Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir: A Confrontation Is a Million Times Better for Us than Allowing UN Forces in Darfur

Following is an excerpt from a speech delivered by Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on August 29, 2006:

Omar Al-Bashir: We will not agree to transfer the mission of the African Union forces in Darfur to anyone. We will not allow the African soldiers in Darfur to replace African berets with U.N. berets. If people want the African Union forces to stay in Darfur, and if they want to support them - fine. If they don't support them, they should start planning their withdrawal now. We've done the math, guys. We've done the math. What would be cheaper and what would be worse - to accept this resolution or to confront (them). We've found out that a confrontation is a million times better for us. The confrontation is a million times better for us. The confrontation would be better and cheaper for us than to sign that we accept U.N. forces in Darfur.