U.S. lawmakers want monitoring of possible aid by Sudan to LRA
March 3, 2011 (WASHINGTON) – Two U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill on Thursday that would require Obama’s administration to ensure that the Sudanese government is not providing support to the notorious Lord Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda.
This legislation cosponsored by Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) and Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), requires the White House to certify to Congress that Khartoum is “no longer engaged in training, harboring, supplying, financing, or supporting in any way the Lord’s Resistance Army, its leader Joseph Kony, or his top commanders”.
“Last year, bipartisan legislation was signed into law requiring the Administration to devise a strategy to end the LRA’s atrocities. The strategy promises to ensure the LRA ‘receives no support or safe haven.’ I view this legislation as part of that effort,” said Royce, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade.
Led by Joseph Kony, the LRA took up arms in 1988 in northern Uganda, where they acquired a reputation for brutality. Since 2005, under pressure from the Ugandan army, the fighters pulled back from their bases in north Uganda to move into the far northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, across the border from the CAR.
Last year, the Ugandan army and a number of groups including International Crisis Group (ICG) claimed that Kony has moved to the restive region of Darfur in Western Sudan. But Khartoum denied the presence of Kony in the country and dismissed accusations that it is maintaining contacts with LRA rebels.
The U.S. said earlier this year it has no evidence to support this claim.
Khartoum once backed Kony but severed the relationship in 2005, at the signing of a peace agreement between Sudan’s north and south. Southern Sudan is set to become the world’s newest state next July after the referendum held earlier this year pointed in favor of independence.
Washington is in the process of delisting Sudan from the terrorism designation which was promised if the North recognizes the outcome of the referendum in the South.
Sudan has been branded by Washington as a state sponsor of terrorism since 1993 in connection to its sheltering of trans-national hard-line Islamists, including Al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden.
However, the Sudanese government shifted shape and engaged in counterterrorism cooperation with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) following the 1999 schism in its ranks between supporters of President Al-Bashir and those of veteran Islamist leader Hassan Al-Turabi.
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Omoni Atari
U.S. lawmakers want monitoring of possible aid by Sudan to LRA
This is what i want WASHINGTON to do for North sudan.
Bravo lawmakers.
Not only L.R.A but also not to support the south sudan militias like Athor and his likes.
john a
U.S. lawmakers want monitoring of possible aid by Sudan to LRA
i am with US lawmakers, it is time to be tough with the NCP dictatorship regime to stop funding terrorist groups like LRA,Janjaweed, the al Qaeda in lands of two niles (Sudan) and many more. time to pressure NCP to give political freedoms to opposition and to democracy. lifting sanctions now from NCP will be a grave mistakes which US lawmakers should allow.
john a
U.S. lawmakers want monitoring of possible aid by Sudan to LRA
two day ago thre NCP is give weapons to miseriya arabs to attacks innocences civilians in Abyie. the NCP refuse to respects commitments to Abyie. UN and ICC should investigate such massacres of innocence civilians by NCP arab militias otherwise what is the UN and ICC helping if women and children dying in your eyes?
john a
U.S. lawmakers want monitoring of possible aid by Sudan to LRA
HUman rights has reached its lowest point in Sudan. NCP leads by omer basher is raping students. security forces in khartoum are gang raping women and girls who participate in pro-democracy protests students tortured. students forces to piss on eachother and on qoran by security forces in khartoum. where is the democracy with the human rights which make NCP in khartoum deserves relief of sanctions?