A majority of U.N. Security Council members oppose immediate heavy sanctions on Sudan if it fails to quell ethnic violence in its western Darfur region by a deadline at the end of the month, Britain's Foreign Office said Friday.
| "What's the hurry? It's only a few dead darkies..." |
Some countries opposed sanctions on principle;
| The principle being that countries should be allowed to bump off their own citizens in droves without any interference from the civilized world... |
others feared that vested interests in Sudan would be damaged by economic embargoes; and others — including Britain — were wary of giving the impression that the "international community is beating up on the government of Sudan," a senior Foreign Office official said.
| Too bad Sudan isn't wary of giving the international community the impression that it's slaughtering its own citizens... |
On July 30, the Security Council gave Sudan 30 days to disarm the Arab militia, known as Janjaweed, or face economic or diplomatic punishment.
| A stern letter, no doubt... |
More than 30,000 people have been killed and a million forced to flee their homes in Darfur, which the United Nations has deemed the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Days before British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw's visit to Sudan, officials briefing reporters Friday said council members were still debating what to do if Sudan misses its deadline — but that swift, severe action was unlikely.
| It's the UN we're talking about, so we can assume any action is unlikely... |
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