Sudanese hope for U.S. policy change
By ANDREW ENGLAND
Associated Press Writer
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) -- The crumbled remains of the El Shifa
pharmaceutical factory are a testament to U.S. policy toward Sudan
in the 1990s -- hostile, unapologetic and, some would say,
destructive.
Pedestrians walk past the remains of the El Shifa factory in Khartoum, Sudan Wednesday, May 9, 2001.
The pharmaceutical plant was destroyed by U.S. missiles in 1998 after Washington claimed it was being
used for making precursors for chemical weapons. Now the government of President Omar el-Bashir
hopes the administration of U.S. President Bush will adopt a new policy of constructive engagement with
Sudan. (AP Photo/Abdel-Raouf Hassan)
Now, almost three years after U.S. missiles destroyed the
Khartoum plant that intelligence reports indicated made precursors
for chemical weapons, Sudan wants better relations with Washington.
"It's our policy that we establish communications with the
United States. We are inviting Americans to come ... companies,
politicians, religious groups," Mahdi Ibrahim Mohamed, Sudan's
last ambassador to United States, said. "We do not want to pass
the judgment we passed on the Clinton administration on this one."
With President Clinton in office, Washington lambasted President
Omar el-Bashir's government for being an oppressive, undemocratic
sponsor of terrorism that carried out gross human rights violations
and condoned slavery.
Attacks by the Islamic government on Christian and animists
seeking autonomy for southern Sudan have angered U.S. religious
groups.
Sudanese officials in turn accused Washington of being ignorant
of Sudan and supporting the Sudan People's Liberation Army rebels,
while simplifying the conflict as one between northern Muslim,
Arabs, and the black, Christian south. The war has claimed some 2
million lives since it broke out in 1983.
They also deny U.S. allegations the bombed pharmaceutical plant
was linked to chemical weapons production and alleged terrorist
Osama bin Laden.
The United States has not had an ambassador in Sudan since
February 1996; Sudan's ambassador to the United States was recalled
in 1998.
Relations were not always so poor. Sudan, a huge country that
bridges black Africa and the Arab world, was the biggest
sub-Saharan Africa recipient of U.S. aid from 1974 to 1989. But
relations soured after el-Bashir came to power in a bloodless coup
in 1989.
"If there is a new policy ... there is no country in the world
at this juncture that is in need of the intervention and help of
the United States like Sudan," Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman
Ismail said in a recent interview.
President Bush recently told the American Jewish Committee:
"Sudan is a disaster area for human rights." But shortly after
the speech, the State Department disclosed that a dialogue had
begun with Sudan based on evidence the country had demonstrated a
"serious intent to get out of the terrorism business."
El-Bashir in February jailed Hassan Turabi, an Islamist who many
consider an opponent of the West. Turabi, once the government's
chief ideologue, was fired when el-Bashir dissolved parliament last
year.
Sudanese officials deny the slavery and terrorism allegations.
In 1999, they accepted that "abductions" take place in the south,
but said they were carried out by outlawed militia groups.
The government says it has democratized the nation, moved from
military to civilian rule, created greater press freedom and
improved human rights.
"We don't claim we haven't made mistakes ... but we are doing
our best to move things forward," Mohamed said.
Even some critics of el-Bashir's government say the United
States should reopen its embassy and improve relations.
Roger Guarda, the U.N. resident coordinator in Khartoum, says a
"wrong" image of Sudan has been portrayed to the world, adding
that Clinton's policy "did not help improve the situation in
Sudan."
"We are seeing more and more in the shops, more visitors and
Internet cafes, the overall outlook has improved," Guarda said.
"The big issue is the United States' position ... Sudan itself has
toned down its strident fundamentalist policies, although still
things are not hunky-dory."
In contrast to the United States, European countries are moving
to re-establish relations with Sudan.
The European Union suspended relations with Sudan in 1990 after
the coup. But last December, following a year's dialogue, it agreed
to fund a $13 million development program -- the first in a decade --
and has started a second year of talks.
Observers say U.S. involvement is key to ending conflict in the
impoverished nation.
"We need to add U.S. technology in our lives to build the
economy. Sudan is very poor ... it's not dangerous," said Mohamed
Osman, a day guard at El Shifa. |
