July 21, 2005
Rice angry her entourage manhandled in Sudan
Associated Press
KHARTOUM, SUDAN - Security forces in the Sudanese capital manhandled U.S.
officials and reporters traveling with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
marring her round of congratulatory meetings with leaders of the new unified
government. Rice demanded an apology, and got it.
"It makes me very angry to be sitting there with their president and have
this happen," she said. "They have no right to push and shove."
Rice made her remarks to reporters after she and her entourage boarded an
airplane to fly from the capital to a refugee camp in the Darfur region. At
the camp, she said the United States would hold the Sudanese government to
account if it fails to end the refugee crisis.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the Sudanese foreign minister
responded to Rice's demand for an apology by telephoning her aboard the
plane to express regret for the incidents at the ultra-high-security
residence of Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir.
Twice, Sudanese guards' hostility toward members of Rice's entourage
devolved into shouts and shoving.
As Rice's motorcade arrived at the residence, armed guards slammed the gate
shut before three vehicles could get in, including those carrying Rice's
interpreter and other State Department officials who were supposed to attend
her meeting with el-Bashir.
After protests, the officials were eventually allowed in. But guards
repeatedly pushed and pulled Rice senior adviser Jim Wilkinson, and at one
point he was shoved into a wall.
"Diplomacy 101 says you don't rough your guests up," Wilkinson said later.
Once Rice's traveling group was inside, the guards tried to keep reporters
out of a planned photo shoot of Rice's meeting.
When reporters were finally allowed in, they were elbowed and guards
repeatedly tried to rip a microphone away from a U.S. reporter. They were
ordered not to ask questions, over State Department objections.
When NBC diplomatic reporter Andrea Mitchell tried to ask el-Bashir a
question about his involvement with alleged atrocities, a scuffle broke out.
Guards grabbed the reporter and muscled her toward the rear of the room as
State Department officials shouted at the guards to leave her alone. "Get
your hands off her!" Wilkinson demanded. But all the reporters and a camera
crew were physically forced out.
-cont.-
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/headline/world/3275276
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