Three stories from today:
From the AP...
China's special envoy to Africa pledged [on] Thursday that Beijing will try to prevent the weapons [that] it sells to Sudan from being used in violence-wracked Darfur.
"We will do our best to prevent the weapons from finding their way into the wrong hands, and from doing the wrong things," said China's special envoy for Sudan, Liu Guijin, on his country's arms exports to Sudan.
At a press briefing in Beijing, Liu outlined no specific measures, but said that the issue of where Chinese arms went and how they were used was something [that] he had discussed with Sudan's government.
Beijing says [that] its "limited" sales do not breach the U.N. embargo on weapons entering Darfur, but human-rights activists say [that] there is nothing to prevent the Sudanese army from taking the gear into the region.
Amnesty International said in May that the "the bulk" of the arms in Sudan were transferred from China and Russia, with Sudan importing US$83 million (€61.22 million) in arms from Beijing, and US$34.7 million (€25.59 million) in military equipment from Moscow, in 2005, the latest available figures. Amnesty did not provide specific up-to-date figures.
The rights group said [that] the equipment was deployed by the Sudanese armed forces and militia for direct attacks on civilians and indiscriminate attacks in Darfur.
Liu said [that] China was "only one of the countries that has sold weapons to Sudan, and it is not a major exporter in this regard." However, he said [that] he was unable to give specific export figures or details about what kinds of weapons are sold.
"I can assure you that China has applied strict criteria in exporting weapons to Sudan," he said.
Fighting has killed more than 200,000 people and made 2.5 million refugees in Darfur since 2003, when ethnic-African rebels took up arms against Sudan's Arab-dominated government.
China claimed credit on Thursday for coaxing Sudan to accept a planned U.N. presence in its troubled Darfur region, and said [that] it had raised concerns about its arms exports flowing to Khartoum-linked militia there.
Beijing's envoy on Darfur, Liu Guijin, said [that] his nation had been crucial in persuading Sudan to accept a planned "hybrid" peacekeeping force for Darfur combining African Union troops with U.N. forces.
"I can say with certainty that this was inseparable from the work [that] the Chinese government did on Sudan about the Darfur issue," Liu told a news conference in Beijing.
Chinese officials from President Hu Jintao downward used meetings with Sudanese officials to lobby them to accept the plan as in their "long-term and immediate interests," he said.
Liu, fresh from meetings in Africa and Europe, also held out the possibility of Beijing giving more help to African participants, so [that] the planned peacekeeping force does not have to lean so heavily on Western troops distrusted by Sudan.
International experts estimate [that] 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million [have been] driven into camps during more than four years of violence in the ethnically mixed Darfur region bordering Chad. Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir puts the death toll at only 9,000.
China, a big investor in Sudan's oil and traditionally wary of imposing resolutions on unwilling states, has resisted sending U.N. peacekeepers to Darfur without Khartoum's consent.
But Beijing is also worried [that] international condemnation of its stance could sully its 2008 Olympic Games.
Human-rights group Amnesty International and other critics have accused China and other nations of breaching international rules and fanning bloodshed by weapons sales to Sudan that have been diverted to Darfur.
Liu indicated that during his recent visit to Sudan, he had raised concerns about Chinese-made weapons reaching violent militia [that] critics say are linked to Bashir's government.
China's arms sales to Sudan were limited and strictly abided by international rules, Liu said.
But he conspicuously did not outright deny that some Chinese-made weapons may have been used in Darfur.
"We do our utmost to prevent these weapons [from] entering places [that] they shouldn't and producing side-effects [that] they shouldn't," he said, adding [that] his recent talks in Sudan had covered "all aspects" of Darfur.
"Of course, we would also naturally be concerned about the weapons [that] we sell -- where they go, and that they're correctly used," he added.
The United Nations and [the] African Union hailed the June agreement as a breakthrough, but many Western diplomats remain sceptical, accusing Khartoum of signing deals and then wriggling out of them.
Liu suggested [that] Beijing could give more backing to African Union countries, so [that] the "hybrid" force does not have to draw as heavily on troops from other continents.
"Of course, in a general way, we addressed future closer cooperation between China and the AU in this regard," he said of his recent visit to Africa to discuss Darfur.
"We're also willing to consider giving even more help, based on what is needed," he added.
China's special representative on Darfur says [that] the Chinese government's dialogue with Sudan was key to Khartoum agreeing to allow United Nations peacekeepers into the conflict-ridden Darfur region. As Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing, China has become more active in trying to resolve the Darfur conflict, after facing criticism for putting economic concerns above human rights.
China's special envoy on Darfur, Liu Guijin, said [on] Thursday that Sudan's agreement last month to allow U.N. peacekeepers into Darfur "could not be separated" from the Chinese government's efforts on the issue.
"From the highest leader in China to relevant foreign-ministry officials, we have always used our method of using our words, and made use of every opportunity and channel in every aspect of work, especially with the Sudanese government," said Liu.
Khartoum for months dragged its feet on a U.N. plan to allow thousands of peacekeepers into Darfur to relieve overwhelmed African Union forces. Last month it finally signed approval for a hybrid force of AU and U.N. troops.
Liu visited Sudan and other African nations last month. He says [that] the deployment will begin, at the earliest, at the end of this year, pending Khartoum's agreement on a date.
China has resisted sanctions against the African nation despite accusations [that] Khartoum has supported militias responsible for mass killings and rape in Darfur that Washington has called "genocide."
President Bush has taken a "wait and see" attitude to Sudan's agreement to the U.N. deployment.
Liu says [that] western nations should stop doubting Sudan's intentions, and [should] be more welcoming of the steps forward.
He compares Khartoum to a naughty child who needs to be rewarded for good behavior.
"It's just like a child. If you judge him to be a bad child, when he does something good, you should give him a little encouragement, and say some nice things," said Liu.
Human-rights organizations say [that] China, which buys two-thirds of Sudan's oil exports and sells arms to Khartoum, is more interested in money than in human rights, an accusation [that] Beijing denies.
Liu says [that] China was doing its best to ensure [that] weapons sold to Khartoum did not end up in the wrong hands.
He says [that] attempts to politicize Beijing's hosting of the 2008 Olympics by linking it to the Darfur situation could only be due to ignorance of China's efforts to resolve the conflict, or [be] from people maintaining a "Cold War" ideology.
More than 200,000 people have been killed and two million [have been] made homeless since 2003, when rebels and government forces began fighting in Darfur.
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