Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
exclusively produces is in the public domain.
September 10, 2009

US Quietly Eases Some Sudan Sanctions
-------------------------------------

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=2683CDE:A6F02AD83191E160AE8020081CC4CAF02A201403E89ED254&
 
Change opens way for agricultural and medical assistance for Southern
Sudan, Darfur, other areas 
2005 peace agreement ended 20 years of war between north and south The
United States has changed the
regulations for its sanctions against Sudan.
The announcement comes during a visit to Sudan by U.S. Special Envoy
Scott Gration.

The
Treasury Department is issuing a general license that allows the
"exportation
and re-exportation of agricultural commodities, medicine and medical
devices to
specified areas of Sudan."

Those
areas include Southern Sudan, Southern Kordofan / Nuba Mountains State,
Blue
Nile State, Abyei, Darfur and what are called marginalized areas in and
around
Khartoum.

The
announcement also comes at a time when the 2005 Comprehensive Peace
Agreement
(CPA) between the North and South is showing signs of strain.

"I
think it is an interesting and an important step," says Foud Hikmat,
special
advisor on Sudan and the A.U. for the International Crisis Group, in
Nairobi.

After
the CPA was signed, he says, funding development programs for Southern
Sudan
lagged because of the crisis in another region of the country, Darfur.
Donors attached conditions to the funds,
calling for a settlement there between the government and its militia
allies
and rebel groups.

Several
million people have been displaced and hundreds of thousands killed, in
what
U.S. officials and others have described as genocide.

"It
is important at this…time where Sudan now is really going through a
bottleneck.
And everybody is concerned whether it is going to come out of this
bottleneck
into stability or perhaps implode," he says.

Both sides want something

"One of the things that they (ruling
party leaders) want is normalization…with the U.S. Hundreds of
thousands of people have fled Darfur for neighboring Chad and other
countriesadministration. And as part of this bargaining the U.S. envoy
wants to make sure that the CPA does not fall apart…and finding a
solution in
Darfur, the National Congress Party alsowants something back, something
in
return," he says.

Normalizing
relations would include the lifting of sanctions and removing Sudan from
the
U.S. list of nations that support terrorists.

"The
areas that now are excluded from these sanctions definitely need this
money
because without the peace dividends (for) the normal citizen, in terms
of the
social services, in terms of livelihood, the situation is not going to
change,"
Hikmat says.

Sanctions amendment sends message

Members of Sudan's Dinka tribe from Abyei hold banners reading 'Abyei is
100% southern' (File Photo) "Politically, it's giving a
message. How significant, of course,
remains to be seen…. The biggest problem
in Sudan is the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and
the
benchmarks ahead of us, which are the elections and the referendum (in
Southern
Sudan) and finding a solution to Darfur.
So that then Darfur could be…brought into the Comprehensive Peace
Agreement. At the moment, this is not
there," he says.

The referendum is scheduled for 2011 on whether Southern Sudan should
break away and become independent.

The
ICG advisor describes the situation in Sudan as "serious stagnation."

"If
there isn't a breakthrough in the coming period, I think that we'll see
Sudan
risking sliding into more chaos," he says.

Hikmat
and other analysts see a real risk of renewed war in Sudan if the CPA is
not
fully implemented. The war between the
north and south lasted more than 20 years.

"It's not just only the war like
before. It might be even bigger than
that because it might involve…violence within the north and not just
only
Darfur, which is going to have serious consequences for Sudan and for
the immediate
region and for Africa as a whole," he says.

				
.E2Afeedback Titlebg		{
	background-color:##f5f5f5;
	width:100%;
	padding-left:8px;	
  	padding-top:2px;	
  	padding-bottom:2px;
	border-bottom: 1px ##cccccc dotted;
	border-top: 1px ##cccccc dotted;
				}
.E2Afeedback Content		{
	background-color:##ffffff;
	width:100%;
	margin:0;
	padding:8px;
	border-bottom: 1px ##cccccc dotted;
				}				
				
.E2Afeedback Titlefg {
	font-size: 14px;
  	font-weight: bold;
	color: ##666666;
	font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
  	text-align:left;
}
				
.E2Afeedback Body {
	font-size: 12px;
	font-weight: normal;
	font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
	color: ##666666;
  	text-align:left;
}

	
		
			 Feedback

		
	
	 
		 
			We'd like to hear what you have to say. Let us know what you think of

			this report and other news and features on our website. Email your
views 
			about what is happening in Africa to: africa@voanews.com. Please 
			include your name and phone number if you would like us to include
your 
			comments on our programs. Or, telephone us and leave a message. In
the US, call: (202) 205-9942. 
			After you hear the VOA greeting, press the number "30" and leave your
opinion. We
			may use it on our daily broadcasts.

		
	


.