Posted on 08/23/2007 8:06:01 PM PDT by Clive
KHARTOUM, Sudan (CP) - Canada's top diplomat in Sudan and his European counterpart were expelled for what was described as "meddling" in Sudanese affairs, but a Foreign Affairs spokesperson says Canada's representative was just doing her job.
The Foreign Affairs Department says the Canadian charge d'affairs is Nuala Lawlor, not Alan Bones who was identified from a diplomatic list in earlier media reports.
Rodney Moore, a spokesperson for the department in Ottawa, said Canada had asked Sudan to explain the move.
"We have asked Sudanese authorities to explain why they have expelled her," he said.
"In our view she was standing up for human rights and the rule of law in Sudan, in the finest tradition of Canadian diplomacy."
Sudan's state news agency said Thursday the charge d'affaires and the EU envoy were summoned separately to the Foreign Ministry, which declared each a "persona non grata" and handed them expulsion notes.
The Foreign Ministry's diplomatic listing records Kent Degerfelt as EU head of mission in Sudan.
No details of the allegations against the diplomats were immediately available. But many western countries have been critical of the Sudanese government's role in the country's wartorn Darfur region.
SUNA quoted the Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying the two diplomats were "involved in activities that constitute an intervention into the internal affairs of the Sudan, a matter that contradict their diplomatic duties and mission."
It was unclear whether the diplomatic jargon inferred spying activities, for example, as has been the case in the past, or meant that the Sudanese government felt the two or their countries had been raising embarrassing issues.
John Thompson, president of the Toronto-based Mackenzie Institute which studies political instability and terrorism, said the expulsion means the diplomats were doing their jobs well.
Most countries may declare a person "persona non grata" when they are involved in intelligence gathering, he said.
"For countries like Sudan, they (expel diplomats) because the diplomat is becoming effective, getting close to things and looking at things they don't want people to pay attention to," he said. "In this case it is a sordid little dictatorship worried about diplomats actually doing effective work."
"For both of them, it is a tremendous professional compliment."
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman said "Sudan is keen to maintain the relation of co-operation linking it with the European Commission and with Canada."
"This incident should not hamper the relations between the Sudan and both the EC and Canada," Sadeq said.
The Canadian Embassy and the EC office declined to immediately respond to phone call queries.
Thompson said Canada's response could include a tit-for-tat where the Sudanese ambassador is thrown out of Canada.
The problems in Sudan have gone on for decades. Thompson said only a large numbers of peacekeeping troops sent in on a robust mission would end the violence.
"That's not going to happen. No one's got the troops to spare," he said.
In Brussels, the EC was reluctant to say much at this stage but EU spokesman Antonia Mochan told The Associated Press that the commission "received a letter relating to the position of the head of delegation and we're trying to resolve the issue."
More than 200,000 people have died in Sudan's embattled Darfur region since ethnic African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated central government in 2003, accusing it of discrimination.
Khartoum is accused of retaliating by unleashing militias called janjaweed, who are blamed for atrocities against civilians in a conflict that has displaced more than 2.5 million people.
Earlier this year, a report from a UN Human Rights Council team criticizes the international community for failing to halt atrocities in Darfur and urged the UN to protect civilians from a violence campaign orchestrated by the Sudanese government.
In July, the UN Security Council approved plans to send a peacekeeping force to Darfur. The resolution is co-sponsored by Britain and France and would see about 26,000 troops in Sudan's western region.
When it is up and running, it will be the international body's largest peacekeeping force.
As of the end of July, there were 31 Canadian Forces members serving in Sudan as part of a UN mission.
Canada spends $59 million a year on aid to western Sudan, making it the third-largest recipient of Canadian international aid.
It will look good on her curriculum vitae,
This makes our mutual point.
The Darfur job will definitely not be "peacekeeping".
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