US envoy says open to stronger relationship with Sudan

April 2, 2009 (WASHINGTON) – The US Special Envoy to Sudan, Scott Gration, told reporters in Khartoum during a day of meetings with government officials that “we are looking for opportunities for us to build a stronger bilateral relationship.”

Gration is a former Air Force General whom President Barack Obama on Monday called “one of my top national security advisors.” He is fluent in Swahili and participated in the first US air war over Iraq.

“It is a real honor for me to be here in Sudan and to have this privilege to have this first looking and listening tour. The objective of this trip is to look, listen, and learn. I am coming here with no illusions, with no preconceived ideas, and no solutions,” said the envoy in remarks after his first meeting at the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Gration met with members of the Sudan government and with the African Union-UN Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassolé, according to a State Department official. He is scheduled to leave for Darfur on Saturday, the source added.

“The United States and Sudan want to be partners and so we are looking for opportunities for us to build a stronger bilateral relationship. And I come here with my hands open and it will be up to the Sudanese government to determine how they want to continue with that relationship, hopefully it will be with a hand of friendship, hand of cooperation, and one that we can move ahead, because like all my American colleagues ‘ana ahib Sudan’ [I love Sudan],” he said, speaking the last phrase in Arabic.

Likewise, Sudanese Foreign Affairs Ministry Undersecretary Ali Al-Saddig “pointed out that the two sides affirmed that it is not impossible for Sudan and US to work together to surpass differences,” according to the official Sudan News Agency.

Normalization talks between Sudan and the US broke down last year after the envoy at the time, Ambassador Richard Williamson, determined that the incentives offered were not enough to bring about satisfactory changes on the ground in Darfur.

The new administration has thus far declined to say definitely how it expects to relate with Sudan, but it has called on the government to reverse its decision to expel 16 aid groups from Darfur. A policy review is still ongoing, one official insisted. Members of the Obama team have toned down some of the more aggressive policy suggestions made before the US presidential election, signalling a determination not to resort to coercion from the start.

In opposition to the current approach, a former high-level member of the Bush administration on Wednesday voiced greater hostility toward Sudan and scepticism at diplomatic efforts. Asked about the ongoing US diplomacy and its delegation in New York, Ambassador John Bolton remarked to Sudan Tribune in Washington, “I think there’s been a lot of rhetoric from the administration but it’s a lot harder to get things done at the UN than some of their rhetoric would imply. Whether that will fundamentally change their approach remains to be seen.”

Bolton, who represented the US at the United Nations, wrote last week that “the most logical answer to Bashir’s murderous ways is not to indict him from the safety of The Hague, but to empower the Sudanese and others to overthrow him.”

“You can’t have a lot of hope that you’re going to get much done through the UN,” he said Wednesday.

The former official also criticized the administration’s decision to again fill a special envoy position, saying “this is just a polite way to distance Secretary Clinton from the thing.” Referring to the Monday appearance of Gration alongside Obama, he added that recently the administration has had “a lot of photo-ops, but I’m not convinced of just how serious it is.”

Gration’s polite remarks today prompted SLM rebel chief Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur to issue an appeal to the US administration not to “waste their time” on negotiations with Khartoum. He urged them instead to “focus on the core of the conflict and to exert efforts to ensure the security of the civilians in Darfur.”

Al-Nur stated that he does not believe the US administration should engage in “futile discussion on issues such the return of the expelled aid groups.” He clarified that the US should not compromise with Khartoum on the terms of the return of the ousted NGOs.

Sudan’s government has called its decision against the international aid groups “irreversible” and vowed to completely “Sudanize” the aid effort within one year. Undersecretary Siddiq remarked today that the humanitarian situation in Darfur will not be affected by the expulsions.

(ST)