U.S. special envoy’s visit to East Sudan causes rift within NCP
February 9, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – A visit made by the U.S. special envoy Scott Gration to East Sudan last week appears to have caused a split within the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).
It also added that authorities in East Sudan barred the U.S. from meeting with Beja tribe figures.
Later the Sudanese foreign ministry spokesman denied the report stressing that it gave Gration permission to visit Port Sudan, in Red Sea state. He further asserted that Gration’s visit had nothing to do with the political situation in the east, nor does it mean that the U.S. is now concerned with the affairs of East Sudan.
But the presidential adviser Mustafa Ismail slammed Gration’s trip saying that the U.S. had played no role in the East Sudan peace agreement and did not pledge any funds during the donor conference held in Kuwait last December.
Ismail said that the foreign ministry approved Gration’s visit despite refusal by local officials in East Sudan thinking that will help in efforts to normalize ties between the two countries. He described the foreign ministry’s decision as “unfortunate”.
The Sudanese official said that people in North Sudan are skeptical of any new U.S. role given its support to the separation of South Sudan and its repeated unfulfilled promises on lifting sanctions.
The United States had declared the peaceful conduct of South Sudan’s January independence referendum a top priority and offered the Khartoum government a ‘roadmap’ to full ties if it allowed the vote to proceed and made progress on Darfur.
This week, the U.S. began the process of removing of Sudan from list of countries that sponsor terrorism in response to the NCP’s acceptance of the referendum results.
Sudanese officials are frustrated over what they see as the U.S. raising the bar for normalizing ties.
(ST)