Sudanese ruling party vows to frustrate sanction attempts

[XXPANTHAXX]

Tuesday February 8th, 2005.

KHARTOUM, Feb 7, 2005 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese Secretary General
of the ruling National Congress (NC) Party Ibrahim Ahmed Omar
stressed here on Monday that the government would do its best
to frustrate attempts to impose sanctions on Sudan.

Omar told reporters that Sudanese First Vice President Ali
OsmanTaha would present the government's stance on how to
solve the Darfur problem to the UN Security Council on
Tuesday.

Omar pointed out that the Sudanese government had decided to
assume the stance at the five-way summit held in Tripoli last
October, which was attended by leaders of Libya, Egypt,
Nigeria, Chad and Sudan.

Taha and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)
leaderJohn Garang have been invited by UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan toaddress the Security Council's session Tuesday.

During the session which will last for two days, the council
will discuss the arrangements to implement the peace
agreement which the Sudanese government signed with the SPLM
on Jan. 9 as well as the UN role.

"The UN secretary general's call to impose sanctions on Sudan
isbaseless and unjustified because he is not a president of
an international government nor an executive authority," said
Omar.

"Annan might have been confused about the issue," he said,
expressing hope that the UN Security Council would listen to
real facts on the issue and regard the efforts exerted to end
the crisisin the region.

At the African summit last week in Abuja, Annan urged the UN
Security Council to discuss the issue of imposing sanctions
againstSudan because of the violations against human rights
that allegedlytook place in Darfur.