'We Are the Angels of Peace'

May 30, 2007 — -- In a blistering attack on the Bush administration, Sudan's ambassador to the United States accused the United States of destroying Sudan with economic sanctions.

"If the sanctions are targeting my country, it is a wrong recipe. It is a wrong recipe the economic sanctions are going to accelerate, make things worse for the people of Sudan in general and the people of Darfur in particular," said Ambassador John Ukec, adding, "I do not see any connection between the situation in Darfur and the current sanctions."

Ukec began a news conference with a 23-minute opening statement. Nearly shouting at times, he called on the United States to cease meddling in Sudan's internal affairs.

"We appreciate the role of the United States. But the role of the United States should not go beyond our sovereignty. We are the owners of the country. We know how complicated our wars are. And we have come a long way."

The ambassador stated that the sanctions would undo agreements already signed, including one that ended a 50-year war between the north and the south.

"These sanctions actually destroy the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. It destroys the Darfur Peace Agreement. It destroys the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement," he said.

He argued that Sudan had accepted the U.N. peacekeepers, that the Sudanese government was trying to deal with Darfur and that Sudan was on the road to becoming a democracy.

"We are trying to go back and do what the United States and the rest of the world wants Sudan to be. A democratic country,"

Claiming that the Bush administration is trying divide his country, Ukec said the sanctions were likely to lead to more violence.

"It is unacceptable for our resources to be hijacked by another country," he said. "We will not accept that. ... My government and my people are going to be very much worried that the U.S. has a different agenda than peace. We are the angels of peace."

He went further, saying the sanctions would hurt the people -- not the government -- of Sudan.

"The government of the United States is, in fact, destroying my country rather than [being] constructive, working together with my country. The substance of the sanctions is targeting the poor people," he said.

Ukec emphasized that the 31 companies on the U.S. sanctions list produce necessary goods for the Sudanese people, saying, "Those companies are companies that are critical for our life. Oil companies, heating oil, grain, sugar, pharmaceuticals. We are going to be forced to go where to get medications for all the hospitals of Sudan? Where are they going to go? It is a death sentence to a large number of people."