Bush Wants to Keep Working With Sudanese President

U.S. President George Bush says the United Nations should keep workingwith the Sudanese government to get more African Union peacekeepersinto the troubled Darfur region, despite Monday's arrest warrant forSudan's president from the International Criminal Court. VOA WhiteHouse Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story.

President Bushhas long criticized Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for permittingmany of the same human rights abuses included in his ICC indictment.

Butthe United States is not part of that court and has long questioned itsjurisdiction to prosecute government officials or military personnelserving as peacekeepers.

Asked about President Bashir'sindictment, President Bush told a White House news conference that thecourt's action should not affect ongoing negotiations with Khartoum toget more African Union troops into Darfur.

"My thought on Sudanis that the United Nations needs to work with this current governmentto get those troops in to help save lives," he said.

PresidentBush says it is a very difficult and unacceptable situation in Sudanwhere violence between rebels, local militia, and government troops hasled to the deaths of some 300,000 people since 2003. More than twomillion people have been displaced by the fighting in Darfur.

Deploymentof a joint United Nations - African Union peacekeeping force has beenslowed by resistance from Khartoum and a lack of equipment. So far,only 9,000 police and soldiers are on the ground out of the26,000 troops planned.

Aid officials are concerned thatPresident Bashir's indictment could further slow that deployment andworsen the humanitarian situation in Darfur.

The U.S. StateDepartment says Washington makes its own decisions about prosecutingwar crimes and is in no way bound by ICC actions since President Bushrefused to sign on to the court six years ago.

President Bushsays he will keep working with President Bashir, along with all theother parties concerned, to end the violence in Darfur.

"We aretrying to work with the rebel groups so that they speak more with onevoice," he said. "We are trying to work with Bashir to make sure thathe understands there will be continued sanctions if he doesn't moveforward. We are trying to help get these AU troops throughout Africainto Sudan. We are working with the French on the issue of Chad."

Chad and Sudan have both accused each other of trying to destabilize their governments.

PresidentBush says he talked about Sudan with heads of state from the Group ofEight leading industrial nations in Japan last week. During the G8summit, Mr. Bush discussed Darfur with U.N. Secretary General BanKi-moon, and the current chairman of the African Union, TanzanianPresident Jakaya Kikwete.

Tanzania's Foreign Ministry Tuesdaysaid President Bashir's indictment will have serious negativeconsequences on peace efforts and will complicate security on theground.