2007年VOA标准英语-Bush Threatens Tougher Sudan Sanctions

President Bush is threatening tougher economic and military sanctions against Sudan if it does not follow through on promises to improve security in the troubled Darfur region, where more than 200,000 people have died.  VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story.

President Bush says he has heard a lot of promises from Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

President Bush speaks at US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington 18 Apr 2007



"Unfortunately, these agreements have been routinely violated," he said.  "Sudan's government has moved arms to Darfur, conducted bombing raids on villages. They've used military vehicles and aircraft that are painted white, which makes them look like those deployed 2 by humanitarian 3 agencies and peacekeeping forces."

Speaking at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, Mr. Bush says the status quo in Sudan must not continue.

"President Bashir's record has been to promise cooperation while finding new ways to subvert 4 and obstruct 5 the U.N.'s efforts to bring peace to his country," he added.  "The time for promises is over. President Bashir must act."

President Bush says President Bashir has one last chance to meet what he calls the just demands of the international community.  Mr. Bush says the Sudanese leader must follow through on this week's promise to allow the deployment 6 of 3,000 U.N. peacekeepers.

President Bush says Sudan must stop supporting militiamen, reach out to rebels, allow relief aid to reach those in need, and facilitate the full deployment of a 20,000-strong U.N.-Africa Union peacekeeping force.

President Bush says President Bashir has a short period of time to stop what he calls a pattern of obstruction 7. If he does not, Mr. Bush says, the U. S. Treasury 8 Department will bar from the U.S. financial system 29 companies owned or controlled by the government of Sudan, making it a crime for Americans to do business with them.

He says Washington will also seek a U.N. resolution applying new sanctions against Khartoum and individuals responsible for violence, proposing an expanded embargo 9 on arms sales and prohibiting any offensive military flights over Darfur.

Imposing 10 a no-fly zone would be a major escalation 11 of military intervention 12 in the region where 7,000 African peacekeepers have failed to stop four years of violence that has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced more than 2 million civilians 13.

Most of the international community blames Khartoum for backing Arab militiamen who have targeted civilians.  But the government denies involvement in these attacks and says it is local rebels who are responsible for the violence.

President Bush says rebels have contributed to the instability, killing 14 civilians, stealing supplies, and adding to the region's lawlessness.