Bush greets SPLA guests after signing the get-tough-on-Sudan sanctions bill

WASHINGTON, October 22 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – U.S. President George W. Bush signed Monday, October 21, legislation calling for sanctions on Sudan if he decides Sudan is not negotiating in good faith with southern rebels – a bill that Sudan's government described as "unbalanced and not objective" and damaging to the Sudan peace process.  

"The Government of Sudan must choose between the path to peace and the path to continued war and destruction," Bush said in a statement released by the White House after he signed the "Sudan Peace Act." 

"If it makes the right choice, that course will mean improvement in the lives of all Sudanese, better bilateral relations with the United States, and the beginning of its reacceptance into the community of peace loving nations," he added, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).  

In a separate statement, Bush said that he viewed the legislation's requirements as non-binding because of the executive branch's prerogative to chart the course of U.S. foreign policy. 

Sudan's government branded the measure "unbalanced and not objective," and said the bill offers insurgents in the southern part of the war-torn country no incentive to stay engaged in the peace process.    

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail Saturday, October 19, branded as "unbalanced and  not objective" the U.S. Congressional resolution calling for sanctions against Khartoum. 

"We believe the resolution was unbalanced and  not objective and would not help in pushing the different parties to carry on with the peace process," Ismail told AFP.

"Furthermore, it will not encourage the [southern rebel] movement to abide by the peace process." 

The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) "will not be punished if it derails the peace process whereas the government will be punished for causing the failure of the process," he argued. 

Ismail called on Bush to observe "objectivity and balance" when considering whether to sign the resolution into law, in order to "persuade all [Sudanese] parties to achieve peace." 

Under the new law, the U.S. President must evaluate every six months whether the government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) are pursuing peace talks in good faith. 

If he finds that the government, but not the SPLM, is acting in bad faith or has "unreasonably interfered with humanitarian efforts" in the south, then Washington will vote against multilateral loans to Sudan and consider downgrading or suspending diplomatic ties, the resolution says. 

The United States will also try to prevent Sudan from using oil revenues to acquire weapons, and will seek a U.N. Security Council resolution imposing an arms embargo on Sudan's government. 

The legislation also authorizes the administration to spend 100 million dollars a year in fiscal years 2003, 2004, 2005 to improve conditions in areas of Sudan not under government control. 

And the Sudan Peace Act also directs the U.S. Secretary of State to collect information about possible crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes committed by any party to the conflict in Sudan. 

Sudan's government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army signed a Memorandum of Understanding October 15 in Machakos, Kenya, pledging to suspend fighting and resume peace talks. 

Just two days later, the rebels blamed an attack on rebel forces in eastern Sudan on the Khartoum government, claiming it violated the truce. 

The Sudan media reported Friday, October 20, that the government was fighting in that area, but against Eritrean troops, not Sudanese rebels.

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