Tuesday, May 08, 2007

China, Russia breach embargo: Amnesty

More behavior problems on the part of Communist China. I think it was a bit premature for Mia to say recently that the response from Beijing was 'extraordinary'.

SMH: May 9, 2007 - Amnesty International accused China and Russia of breaking a UN arms embargo on Darfur by letting weapons into Sudan.

China, the biggest foreign investor in Sudan, dismissed the accusations and said it would send military engineers as part of a UN package to support the African Union force in Darfur.

A Russian Foreign Ministry official also denied the charges.

Amnesty said it was "deeply dismayed" by the flow of arms allowed by China and Russia, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, and said the weapons were often diverted to be used in conflict in Darfur and neighbouring Chad.

"The authority of the Security Council itself is being greatly undermined as the Sudanese authorities and armed groups in Darfur are allowed to act with such obvious impunity before the eyes of the world, importing and diverting arms to commit flagrant violations of international law," Amnesty said.

The United Nations says some 200,000 people have died and more than two million have fled their homes since the conflict flared in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the government, accusing it of neglect. Sudan says only 9,000 have perished. (more)

OLYMPIC WATCH: Human Rights in China and Beijing 2008

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