US special envoy downplays talk of imminent normalization with Sudan

By Wasil Ali

May 01, 2008 (WASHINGTON) — The US special envoy to Sudan Richard Williamson downplayed the possibility of a quick normalization in relations between Washington and Khartoum.

Williamson told a group of Darfur activists in a conference call sponsored by Enough Project from Washington that he does not foresee improvement of ties with Sudan “during his tenure”.

Last February the Sudanese foreign minister Deng Alor told reporters that he expects to normalize relations with Washington within 4-6 months after more than a decade under U.S. sanctions.

“There has to be changes on the ground before any improvement in relations” the US envoy said.

Last month the New York Times (NYT) obtained a series of documents exchanged between the Washington and Khartoum on a series of steps to normalize relations between the two countries. The documents were leaked by an unidentified US official described as being “critical of the administration’s position”.

The report said that the Bush administration could remove Sudan from an American list of state supporters of terrorism and normalize relations if the Sudanese government agreed, among other steps, to allow Thai and Nepalese peacekeepers as part of the peacekeeping force.

But Williamson stressed today that “nothing would be taken on promises” from the Sudanese government. He further said that tougher sanctions remain an option on the table if the US president Bush deems them necessary.

In a response to a question on whether the US will try to push new action on Darfur during its presidency of the UN Security Council (UNSC) Williamson said there is “no game plan” so far.

He also blamed the Chinese and the Russians for blocking an initiative in the UNSC last week setting benchmarks to Khartoum on the deployment of the peacekeepers in Darfur.

The US has been pushing the UN secretariat for a quick deployment of the force. However the world body insisted that the logistical issues make it impossible to accomodate more forces at a quicker pace.

UNSC adopted resolution 1769 on July 31st which authorized a hybrid UN-AU force (UNAMID) consisting of 26,000 troops and police but so far it only has only 9,000 personnel.

However the deployment was impeded by Khartoum’s objections to the composition of the force and lack of helicopters. The UN has for months been seeking 6 attack and 18 transport helicopters to support the force with no success.

International experts also say more than 300,000 were killed and 2 million have been driven from their homes by the conflict in Darfur, a region that is roughly the size of France.

(ST)