our neighbors, they should also be our friends, so there is a deep political and moral reason for a special relationship with Africa."
The EU was the main financial contributor to the AU and had funded its peace missions in Darfur, the Central Africa Republic and the Comoros islands to the tune of $308m.
The AU had been faced by financial hurdles that had hamstrung its abilities to operate effectively in Darfur.