Obama defends his administration efforts on Darfur

June 5, 2009 (WASHINGTON) – The US president Barack Obama defended the actions taken by his administration with regards to the Darfur crisis.
Obama speaking in Germany in a press conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel where he came to commemorate the Holocaust said that the work done on the Darfur issue is underestimated.
“We’ve been working diligently to solve that immediate problem [in Darfur] and get humanitarian assistance back on the ground” Obama said.
“We’ve been very active on this issue. It may not have received the attention in the press that some of the other issues have, but we are spending a lot of time trying to make sure that we make progress and that the people of Darfur are able to return to their homes and live in peace” he added.
The US president said he raised the issue during his meeting with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on Thursday.
The Obama administration has been receiving growing criticism from Darfur advocates in the US who say that little has been done to press the Sudanese government to halt the Darfur violence.
Other critics say that Obama’s administration is backing on its promises made during the campaign to make Darfur a priority and deploy tougher approach in dealing with Khartoum.
Over the last few months US officials have suggested that normalizing relations with Sudan and lifting sanctions are on the table in what appears to be a different approach than his predecessor.
Sudan has welcomed the gestures form Obama describing them as “positive”.
Obama said that his administration through his special envoy Scott Gration is working to revive the Darfur peace process and to solve the situation that resulted from Sudan’s expulsion of humanitarian organizations in March.
The US is throwing its weight behind talks in the Arab Gulf state of Qatar between Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Khartoum.
On the issue of humanitarian organizations Washington said that Sudan promised to allow Western relief groups to replace the expelled ones but so far nothing has materialized.
Obama reiterated his labeling of the Darfur conflict as “genocide” saying the international community has an obligation to act “even when its inconvenient”.
(ST)