Stop Sudan leading AU - DA

2006-01-22 18:01

Johannesburg - The South African government must use its influence to ensure the president of Sudan does not assume the presidency of the African Union, said the Democratic Alliance on Sunday.

"Sudan as host of the African Union summit is bad enough. Sudan as the president of the AU is really too much," said DA chief whip Douglas Gibson.

Agence France Presse news agency reported on Sunday that President Omar al-Beshir had toned down Sudan's campaign to lead the AU on the eve of the summit.

"The essential issue is not the chairmanship, but rather the success of the summit. This is our priority," the news agency reported Beshir as saying to the Suna news agency.

He accused an "influential and big power" of lobbying against Sudan's candidacy for the AU chair, in an apparent reference to the United States.

It had said Khartoum should not lead the AU while trying to broker peace in Darfur.

Gibson accused Beshir of presiding over a government "directly responsible for aiding and abetting the human-rights disaster in Darfur."

"If Africa wishes to be sidelined, it will continue winking and looking the other way when one of our own is guilty of human rights violations," he said.

Gibson added that while the world community had not done what it should have to alleviate the crisis, Sudan had done even less.

- SAPA