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Wednesday, November 10, 2010     GET REAL

U.S. would remove Sudan from terror list if it allows referendum, behaves for six months

WASHINGTON — The United States has offered to remove Sudan from the list of terrorist sponsors.

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Officials said the State Department has relayed conditions for the removal of Sudan from the list of terrorist sponsors. They said the conditions focused on Khartoum's facilitation of the referendum scheduled for January 2011 on southern succession.

"It's very clear the steps that the government of Sudan has to take to meet the criteria to be taken off the state sponsors of terrorism list, and it's our hope that they take those steps," a senior administration official said.


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In a briefing on Nov. 9, the unidentified official said Washington wanted Sudan to implement a 2005 agreement to determine the future of the south as well as the oil-rich region of Abyei. He said Sudan must also demonstrate that it no longer supported "international terrorism" for at least six months.

Sudan has been one of four countries deemed terrorist sponsors. Officials said Sudan has hosted such groups as Hamas and the Iranian-sponsored Islamic Jihad.

"The [terrorist] designation prohibits Sudan from buying or receiving U.S. armaments and from receiving any U.S. economic assistance, in addition to other restrictions," the State Department said.

Under the U.S. offer, which capped six months of intensive diplomacy, the Khartoum regime must not hamper United Nations peacekeeping forces in the rebel-torn province of Darfour. Another condition was that the southern referendums take place on Jan. 9.

"We have to do everything that we possibly can to see that the referenda are held on time and that we do as much as we possibly can to ensure that the outcome is a peaceful one rather than a resumption of conflict," the official said.



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