US envoy to Sudan to testify before US Congress on ‘Plan B’
By Wasil Ali
April 9, 2007 (WASHINGTON) — The committee on foreign relations at the US senate is scheduled to conduct a hearing named ‘Darfur: A ‘Plan B’ to Stop Genocide?” next Wednesday. The committee has invited Andrew S. Natsios, President Bush’s Special Envoy to Sudan to testify.
The US has threatened Sudan with a ‘Plan B’ if it doesn’t agree to the proposed deployment of a “hybrid” force of 20,000 United Nations and AU peacekeepers and police officers. Natsios revealed that the sanctions include restricting dollar transactions with companies doing business in Sudan and imposing an asset freeze and a travel ban on three Sudanese figures.
Natsios has declined to elaborate publicly on the other aspects of ‘Plan B’ during his testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Darfur last February. He offered a classified hearing to US lawmakers on the ‘Plan B’ if needed. It is not clear whether Natsios will unveil any new information on Sudan’s proposed sanctions package during the upcoming hearing.
US officials told Reuters two weeks ago that they are moving ahead with Plan B within a few days. According to the Washington Post this was delayed until after Easter. However, Jackson Dahl from the same newspaper revealed that president Bush expressed his dissatisfaction with the sanctions package presented to him by the government agencies.
(ST)