US decision to drop Sudan from terror list imminent: FM
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August 17, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti
said that the United States administration will soon decide to remove
the country from the list of states that sponsor terrorism.
JPEG - 33.5 kb
FILE - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) speaks as Sudanese
Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Karti (L) listens as they address to the
media January 26, 2011 at the State Department in Washington, DC.
(Reuters)
Karti told the pro-government Al-Rayaam newspaper in an interview that
Sudan has been under U.S. monitoring for the last six months in
accordance with the relevant U.S. laws that require certification that
the East African nation does not support terrorist groups.
The Sudanese top diplomat said that the evaluation and assessment
process by Washington is now complete.
“The recommendations have now been completed and submitted and 15 days
are left from today so the picture becomes clear….This issue will be
presented for a decision from the [US] president and then it will be
reviewed whether this should be presented to [US] Congress,” Karti
said.
Last year the Obama administration promised to de-list Sudan by
mid-2011 should it recognizes and facilitates the independence of
South Sudan.
Presence on the U.S. state sponsors of terrorism list bars a country
from receiving U.S. arms exports, controls sales of items with
military and civilian applications, limits U.S. aid and requires
Washington to vote against loans to the country from international
financial institutions.
The de-listing process however, appears to have been stalled by
clashes that erupted in South Kordofan between the Sudanese army and
Sudan People Liberation Army (SPLA) units as well Khartoum’s military
takeover of Abyei which is a contested oil-rich region that lies on
the North-South borders.
As a result Sudanese officials have started to voice frustration at
Washington saying that it has not lived up to its promises and that it
keeps moving the goalposts.
Two visiting US officials recently including special envoy to Sudan
Princeton Lyman and Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human
Rights, and Labor Michael Posner received a cool welcome in Khartoum.
Neither Lyman nor Posner have been able to meet with key Sudanese
officials in what appeared to be a deliberate move.
Karti has warned in earlier statements that positions taken by some
circles within the government in Khartoum may hamper normalization of
ties with Washington including a rebuke by the parliament of the
Congress.
(ST)
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