Wednesday 6 October 2004
Prime Minister:
Good Afternoon everyone, and thank you for coming to this press conference, and let me begin by giving you an account of the meetings I have had with the Government of Sudan this morning, with the Vice President, the President and other Ministers.
All of us have watched over the past months with concern and alarm at the deaths, the disease, the destruction that has come to Darfur in Sudan and the terrible humanitarian situation that has arisen as a result. Britain has been highly active right from the very beginning in trying to work with all the parties concerned in order to bring help to people and to get a situation brought about in which some form of lasting solution can be achieved. I think you are all familiar with the contours of the problem and the basic elements of it, and really what I want to concentrate on is the things that we have asked the Sudanese government to do today in accordance with the United Nations Resolutions that have been passed, calling upon them to take certain actions. The first is that it is important that the Africa Union force is expanded and expanded significantly. We need several thousand people there in order to monitor any cease-fire, in order to make sure that we get correct information as to what is happening, and it is important that the Sudanese government give their full cooperation to that expanded Africa Union mission. Secondly, it is important that they identify, the government here identifies the location of its own troops and those of any militias over which they have control, so that the cease-fire monitoring can take place properly. The third thing is then an agreement also with the rebel forces who have got their own obligations and responsibilities in this situation, that as they return to the areas from which they come, so the Sudanese government agrees to return its troops to their barracks, allow the police to go in with the Africa Union monitoring mission there, in order to police the situation properly. The fourth element is we want the government to commit to reaching a comprehensive agreement, north and south in Sudan, by the end of the year. As you know, this process of negotiation has been going on a long time and it is important that agreement is reached, that agreement which is basically in order to give a proper system and balance of government in the whole of Sudan then will have an impact of course in Darfur itself, because it will meet justifiable demands for greater devolution, whilst making it clear that the territorial integrity of the country is preserved. And finally and fifthly, it is important that the government agree unilaterally to abide by the humanitarian protocol and to do everything they can to assist humanitarian aid getting to those that need it.
Now to be fair, as the United Nations Special Representative, Jan Pronk’s principal problem now is security because that obviously affects the ability of the aid to reach the people that it needs. But there is no doubt at all that the United Nations Security Council, the international community, will continue to monitor this situation very, very carefully indeed. The fact that I have come here myself is I hope some indication of the seriousness with which this is taken. We have discussed this, not just with colleagues in the European Union, but with other colleagues in the UN Security Council, I have obviously discussed it with President Bush as well, and it is important that people in Darfur realise that the international community is determined to assist in any way that it can, that the government of Sudan adheres to its obligations and responsibilities, that the rebel forces likewise recognise that they have responsibilities in this situation and must adhere to them also, and that the international focus will not go away whilst this issue remains outstanding.
Now there are many, many other issues in relation to Sudan and in the meeting I have just had with various of the non-governmental organisations they have been at pains to point out that even if we achieve a settlement, or at least greater stability in Darfur, there are many, many other areas of Sudan in which there are huge problems. Britain is one of the leading nations in relation to aid and development in this area, and on the back of a comprehensive deal north and south, it will be possible for there to be a far greater input from us, and indeed from other countries, to help Sudan with the rest of the problems that they have. But meanwhile, this critical problem that is there of displaced people, of people who have suffered the most appalling deprivation, often death, that this problem is focused upon, dealt with, that everyone faces up to their obligations and that people recognise that the international community will remain engaged with this until it is settled.
So the talks were frank and open, and I think constructive, with the Sudanese government, but it is not in the obligations that are stated that the proper result will be achieved, but in the obligations actually implemented, and that is what we need to make sure of in the weeks and months to come.
Question:
Prime Minister, the UN Special Investigator, Jan Pronk, whom you have mentioned, has said that it could take months for Africa Union troops to be deployed and in the interim he would ask for a bridging force of international troops. Are there circumstances under which Britain would commit, on a short term basis, troops to Sudan?
Prime Minister:
I don’t think there is any desire on the part of the Africa Union for outside troops, whether British or European or American troops, to come in. You are right, however, to suggest that there is a time it will take before we expand an Africa Union monitoring mission that is, what, 100 people now, up to the 3,500 that they are talking about. We will of course help logistically, financially. I will be talking to European Union colleagues about this. There is a lot that we can do to help the Africa Union gear up more quickly to fulfil the larger number of forces that are necessary in order to complete this mission successfully, and we will do that. But I don’t think we need wait for the full complement to be there from the Africa Union before we get as many in and build it up as quickly as possible. Now as I say, I will be having discussions, I hope I will speak to President Obasanjo later today as well, who obviously is in the lead role in this in the Africa Union at the moment. The European Union remains ready to help. So we will do what we can because the situation is urgent. We don’t actually need these forces in several months’ time, we need them now. Now we will help them gear up as quickly as possible, but my very strong understanding is there is not a desire for outside troops from the European Union or from Britain to come here, although there is a requirement for logistical support and help and financial help and we will give that.
Question:
You listed what you had asked from the Sudanese government. I wonder what undertakings they have given in return, and given President Bashir’s track record, given that there has been not a great deal of progress, despite the threat of UN sanctions, what makes you think we can believe them now?
