PRESS CONFERENCE on Darfur BY china

 

Resolving the Darfur issue would not be accomplished by the exertion of pressure, sanctions and military power, Liu Guijin, Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Darfur and African issues told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference today.

Describing China’s efforts to resolve the Darfur issue, he stressed that the Sudanese Government was a sovereign Government.  Whether one liked the Government or not, without its cooperation, it would not be possible to carry out a successful peacekeeping operation, he added.  China’s efforts to bring a settlement to the Darfur issue had been recognized by many world Governments, including the Governments of many developed countries, as well as by the United Nations and the African Union.

Mr. Guijin, who was in the middle of a visit to the United States and the United Nations, said it had been his first trip to the United States since his appointment as Special Representative by the Chinese Government in May 2007.  During his visit to Washington, D.C., he had met with senior United States State Department officials, leaders of the Congress and House of Representatives, as well as non-governmental organization representatives.

In New York, he had met with the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, and the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, as the Under-Secretary-General was travelling in Africa and Europe, he said.  During the two meetings, he had exchanged ideas with senior United Nations officials on the issue of Darfur and related African issues.  The purpose of his visit to the United Nations was to discuss cooperation in implementing Security Council resolution 1769 (2007).  [Adopted by the 15-member Security Council on 31 July 2007, the resolution authorized the deployment of a 26,000-strong joint United Nations-African Union force.]

Asked whether Western news reports on China’s investment and involvement in Africa, particularly the Sudan, were fair, Mr. Liu noted that the reports by the Western media were mixed.  Some were objective, while others were not.  The relationship between China and the Sudan was similar to its relations with other African countries.  It was nothing special, as China maintained friendly and cooperative relations with all the other African countries.

While a focus of Western media reports was China’s oil exploration in the Sudan, China was not the only country carrying out oil exploration in the Sudan, he added.  Other Asian countries were as well, and it was unfair to criticize China alone.  That did not mean that China’s Asian partners should also be criticized.  It also did not mean that Western companies were not interested in oil exploration in the Sudan.  As far as he knew, United States and French companies had gained the right to oil exploration in the Sudan as early as 1996 -- years before Chinese companies had started their work -- but had left the area due to worry that there was not enough oil under surface and because of the regional situation.

During his visit to the Sudan last May, he had read a headline in a Sudanese newspaper explaining that the French company Total had gained the right to oil exploration in southern Sudan before 1996.  While it had paid a large sum of money to the Sudanese Government, it had not actually carried out exploration.  When the Comprehensive Peace Agreement had been signed in 2005, the United Kingdom company White Nile had received the right to oil exploration from the southern Sudanese Government.  The two companies, therefore, had to go to a United Kingdom court to compete with each over the right to oil exploration.

He was not sure if the media would report on companies from the United Kingdom and United States carrying out oil exploration and extraction in the Sudan, he added.  China held 40 per cent of the total shares in the Great Nile Company, the company which was carrying out oil exploration and extraction in the Sudan.  Some 30 per cent was held by an Indian company, 25 per cent by a Malaysian company and another 5 per cent by the Sudanese Government.

Because of the Sudan’s discovery of oil and the preliminary establishment of an oil industry in that country, the Sudanese economy had, despite the conflict, grown at an annual rate of some 9 per cent in recent years, he noted.  Oil cooperation between China and the Sudan was transparent, mutually beneficial and non exclusive.  To say that China’s oil exploration in the Sudan meant China supported the killing of people in the Sudan was unacceptable and not justified.

Responding to questions on China’s peacekeeping role in Africa, he noted that China currently participated in peacekeeping operations in seven African countries, with total troops numbering about 1,400.  Some 415 Chinese peacekeepers were carrying out duties in southern Sudan.  Regarding the hybrid peacekeeping operation in Darfur, he noted that China’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations had actively promoted the process.  To show support in the second phase of the United Nations plan, namely the “heavy support” package, China’s Government had pledged 313 multifunctional engineering units to the Darfur region, to pave the way for the hybrid peacekeeping operation.

Those troops should have already been on the ground, but there had been technical delays by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, he added.  Having received clarification from that Department on those difficulties, the troops would be deployed in early October.  The Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations had informed him that it would be the first unit of the hybrid operation to the Darfur region.

