Canada Says Sudan Diplomat to be Ousted

29 August 2007

By ROB GILLIES

TORONTO -A Sudanese diplomat will be expelled from Canada within days in response to Sudan's decision to kick out Canada's charge d'affaires, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

The Foreign Affairs Department said the Sudanese diplomat, who has yet to be identified, will be ordered to leave the country by Saturday. Ministry officials said the diplomat would hold a similar rank to Canadian acting charge d'affaires Nuala Lawlor, who the Sudanese government ordered expelled last Thursday after accusing him of "meddling in its affairs."

"Canada considers the expulsion of our charge d'affaires to be entirely unjustified," Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier said in a statement.

Along with Lawlor, Sudan said it was expelling the European Union's top diplomat in the country for "meddling" in its affairs. But the government later said it would allow Kent Degerfelt to complete the remaining three weeks of his mandate as long as he was replaced by someone new.

On Monday, Sudan also ordered out the head of CARE International's operations in the country. No reason was given for the official's expulsion, but the group had been directing one of the largest private aid efforts in Darfur.

Sudan has faced mounting criticism in the face of violence in Darfur, where 200,000 people have died since 2003 in fighting that began when ethnic African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated government, accusing it of discrimination.

The government is accused of unleashing the janjaweed militia in response — a force allegedly behind some of the worst atrocities against civilians in the region.

Stung by criticism, Sudan has taken a hard line against what it says is interference in its internal affairs by outsiders.