US spurs Khartoum to let referendum proceed, says ready to help south Sudan

January 5, 2010 (KHARTOUM/WASHINGTON) – U.S Senator John Kerry has enticed the Sudanese government to keep up its pledges to allow South Sudan referendum on independence to proceed peacefully in exchange of improving bilateral relations with the US.

On Monday, Sudan president Omer Al-Bashir visited Juba, the capital of the semi-autonomous region of South Sudan, and declared that he will respect the outcome of south Sudan plebiscite, which is due to run between 9 and 15 January.

The vote, which most analyst expect to result in south Sudan secession, is a key plank of the 2005’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended nearly half a century of intermittent civil war between north and south Sudan.

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry, who is currently visiting Sudan, told reporters on Wednesday that he was pleased “at the efforts and statements made by the government that the referendum would be safe and successful and that its outcome will be respected by everyone.”

According to Sudan’s official news agency SUNA, Kerry expressed his relief at the statements made by Al-Bashir and his keenness to ensure safety and fairness of the referendum.

Kerry, who was speaking following his meeting with Sudan’s presidential assistant Nafi Ali Nafi in Khartoum, said that the U.S government was ready to assist in removing the obstacles of economic sanctions and foreign debts facing Sudan.

He pointed out that the U.S President Barack Obama had previously announced that his administration government would be able to address these obstacles if positive developments are seen.

“I think in this stage we’re seeing the foundation of good economic relations with America and we could also see security relations as well as other types of relations,” Kerry was quoted as saying.

Sudan has been under US economic sanctions since 1997 over alleged support of terrorism and the situation in the western region of Darfur, where nearly 300.000 people were killed and millions were displaced as a result of conflict between government forces and rebel groups, according to UN figures.

For his part, Sudan’s presidential assistant Nafi Ali Nafi said it was in the north’s best interest to foster complementary and sustainable relations with the south if it opted to secede.

Nafi was further quoted by SUNA that such move would receive support from the international community and the US in particular.

The meeting between Nafi and Kerry discussed the importance of accelerating the process of resolving the pending points in the CPA implementation.

North and South Sudan have been engaged in talks with seemingly little progress over a host of post-referendum arrangements, including sharing of oil revenues, currency, citizenship, foreign debts and the status of the contested, oil-producing area of Abyei.

However, president Al-Bashir vowed during his visit to Juba to resolve all the pending issues before the end of the CPA’s timeframe in July 2011.

“We resolved to carry on discussions so that we are done with these issues before the end of the interim period on July 9th,” Bashir said.

Presidential assistant Nafi said that his meeting with Kerry had touched on Darfur issue and the importance of accelerating the process of a settlement to the conflict in the region.

“We appreciate the opinions and suggestions we heard from him [Kerry] and we hope the talks would further advance efforts to resolve the issues,” Nafi said.

WASHINGTON ECHOES OPTIMISM, SAYS READY TO HELP SOUTH SUDAN

Respectively in Washington, US officials on Wednesday echoed Kerry’s optimism about the referendum, and declared that their country is ready to help the new state in the south to stand on its feet.

“We think that it will reflect the will of the people, that it will occur on time, peacefully and in a well-organized manner,” U.S Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson said, as reported by Reuters.

Carson also said the US was “extraordinarily pleased” by Al-Bashir’s statements, adding that they hope that “the north … will live up to those very promising statements.”

The US official pointed out that “the United States has invested a great deal of diplomacy to ensure that the outcome of this referendum is successful and peaceful.”

Last month, President Obama sent letters to regional leaders including the Libyan leader Al-Qaddafi, Egypt’s president Hosni Mubarak and Kenyan leaders Mwai Kibaki and Ralia Odinga, asking them to increase diplomatic efforts to ensure that the referendum proceed smoothly.

Also, there have been reports that the US government will dispatch Secretary of State Hillary Clinton along with other senior US officials to Khartoum on Saturday, 8 January, one day before the vote kicks off.

Carson said that the US government would help the new nation “to succeed, get on its feet and to move forward successfully, economically and politically.”

Similarly, a senior official at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said that the US government is ready to recognize the new state and help it to improve infrastructure.

“We anticipate ramping this up very quickly after the referendum,” said Larry Garber, the deputy administrator for Africa USAID, as quoted by Reuters.

South Sudan is currently one of the least developed countries in the world.

(ST)