Many activists felt that the Chinese Government had a lot of clout and economic power over the Sudanese Government, said a correspondent.  With some 200,000 people dead in Darfur, why had China not used its weight, power and might to intervene and try to save lives?

Responding, he said there were some different numbers as to how many people had been killed in the Darfur region.  Regardless of the figures, the Chinese Government and people were sorry about the loss of life and property there.  China had made a concrete contribution to the resolution of the issue, for example, by providing humanitarian assistance to the region.  Some assistance had already been shipped to the region and more was on the way.  China would continue to provide even more humanitarian and development assistance to the region.  China was also providing development aid to Darfur.  In other words, China had provided tangible and practical assistance for the region.

China had also made a huge effort in terms of the hybrid force and the political process, he continued.  China had used all types of channels, talking to the Sudanese Government and persuading them as equal partners to accept former Secretary-General Annan’s three-step plan, especially the hybrid peacekeeping operation.  While China did not always publicize its efforts, it had played a constructive and unique role.

Asked several questions about the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, including the participation by Heads of State and Government, he said he did not have a specific figure on the number of Heads of State attending the Games.  He did know, however, that not a single Head of State had refused to participate in the Games.

Regarding China’s provision of foreign assistance without political conditions, he noted that, as a developing nation, China’s assistance to other developing countries was in the range of South-South cooperation, or a type of cooperation between friends.  The road to development and a country’s ideology should be decided by a Government and its people.  Using economic assistance as leverage to accept a certain ideology or decide on a road to development, was not fair.  Attaching political strings to assistance and using it as a tool to intervene in other countries’ internal affairs would not be helpful.  China’s policy reflected the Confucian concept of not doing to others what you would not want them to do to you.

What would China do to ensure the success of the upcoming peace talks in Libya announced by the Secretary-General during his trip to the Sudan and Darfur? a correspondent asked.

Responding, he said the Chinese Government had supported the political process since the outset.  Without the participation of all parties in the peace agreement, there would be no peace in Darfur and peacekeeping would be just vain talk.  The political process and peacekeeping were equally important.  The Secretary-General had facilitated the acceptance by opposition groups of resuming negotiations in Libya.  That was positive progress.  The fragmentation of the opposition groups was a concern at the moment, as the largest faction of the opposition group refused to participate in the negotiation.  While China did not have direct contact with any opposition group, it supported the resumption of negotiations for peace between the Sudanese Government and opposition groups.  It also supported the efforts of the African Union and the United Nations.

Commenting on his recent visit to Washington, D.C., he noted that China’s Foreign Ministry and the United States State Department shared almost the same stance on the Darfur issue.  The United States Government appreciated the positive efforts by China’s Government on the settlement of the Darfur issue.  It was only on some specific issues that the two had different perspectives.  The two Governments, however, had good cooperation and communication.  His exchange of views with United States congressmen and senators had revealed some misunderstandings regarding China’s policy and efforts.  They recognized, however, China’s unique role in the Darfur issue and expressed the hope that China could do even more.  Such candid dialogue advanced mutual understanding.

Regarding non-governmental organizations, such as the “Save Darfur” coalition, he said they also did not question China’s role, but recognized that the so-called genocide had not been caused by China.  They hoped the Chinese Government could exert even more pressure on the Sudanese Government.  Non-governmental organizations had also clarified that they were not boycotting the Beijing Olympics, but wanted to use the event to exert more pressure on the Chinese.  He had told them that there was no connection between the Olympic Games and the Darfur issue.  One of the basic principles of the Games was non-politicization.  While the Olympics were being hosted by China, it was a great event for people around the world.  “We staunchly oppose the linkage between the Olympic Games the Darfur issue,” he said.

With the adoption of Security Council resolution 1769 (2007), the settlement of the Darfur issue was on the right track, he said in response to other questions.  The settlement of the issue needed to be worked out on four wheels -- namely the hybrid peacekeeping operation, the political process, an improvement of the humanitarian situation, and development and reconstruction.  Moving together on these four wheels, it would be possible to find a long-term solution to the issue.

Was the Darfur Peace Agreement dead and would the October meeting provide an opportunity to restart the process? a correspondent asked.  It seemed that the Government was willing to solve the issue and seek peace in Darfur, he replied.  He did not know what form the October talks would take, but, if invited, he would actively serve as a go-between to further peace in Darfur.

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