Bush renews US economic sanctions on Sudan

Nov 1, 2006 (WASHINGTON) — US President George W. Bush renewed US economic sanctions on Sudan for one year and left open the door to imposing new ones linked to the violence in Darfur, the White House said.

“I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency and to maintain sanctions against Sudan,” Bush said in a letter to the US Congress released by the White House.

The US president cited actions and policies that “are hostile to US interests and pose a continuing unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”

The United States has a wide range of economic sanctions in force against Sudan, from bans on trade and all oil and petrochemical transactions to prohibitions on selling defense-relate goods to Khartoum.

In addition, “the United States has designated individuals at the United Nations under targeted sanctions, in the form of an assets freeze and travel ban,” said White House national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

Washington “is prepared to pursue the designation of additional individuals that continue to commit violence and impede the peace process in Darfur,” he said.

(AFP)