Sudan's Latin America Diplomatic Offensive By Ismail Kamal Kushkush, IOL Correspondent "Latin American countries have become important because some have a position in the UN Security Council," Abdallah told IOL. KHARTOUM — Sudan is moving to create new political and economic allies in Latin America in what is seen as a diplomatic offensive against mounting pressures from the West over the Darfur conflict. "A Sudanese diplomat will be leaving to Caracas soon," Omar Hamid Abdallah, head of the Venezuela desk at the External Relations Ministry, told IslamOnline.net on Sunday, February 8. "There are two Venezuelan diplomats in Khartoum at the moment." Initial contacts between Khartoum and Caracas began at the Arab-Latin American summit in Brasilia in 2005 and continued at the Africa-Latin America summit in Abuja, Nigeria, in 2006. "Sudan was a backer of Venezuela's issues and Venezuela was a backer of Sudan's issues," Javier Merayo Garces, head of mission at the Venezuelan embassy in Khartoum, told IOL. "Venezuela has always backed the position of Sudan on the ICC." The International Criminal Court (ICC) is expected to decide as early as this month whether to issue an arrest warrant against President Omar al-Bashir. ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has accused Bashir of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Arab and African leaders oppose the move and are lobbying of at a one-year renewable suspension in the case, warning it could threaten the peace process. The Darfur conflict broke out in 2003 when rebel groups took arms against the government accusing it of neglect and discrimination. According to the UN, nearly 300,000 people have lost their lives as a result of fighting, disease and malnutrition and 2.5 million have been displaced. The Sudanese government puts the death toll at 10,000. No independent inquiry has been made up to date. Diplomatic Offensive Garces says a Sudanese embassy in Caracas would be "a platform to deliver Sudan's message to Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America." The Sudanese-Venezuelan rapprochement is seen as being part of a diplomatic offensive to build new ties to counter Western pressures. "Latin American countries have become important because some have a position in the UN Security Council," said Abdallah, the External Relations Ministry official. Historically, Sudan's relations with Latin America have been minimal. The trend started to change when Sudan established diplomatic relations with Brazil in 2004. Garces, the Venezuelan diplomat, says a Sudanese embassy in Caracas would be "a platform to deliver Sudan's message to Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America." Many experts agree. "I think the reason Sudan is extending its foreign relations in this time is the many external challenges that it's facing," Hasan Haj Ali, a political science professor at the University of Khartoum, told IOL. "Some countries like Brazil, Venezuela and Mexico are emerging as significant international players," he explained. "Sudan is trying to break attempts to isolate it." Haj Ali says economic cooperation between Sudan and Venezuela, especially in the oil sector, will provide Khartoum with alternative trading partners. "Sudan can benefit from Venezuelan expertise in the oil sector," he said. "South-South relations are becoming important to Sudan and many African leaders since they are seen as not being based on political conditions like those from the global North." * Isma’il Kamal Kushkush is a Sudanese-American freelance writer currently based in Khartoum, Sudan http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1233567720277&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
