Darfur Advocacy Groups Not Surprised by Suspension of US-Sudan Talks

By Wasil Ali

June 3, 2008 (WASHINGTON) – The Darfur advocacy groups in the US have expressed little surprise over the abrupt suspension of normalization talks between Washington and Khartoum.

Demonstrators listen to a speaker after a march sponsored by The Save Darfur Coalition to mark International Human Rights Day with a Dream for Darfur Torch Relay through the streets of Washington, DC to China’s embassy, 10 December 2007 (AFP) John Prendergast, a former Clinton administration official and Co-Chair of the ENOUGH Project, an initiative to end genocide and crimes against humanity, told Sudan Tribune that the talks “were ill-fated because the U.S. approached them without any leverage”.

“U.S. Defense Secretary Gates himself has said that it make sense to pursue negotiations only when you have built some leverage” he added.

Professor Eric Reeves, Smith College English professor and Sudan expert, echoed the same call saying “it is hardly surprising that he [Williamson] found it impossible to make progress in normalizing relations with Khartoum’s genocidaires”.

The US special envoy told reporters in Khartoum today that dialogue with the Sudanese government on bilateral ties will be halted after failing to broker an agreement between the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) over the oil rich region of Abyei.

"Until they want a meaningful peace, there is nothing the United States or others can do. I’ve tried my best and I leave sad and disappointed," he said following days of talks on how to resolve a crisis in Sudan’s Abyei district.

"Right now our talks are suspended," he added.

Professor Reeves accused the Sudanese government of “deliberately and systematically” escalating military tensions in the area.

“Khartoum continues to renege on key terms of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), including accepting the binding arbitration of the Abyei issue reflected in the July 2005 report of the distinguished Abyei Boundary Commission (ABC)” he said.

The ‘Save Darfur’ coalition issued a statement attributed to its president Jerry Fowler, saying that the decision by the US to suspend the talks “must not be an end to robust U.S. engagement to resolve the crises in Abyei and Darfur – neither of which can be solved in isolation from the other”

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