Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-10-25-Speech-4-252"
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"en.20071025.32.4-252"2
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"Madam President, we as the European Commission join with the European Parliament in strongly condemning the killing of the African Union peacekeepers in Haskanita, and in other incidents over the past year, and, of course, the fact that many others are still missing.
We should not pretend that even the larger peacekeeping force due to take over from the current African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) will be able to protect itself easily to ensure the vast humanitarian operation supported by the European Commission and so many other donors and to keep the peace if there is no peace to keep. This is the question.
We acknowledge the acceptance by the Government of Sudan of the presence of the UN peacekeeping force on Sudanese soil. Along with the rest of the international community, we intend to keep the Government to its word. We welcome the intention of the Government to declare a cessation of hostilities when negotiations commence in Libya on 27 October, yet the Government needs to go further. The European Commission also calls upon the Government of Sudan to engage meaningfully in negotiations intended to result in the equitable sharing of power and of wealth in Darfur. We join with the rest of the European Union in calling upon the rebel movements themselves to declare an end to the killings and banditry that sully their cause. We also call upon them to participate wholeheartedly in the talks in Sirte.
On top of that, as you know, UN Security Council Resolution 1778, adopted on 25 September, mandates an international multidimensional force to contribute to the stabilisation of eastern Chad and the north-eastern Central African Republic and thus also guarantee the security of the local civilian population, refugees and displaced people and stabilise the situation in Sudan.
On this basis, the General Affairs Council and Foreign Affairs Council on 15 October decided to send an interim and multidimensional European force of 3 000 troops, EUFOR Chad, as we call it, to support and complement in the short term the deployment of the UN contingent. Taking into account the regional dimension of the Darfur crisis, the deployment of this new EUFOR Chad mission and of a UN police mission in parallel with UNAMID in Sudan is, I think, a crucial step towards facilitating a durable solution of the conflict in Darfur and, ultimately, also towards the voluntary return of the Sudanese refugees who have settled in Chad. I can tell you that, at this very moment, an Irish General is there exploring the situation and exploring where exactly EUFOR should be deployed.
But coming back to the question of Sudan itself, let me say that we firmly believe that the future of Sudan lies in the sharing of wealth and power, in a federal government and a federal arrangement. This is what the Government and the rebels agreed in Naivasha in January 2005, when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed, ending decades of civil war between the north and the south. The international community must stand firm behind this Comprehensive Peace Agreement. For if this agreement can be made to hold – yes, it is at present in difficulty, but these difficulties need not be terminal – this will demonstrate powerfully that similar arrangements can surely be extended to Darfur.
So through the support extended also under the European Development Fund for the recovery and rehabilitation of southern Sudan and for the long-term equitable and sustainable development of the whole of the country, we are standing firmly behind the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. We also back the efforts of the EU Special Representative to Sudan to facilitate peace in Darfur and, along with other donors, we stand ready to ensure that the peace dividend, in the shape of the rehabilitation and recovery of Darfur, follows closely on the heels of a renewed peace agreement.
We think it is in the interest of all the parties – the Government, the Darfur rebels, the countries of the Horn of Africa region and the international community – that Sudan stays together. However long and arduous, and at times discouraging, the Sirte talks might turn out to be, I think we must be steadfast for peace in Sudan. The unity of this country remains within our grasp."@en1
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