05 September 2004	Sunday	19 Rajab 1425

KHARTOUM, Sept 4: Sudan said on Saturday the United States was wrong to try to label the conflict in Darfur as genocide and that recent hardline statements on Sudan were aimed at domestic constituencies and the US elections.

"As long as elections are going on, and as long as both parties are competing for the votes of the African-Americans you should not expect a neutral or fair position to the situation in Darfur," Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters.

The United States criticized the United Nations this week for being soft on Sudan after a UN envoy said Khartoum had taken some steps under the threat of possible sanctions to comply with a demand to increase security in Darfur.

No sanctions were called for. Instead UN envoy for Sudan Jan Pronk proposed a wider mandate for African Union monitors to help stop abuses in Darfur.

US ambassador to the United Nations John Danforth, a former US special envoy to Sudan, reacted quickly saying: "The fact of the matter is that the government of Sudan has been directly involved in attacks on villages."

And while the United States played down the notion of sanctions, an issue revived by the European Union on Saturday, US officials said they wanted to ratchet up the pressure on Khartoum to stop the violence.

The government in Khartoum dismissed US criticism.

"Its (US) decisions are influenced by internal factors whether they be pressure groups or the pending elections. Congress' stance on genocide is and remains a solitary one ... because it (genocide) is simply not happening," Ismail said.

"We are open, we are ready for cooperation. You (America) should give us a chance. You shouldn't push for confrontation," he said.-Reuters