US may revoke sanctions on Sudanese company

By: Wasil Ali

August 14, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — The top US diplomat in Sudan said that he is working to remove the name of a Sudanese company from a sanctions list.

The Al-Sahafa daily said that the Chargé d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, Alberto M. Fernandez sent a letter to the CEO of Sheikan Insurance company Osman Ibrahim saying that he has called on his government to revoke sanctions imposed on it.

President Bush imposed new sanctions last May against the Sudanese government in reaction to the violence in Darfur, preventing 31 of its companies and two officials from doing business in the United States or with U.S. companies.

Last month Ibrahim met with Fernandez and protested against the US sanctions imposed on Sheikan. Ibrahim told the US diplomat that his company provides insurance coverage to humanitarian convoys working in Darfur.

But Fernandez told Ibrahim that the sanctions were also aimed at rebel groups and not just the Sudanese government.

Sheikan Insurance is believed to have a stake in Azza Transport Company which was also sanctioned by the US for alleged transport of weapons into war ravaged Darfur.

Ibrahim commended Fernandez for his positive response on the issue of sanctions describing him as an “objective figure”.

However removing Sheikan from the US sanctions is likely to be an uphill battle given the fact that US agencies have thoroughly reviewed the list of companies with links to the Sudanese government.

Last week Michael Gerson, a columnist at the Washington Post, quoted an anonymous US official as saying that the Sudanese government is “feeling financial pressures across the board, really flailing on the financial side.”

US sanctions on Sudan go back to 1997 when Clinton’s administration issued an order prohibiting the imports of Sudanese goods or exports of US technology and goods to the East African nation because of the country’s alleged support of international terrorist activities.

(ST)