US special envoy arrives in Juba for talks with Sudan 1st VP
October 6, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – The US special envoy to Sudan Richard Williamson arrived in the Southern Sudan capital of Juba for talks with First Vice President Salva Kiir scheduled for tomorrow.
Sudan official news agency (SUNA) that the US official made the visit “at his request”.
This weekend the Sudanese government revoked Williamson’s visa and sent him a letter stating that he “is not welcome to visit at the present time”.
After pressure from Washington Khartoum reversed its decision on Williamson’s visa the next day, a senior US State department official said.
The US State department official who spoke on condition of anonymity told the daily Ajras Al-Hurriya that Williamson’s stance on deferring the indictment of Sudan president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court (ICC) caused the row.
In a meeting between Sudan 2nd Vice President Ali Osman Taha, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Williamson last week, Sudan demanded Washington’s help to invoke Article 16 which allows the UN Security Council (UNSC) to suspend the ICC prosecutions in any case for a period of 12 months that can be renewed indefinitely.
But Taha was told that US will not allow the deferral and warned Khartoum no to interfere with international justice, the State department official said.
SUNA reported that the US special envoy will meet with presidential adviser Nafi Ali Nafi and deputy foreign minister Mutrif Sideeg to discuss the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), Abyei protocol and Darfur crisis in light of the Qatari mediation efforts.
In September Nafi told reporters in Cairo that Khartoum and Washington will resume normalization talks in mid-October.
However the news agency made no mention of resuming the high level dialogue that focused on normalization for ties between the two countries which came to a halt last June over the dispute between North and South Sudan over the oil rich region of Abyei and Williamson’s failure to bridge differences between two sides.
Even though the issue was resolved later on, normalization talks never resumed.
Later the top US official on Africa, Jendayi Frazer, said it was unlikely that talks about normalizing relations with the United States would resume before the U.S. elections in November.
The Chicago Tribune reported last month that Bush administration officials have been approaching the normalization issue with caution, fearing that further public backlash might hurt Republican candidate John McCain’s campaign. They’ve urged Sudanese officials to make bold gestures and demonstrate a commitment to reform so that any deal will be acceptable to the American public and Congress.
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Moses Kur Akech
US special envoy arrives in Juba for talks with Sudan 1st VP
Khartoum is trying by all means to seek ways to get away with this crime but their indecisive attempts seem unworkable.
The only way Khartoum may gain some concession is to clearly commit itself in dealing with these problems it caused with genuine political goodwill.
This would have been the time for reconciliatory measures to helping those who have long been systematically oppressed and brutalised by the regime to get over the trauma. Tackling the country outstanding issues with good faith can send a clear message to the outside world on Khartoum willingness to bringing rest to the country. But, the current Khartoum polictics of intimidation will do little in changing International community’s stance on systematic abuse of human right perpetrated by Bashir’s regime across the country.