http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/05/16/465845/Sudan-EU-secret-deal-refugee-crisis-Omar-alBashir
EU brokers secret deal with Sudan to stop refugees: Report
Mon May 16, 2016 8:20AM
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (File photo)
The European Union has reportedly brokered a controversial deal with
Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir in an effort to stop refugees
entering the continent from Africa.
The ambassadors of the 28-member-state bloc held a meeting on March
23, during which they agreed to work together with Bashir to stop the
refugees' flow to Europe, German newspaper Spiegel reported.
Under the deal, the bloc will provide eight African countries,
including Sudan, with £40 million over three years to secure their
borders, the daily has found.
The European Commission warned that “under no circumstances” should
the public learn about the agreement.
Classified documents obtained by Spiegel indicate that Europe also
will provide cameras, scanners and servers to the Sudanese government
to register refugees.
Under the project, led by Germany, Sudanese border police will be
trained and Germany will construct camps and detention rooms for
Sudan.
According to Sudanese authorities, several people from Germany visited
the African country in recent weeks to discuss the construction of
closed camps.
This file photo released by the Italian Navy (Marina Militare) on
March 16, 2016 shows refugees seated on an inflatable boat during a
rescue operation off the coast of Sicily. (AFP photo)
Sudan, Africa's third largest country, is a key route for refugees
from Eritrea, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the
Central African Republic, who make their way via Khartoum to Libya,
where they take boats to Europe.
The EU deal with the Sudanese president has concerned rights groups
since Bashir faces International Criminal Court (ICC) charges of
genocide and war crimes in the 2003 conflict in the western region of
Darfur.
Sudan's cooperation to stop the refugees, however, is questioned
within the EU since the Sudanese government is accused of working with
criminal networks in illegal crossing of refugees. According to a
report by the human rights group, the Sudanese police and military
have been selling refugees to human smugglers.
Europe is struggling with the biggest refugee crisis since the World
War II. Refugees are fleeing conflict-ridden zones in Africa and the
Middle East, particularly Syria, to reach Europe.
The EU has already come under fire for brokering a deal with Turkey to
return back all the asylum seekers and refugees who had used the
Aegean Sea to illegally reach Greece.
The bloc, however, is in a stand-off with Turkey on the future of the
agreement since Ankara refuses to make changes to its anti-terror laws
as required by the EU.
On Friday, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) denounced the deal as a
“historic abdication” of Europe's moral and legal responsibilities.
In an open letter to EU member states and institutions, MSF chief
Joanne Liu said the agreement “effectively outsources caring for these
people to Turkey.”
Over a million refugees entered Europe through Turkey and Greece last
year and then made their way through the Balkans to Germany and other
northern member states of the bloc.
Received on Mon May 16 2016 - 09:40:29 EDT