Prime Minister:
Well I think what Jan Pronk has said in his report is there has been progress on the humanitarian side but the security side is the principal worry. Well I have listed the five things that I think we require them to commit to. Now the commitment is the beginning, they have then got to follow that through in practice, because we can’t have a situation where thousands of people are dying and nothing is being done about the security situation which brings that about. So getting the humanitarian help in is obviously important, but I think the humanitarian assistance is there, it is the security problem that is making it difficult either to get that assistance to people, or alternatively, even if the assistance is being got to them, there are still villages that are being attacked and people that are subject to violence. So those are the five demands that we have made. We expect them to be agreed to, but we then expect them to be honoured. One other point though I should make, and I stressed this earlier but I will stress it again, there are obligations on the Sudanese government, and I have listed them; there are also obligations on the rebel forces too, and it is important that they get a very strong message from us also that they have their own obligations in order to sign the humanitarian protocol, in order to return to the areas from which they came, and eventually as part of a process to disarm and to agree a comprehensive peace deal.
Question:
We see an increased interest from you and your government on African issues, whether it is the Darfur crisis or the Africa Commission in Addis. How consistent and how far is this going to be in the coming years, especially after you mentioned that you will be serving a third term if you are elected?
Prime Minister:
Right from the outset from 1 May 1997 we have made Africa a major part of the commitment of the UK government. We are now in a situation where we have trebled aid from Britain to Africa. The whole partnership concept was really borne of discussions that originated between myself and the President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki and President Obasanjo. We have now got a situation where with the Africa Commission we have the chance to put before the G8 next year a comprehensive deal for Africa, a plan that lifts the African continent out of the poverty and the misery that so much of the continent is afflicted with today and lifts it to where Africa could be, and I can assure you this will be a major commitment of my government, it has been over the past few years and will continue to be so, and it is a commitment that I believe carries the support of the majority of British people as well. British people care about Africa, they have shown that over many, many years and I hope that the Africa Commission allows us to put forward that comprehensive plan and allows us then to work in partnership with African nations in order to achieve the success and the progress we want.
Question:
Whilst in no way taking away the importance of why we are here, this is the first time that we have seen you since your heart problems last week. We wondered if you can tell us how you feel. Do you feel any measurable improvement? And secondly, can you tell us how it is you react to people who say that because you have now set a limit on your Prime Ministership that you might be a lame duck?
Prime Minister:
Well first of all in respect of my health, I think you can all see here I am addressing you yet again and there is nothing I find more conducive to quick recuperation and recovery than engagement with the British media. It has always been a tremendous pleasure and remains so, even today. Secondly, I think people will find that I am very much looking forward not merely to carrying on in government. I have made it clear what my intentions are and I will carry them through, I can assure you.
Question:
You were talking about the obligations concerning the government , what about the obligations concerning the rebels? The next question is why, if you are talking about the problems all over Sudan, why are you not making another Dayton?
Prime Minister:
Well first of all I think the possibility of the north-south deal by the end of the year is precisely what Sudan needs, that is the important thing, which would give an agreement into which Darfur and its long term problems can fit. Secondly, I think I have made it clear several times during the course of what I have said this morning that I would accept the rebels have got their obligations too, there is no doubt about that at all, and let me emphasise that to you, and it is important that they get the message that just as the government have got obligations to abide by the humanitarian protocol, to make sure that they are refraining from acts of violence against the civilian population, so the rebels have got the same obligations. And in the end the way to get an ultimate agreement is through negotiation, and not through violence.
Question:
Later today the Iraq Survey Group report, the report that you urged us all to wait for, will be published. How quickly will you act to go to the House of Commons and correct any misleading impression you might have given about Saddam Hussein’s WMD if that report comes out and says he did not possess any weapons of mass destruction, rather than the impression you gave which was that his WMD programme was active and up and running?
Prime Minister:
Well I think we have already been over this ground actually in relation to the Butler Report, but I will say some more about it when the report is actually published, and I hope that what is then reported is the fullness of the ISG report and not simply one aspect of it.
Question:
You said you have made your intentions clear about the next term, but I am still not sure what a full third term actually means. Is it two years after the next general election, three years or four years?
Prime Minister:
A full term is a full term and that is what it means, and you know you can work out, as I always say to people, at some point, and I think I said this on the Thursday night that I was interviewed, there comes a point in time when inevitably a political leader steps down, but I don’t intend that to be, provided the British people re-elect us, and they are the boss, they are the people that make the decision, and if they then make the decision, you put yourself forward for a full third term.
Question:
Could I surmise from what you have been saying that sanctions, which was part of the UN resolution, the threat of sanctions, is now off the agenda, because you seem to be saying we won’t really know what has been happening in Darfur for many months, at a time which the African forces will be there?
Prime Minister:
No, the pressure remains on.
Question:
Are sanctions something you will consider every month, as the UN Security Council suggested?
Prime Minister:
The UN’s powers to use sanctions or any other method of compliance remains. All I am saying is that there are certain specific demands that have been made of the Sudanese government that we hope that they will first of all state their agreement to and then honour and see through. But no, we have to keep track of this situation very carefully and at any point in time it can be brought back in front of the Security Council for action to be taken. But it would be better obviously if we are able to secure progress in the way that I have outlined today, and I think the five points that I have made are very specific, I think they are very obvious and I hope that they are adhered to. And the important thing will be not merely to get the statement of intent, but to make sure that it is seen through.
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