Sudan must end civil war to improve ties to U.S., Bush says

WASHINGTON, April 8, 2004 (dpa) — U.S. President George W. Bush said Wednesday that Sudan’s government must end the country’s long-running civil war before the United States moves toward normalizing relations.

Sudan must also stop militias in the separate conflict in the western Darfur region from committing atrocities against civilians, Bush said, adding that he directly expressed his views to Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir.

“The government of Sudan must not remain complicit in the brutalization of Darfur,” Bush said.

The ethnic Arab Janjaweed paramilitaries have been waging an offensive in western Sudan aimed at pushing out black African Moslems, causing more than 100,000 people to seek refuge in Chad.

In a separate conflict between the Moslem government and Christian rebels in the south, more than 20 years of fighting has killed more than 2 million people.

The United States has been heavily involved in mediating a peace deal, and the two sides were thought to be close to an agreement at the end of last year, but negotiations have stalled.

Sudan is on the U.S. State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, and the United States does not maintain full diplomatic relations with Khartoum.

“Reaching a just and comprehensive agreement must be an urgent priority for both sides,” Bush said in a statement from his ranch in Crawford, Texas. “The United States will move toward normal relations with the government of Sudan only when there is a just and comprehensive peace agreement.”