Bush signs Sudan peace act
2004-12-24 08:43
Washington - President Bush on Thursday signed legislation that authorises $300m (about R16 910 747) to help victims of violence and support peace talks in the African nation of Sudan.
The bill, passed by the Senate in a voice vote on December 7, also encourages Bush to impose sanctions on Sudan's government. The House passed the measure in November.
The United Nations has described violence in Sudan's western Darfur region as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. A UN report issued earlier this month said 2.3 million people in the region need aid.
The violence started in February 2003 when two non-Arab African groups began a rebellion. The government responded by backing Arab militias who have been accused of killing and raping civilians. The United States says the militias have committed genocide.
The bill authorises $200m (about R11 302 153) in aid, including money for the deployment of more African peacekeepers in the region, and another $100m (about R5 652 215) as an incentive for reaching a final peace agreement in the 21-year war between the Sudanese government and the southern rebel group, the Sudan People's Liberation Army. That conflict is separate from the Darfur violence.
Authorises the money, but doesn't provide the funds
The bill Bush signed authorises the money, but does not actually provide the funds. That money would have to come from a separate spending bill or by shifting of funds from other programs.
The bill's sponsor, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairperson Richard Lugar said the Darfur crisis, combined with the civil war, shows the importance of making a long-term investment in Africa's future to battle against corruption, instability, war and famine.
In Khartoum, Gotbi Mahadi, an adviser to Sudan's President Omar el-Bashir, told the independent newspaper Al Sahafa on December 9 that the new US bill was more of the same.
"We are already under an American political and economic embargo, so we will not be affected by (new sanctions), nor do we care about them," Mahadi said.
- AP