August 17, 2009 (WASHINGTON) — The United States announced today that is finishing up its comprehensive policy review of Sudan that will determine its conflict resolution strategy for the largest country in Africa.
“I think we are getting close to the point where we will announce the – a new policy approach on Sudan. I would expect that in the next couple of weeks,” the assistant US Secretary of State Philip Crowley told reporters today.
The release of the long awaited policy review was delayed by behind the scenes divisions within the Obama administration on the balance between the use of sticks and carrots with Khartoum.
The US presidential envoy to Sudan Scott Gration, currently visiting the region complained to US lawmakers last month that the decade-long unilateral sanctions imposed through executive orders and the status of Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism are undermining his diplomatic leverage.
Gration, testifying at the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said that “the consequences of the sanctions that result from that, and other sanctions, are preventing us from doing the development we absolutely need to do,”.
“At some point we’re going to have to unwind some of these sanctions so that we can do the very things we need to do,” he said.
Later Gration told Reuters that his remarks he made to US lawmakers had been misunderstood and that he was only suggesting limited changes to sanctions that would contribute to the development of South Sudan.
Crowley said that the public will see “the fruits of General Gration’s labor emerge here very shortly,”. It is not clear if that is an indication that the US envoy lenient approach has prevailed in the debate within the administration.
The US diplomat said that Gration will not travel to Khartoum or Darfur but that his itinerary only includes Juba and Malakal in South Sudan.
Yesterday the head of the US bureau at the Sudanese foreign ministry Nasr Al-Deen Wali said that Gration will fly to the town of Al-Fasher in Darfur to inspect IDP camps.
Crowley’s briefing did not explain why the Darfur stop was cancelled. However, many IDP’s across the camps have expressed outrage at Gration’s conciliatory stance with Khartoum and his refusal to use the term genocide in describing the Darfur conflict.
While in South Sudan, Gration will “finalize agreement on a bilateral action plan between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the National Congress Party (NCP) to ensure the full and complete implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in advance of critical election and referenda milestones in 2010 and 2011, respectively”.
Gration has expressed worry over the slow pace of preparations for the 2010 elections and 2011 self determination referendum for South Sudan.
The Southerners say that the result of the census conducted last year are “questionable” and so it should not be used for determination of electoral constituencies but the dominant National Congress Party (NCP) rejects the argument.
The US special envoy will travel to Addis Ababa for a meeting aimed at uniting rebel factions from the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and bring them to the negotiating table in Doha.
The legacy SLM led by influential Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur residing in Paris is boycotting the meeting amid strained relations with Gration.
The US state department Gration will also meet with Ethiopian Prime minister Meles Zenawi after which he will fly to Egypt for meetings with Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, Sudanese Presidential Advisor Ghazi Salah Al-Deen, Libyan Secretary of the General People’s Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation Musa Kusa, and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.
Gration may meet members of South Sudan government in Cairo as well, Crowley added.
In London, more than 200 Darfuris demonstrated to protest Gration’s “appeasement” policy towards Khartoum.
Yesterday, Darfur advocacy groups sent a letter to Gration deploring his strategy in dealing with Sudan saying that he is “at odds with the President’s [Obama] promise and will quash the hopes of all Sudanese for justice, peace, and the end of the culture of impunity that has afflicted Sudan,”.
“U.S. policy must not simply ignore history and start “fresh” with the GoS with “no preconceptions.” U.S. policy must be tough-minded, and define specific benchmarks for significant improvements by the GoS if it wishes to avoid substantial new pressures being applied, let alone pressures being relieved”.
(ST)
حركة العدل و المساواة السودانية
موقع متخصص بنقل آخر الأخبار و البيانات و القرارات لحركة العدل و المساواة السودانية