KHARTOUM, Sudan - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said Wednesday that African Union forces can maintain order in Darfur and rebuffed calls for the use of United Nations forces.
"Our experience with U.N. operations in the world is not encouraging," al-Bashir told an Associated Press reporter Wednesday at his residence.
"There are sufficient forces in the Sudan from African countries to maintain order and they can provide order. All we need is funding for the African troops."
Al-Bashir has resisted intense international pressure to allow U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur, saying they would be "colonialist."
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson met Wednesday with al-Bashir in part to try to persuade him to change his mind on the U.N. force, but was unable to achieve that goal. Bashir did not commit to allow any more U.N. troops into Darfur.
Richardson's other main objective was to get a cease-fire, and he claimed accomplishment by issuing a joint press statement with al-Bashir that said both sides in the fight agree to a 60-day cessation of hostilities while they work toward lasting peace. However, many issues were outstanding, including whether al-Bashir would uphold his verbal agreement with Richardson when he has a history of breaking commitments.
There is broad skepticism around the world about al-Bashir's commitment to peace after years of support for local militia attacks on innocent civilians in Darfur. More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million forced to flee their homes in violence that President Bush has labeled genocide.
Seven thousand African Union troops have been assigned to provide security in Darfur, but even the commander of the force acknowledges he needs help.
"The force is too small to do the job," Maj. Gen. Luke Aprezi told Richardson Tuesday during a meeting at A.U. headquarters in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. "We need more troops on the ground."
Al-Bashir spoke briefly to an AP reporter traveling with Richardson's delegation at the end of their meeting. He also said he was not refusing peacekeepers, but he did not elaborate as Richardson led the delegation out of the room before any follow-up questions could be asked.
Al-Bashir may fear that a large U.N. presence would constrain Sudanese army troops and their allied militias, as well as make it more likely that suspected war criminals be brought to trial by the International Criminal Court. Al-Bashir has refused to hand over suspects to the ICC.
But he also placed some blame for the violence on the rebel armies who refused to sign the government's cease-fire agreement last May in Abuja, Nigeria. The rebels have been fighting against the government for what they consider decades of neglect and discrimination by Khartoum.
"The situation is deteriorating," Richardson told Sudanese reporters waiting outside the residence. "I'm concerned about it. I believe that the rebel groups need to become signatories to the peace agreement, the Abuja peace agreement. And we press the rebel groups very strongly to become part of the peace process."
Richardson met with three rebel delegates in Darfur Tuesday who have refused to sign. They told him they will insist that al-Bashir disarm the janjaweed, reunite the three states in Darfur, give them a role in the government and pay victims for their losses.
Richardson asked rebels he met if they would be willing to lay down their arms for 60 days and negotiate a cease-fire with the government. They said they would.
"When the government is serious, we have no problem," said Col. Adul Abdallah Ismail of the Sudan Liberation Movement.
But it's not clear who the three men that Richardson met with represent since the rebels have become increasingly fragmented since the May agreement. The three who met with Richardson said they want to have a conference of those who did not sign to choose common leadership, but the government is preventing it.
Richardson said al-Bashir agreed to support the meeting and a peace summit with the rebels no later than March 15, 2007.
Richardson had expressed confidence that he could make progress with al-Bashir because of a decade-old relationship with him.
The Save Darfur Coalition that has been raising awareness of the crisis and pressing for a resolution paid for Richardson's trip because he has worked with al-Bashir in the past and successfully argued on two occasions for the release of foreigners being held prisoner in Sudan.
Richardson has unusual international contacts for a governor, having served as U.N. ambassador under President Clinton and on the Intelligence Committee while a congressman. His diplomatic experience would be part of his expected campaign for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.
