Bush needs a political victory in the Sudan

By Mohamed Gamal Arafa, IOL Cairo Staff

CAIRO, February 12 (IslamOnline.net) – A Sudanese official source has revealed that the U.S. Administration intensified its pressures on Khartoum to reach a final peace deal with southern rebels in an attempt to help President George Bush achieve a dual political victory.

Gaining a second White House term during this year’s November Presidential elections is one aim figuring high on the list of reasons behind pushing Khartoum to conclude a peace deal with Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), according to the Sudanese governmental source, who wished not to be named.

In a statement to IslamOnline.net Wednesday, February 11, the official said that the U.S. pressures also aim to support Bush’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize for his “efforts” to settle a 25-year conflict between the government and SPLM/A led by John Garang, which claimed the lives of 1.5 millions and displaced another four millions.

Nobel Peace Institute has declared in late January, 2004, that the European Union, Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are among those nominated for the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize.

In press statements issued a week ago, U.S. State Department officials have said that the chances of Bush winning the prestigious Prize are “high in case he succeeds to push for the conclusion of a peace deal between Khartoum and the rebels.”

The U.S. officials added that Bush’s success in boosting peace in the Sudan may help him out of his current dilemma, particularly after the bitter criticism leveled by his political rivals due to the failure of the U.S. occupation troops to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq which were the main cause for the invasion of the oil-rich Arab state in March 2003.

The officials pointed out that the European states, particularly Norway, give great importance to (ending) the struggle in southern Sudan, as European parliaments permanently debate humanitarian issues in this region.

The U.S. officials think that hastening the conclusion of a peace deal may also step up Bush’s chances to win another term of office.

U.S. Envoy To Khartoum

Within the framework of the same U.S. efforts, U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Charles Snyder arrived in Khartoum Wednesday to boost peace negotiations with the Sudanese rebels, expected to be resumed in mid-February in Naivasha, Kenya.

The Sudanese source expected that Washington would demand the Sudanese government anew to hold a signing ceremony in the White House to conclude a pro-forma peace deal before the end of the negotiations regarding all outstanding issues.

A high-ranking Sudanese official told IslamOnline.net January 19 that the U.S. government had suggested “Khartoum should arrange a signing celebration to conclude what had been agreed upon as per the division of the oil wealth of the south”.

Khartoum refused the offer, according to the source, and told the U.S. government about its desire to do so following the conclusion of the final deal and the settlement of all outstanding disputes.

In an interview with the Egyptian Al-Ahram newspaper January 13, Sudanese Foreign Minister Mostafa Othman Ismail expressed Khartoum’s desire to conclude a peace deal with the SPLM in Africa, not in Washington.

“We prefer to conclude such an agreement in Africa, as we want to send a message to others to the effect that Africa is capable of contributing to the settlement of its problems,” he said.

A U.S. State Department spokesman has declared Tuesday, February 10 that Snyder’s talks in Sudan will focus on means of pushing forward negotiations with the SPLM.

The official in charge of African affairs will also debate the situation in Darfour, west of Sudan and means of concluding a cease-fire agreement between the rebels there and the Sudanese central government to provide assistance to those displaced and battle-inflicted, according to the U.S. spokesman.

The conflict in Darfour has claimed the lives of hundreds, according to official figures. On the other hand, the rebels declared that such conflict has claimed the lives of 3000 in addition to 500.000 people who had to flee the battles, heading towards Chad.