CAIRO – Shunning the isolation policy of his predecessor, US President Barack Obama has formulated a new policy of “incentives and pressure” to better engage with Sudan. “We want to go far,” US special envoy to Sudan retired general Scott Gration told The New York Times on Saturday, October 17.
“And to do that we are going to have to go with Khartoum.”
The new policy, to be announced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday, envisages engagement with the Arab-African country.
It would offer a mix “incentives and pressure” to cajole Khartoum to pursue peace efforts in the troubled Darfur region.
The conflict broke out in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the Khartoum regime accusing it of discrimination.
The UN says over 300,000 have died as a result of conflict, disease and malnutrition and 2,5 million have been displaced.
New Direction in US-Sudanese Relations The Sudanese government says that 10,000 have died.
No independent inquiry has been made to date.
The US policy would also set strict time lines for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to meet obligations under the 2005 peace agreement with southern rebels.
“To advance peace and security in Sudan, we must engage with allies and with those with whom we disagree,” said a statement of the policy obtained by the Times.
The 2005 north-south peace deal ended a two-decade civil war between the north and south.
The accord established an interim period, with a coalition government between the Muslim north and mostly Christian south and the sharing of oil wealth.
It ends in 18 months with a referendum in the south on whether to secede.
Shift
The engagement policy marks a shift in the administration’s policy on Sudan.
“People were wrestling with the question of how to deal with the fact that to get to the best-case scenario — which is to change the behavior of the Khartoum government,” said a senior administration official.
“We are going to have to work with a government responsible for so many atrocities.”
During his election campaign, Obama had pledged to isolate Sudan over the Darfur conflict.
Relations between Sudan and the US worsened under the Bush administration which had frequently used the term "genocide" to describe the conflict in Darfur.
But relations took a new turn since Obama came to office in January.
Gration, who has been leading efforts to engage with Sudan, said the government’s war efforts in Darfur did not anymore appear to represent a "coordinated effort" and that the current situation represented "remnants of genocide."
In July, Gration called for removing Khartoum from the US terrorism blacklist and ending long-running sanctions on the Arab country.
The Obama administration later decided to lift the sanctions off certain areas of Sudan, including the south.
"The wild card is whether the intentions on paper will be translated into practice by the diplomats carrying out the strategy," John Prendergast, co-chairman of the Enough Project, told the Washington Post.
“(Until now) the president's special envoy has indicated a very clear public preference for incentives only."
Source: IslamOnline
“And to do that we are going to have to go with Khartoum.”
The new policy, to be announced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday, envisages engagement with the Arab-African country.
It would offer a mix “incentives and pressure” to cajole Khartoum to pursue peace efforts in the troubled Darfur region.
The conflict broke out in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the Khartoum regime accusing it of discrimination.
The UN says over 300,000 have died as a result of conflict, disease and malnutrition and 2,5 million have been displaced.
New Direction in US-Sudanese Relations The Sudanese government says that 10,000 have died.
No independent inquiry has been made to date.
The US policy would also set strict time lines for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to meet obligations under the 2005 peace agreement with southern rebels.
“To advance peace and security in Sudan, we must engage with allies and with those with whom we disagree,” said a statement of the policy obtained by the Times.
The 2005 north-south peace deal ended a two-decade civil war between the north and south.
The accord established an interim period, with a coalition government between the Muslim north and mostly Christian south and the sharing of oil wealth.
It ends in 18 months with a referendum in the south on whether to secede.
Shift
The engagement policy marks a shift in the administration’s policy on Sudan.
“People were wrestling with the question of how to deal with the fact that to get to the best-case scenario — which is to change the behavior of the Khartoum government,” said a senior administration official.
“We are going to have to work with a government responsible for so many atrocities.”
During his election campaign, Obama had pledged to isolate Sudan over the Darfur conflict.
Relations between Sudan and the US worsened under the Bush administration which had frequently used the term "genocide" to describe the conflict in Darfur.
But relations took a new turn since Obama came to office in January.
Gration, who has been leading efforts to engage with Sudan, said the government’s war efforts in Darfur did not anymore appear to represent a "coordinated effort" and that the current situation represented "remnants of genocide."
In July, Gration called for removing Khartoum from the US terrorism blacklist and ending long-running sanctions on the Arab country.
The Obama administration later decided to lift the sanctions off certain areas of Sudan, including the south.
"The wild card is whether the intentions on paper will be translated into practice by the diplomats carrying out the strategy," John Prendergast, co-chairman of the Enough Project, told the Washington Post.
“(Until now) the president's special envoy has indicated a very clear public preference for incentives only."
Source: IslamOnline
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