Sudan hopes Bush will improve ties
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Saturday, January 13, 2001
CAIRO — Sudan didn't fare well under the Clinton administration and
hopes this will change when President-elect George W. Bush takes office on
Jan. 20.
Sudanese officials have been relaying signals to the incoming Bush team
that they seek to improve relations with Washington. Currently, the Khartoum
regime is under U.S. sanctions, imposed on the list of nations that sponsor
terrorism.
Sudanese President Omar Bashir has sent messages through Egypt that
urges a dialogue with Washington to improve relations. Bashir has signalled
his willingness to address the concerns of the United States.
"We have no interest in seeing relations with the United States tense,
but the Clinton administration persisted in its hostility and has committed
many mistakes against us," Bashir told the Egyptian news agency, MENA. "But
we will not blame the new administration for the sins of the old one. We are
receiving Bush with an open heart, and will exert all efforts to improve
relations and convince the new administration that the conceptions of its
predecessor regarding Sudan were not right."
Bashir said he hopes the incoming Bush administration will reevaluate
relations with Sudan.
In the interview, Bashir reiterated his pledge to develop the south,
much of which is under control of rebels. The president, who was elected
last month amid an opposition boycott, said he supports an Egyptian-Libyan
peace plan to end the 17-year civil war.
The president said the Egyptian-Libyan plan is being blocked by the head
of the Sudanese People's Liberation Army, John Garang. Bashir accused Garang
of being a tool of the United States and other countries which aim to
capture Sudanese
land and resources.
Saturday, January 13, 2001
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