DATE=11/29/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-S / SUDAN AID (L)
NUMBER=2-256631
BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST
DATELINE=WHITE HOUSE
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: President Clinton has signed a wide-ranging
budget bill that includes a provision authorizing the
Administration to provide direct food aid to Sudanese
rebels, who have been fighting the government in
Khartoum for more than a decade. But as V-O-A's David
Gollust reports from the White House, it is an open
question whether Mr. Clinton will actually provide
such aid.
TEXT: The provision allowing direct U-S food aid to
the Sudan People's Liberation Army was slipped into an
omnibus spending bill by a group of Senate and House
members, led by Republican Senator Sam Brownback.
Advocates, including some State Department officials,
believe that providing the food aid will strengthen
the rebel movement, and help to further isolate the
Khartoum government, which the United States has
accused of supporting international terrorism.
But the rebels themselves have been accused of human-
rights abuses, including killings and arbitrary
detentions, and the White House gave a cool welcome to
the measure from Congress. Clinton spokesman Joe
Lockhart told reporters the President did not seek the
Sudan provision, and that his National Security
Council had only just begun to study its implications:
/// LOCKHART ACT ///
We've worked very hard to try to end the
fighting there. We believe that the Sudanese
government should be isolated because of their
support of terrorism, because of their efforts
to destabilize the region. But as far as whether
we would actually use this authority, it's
clearly too early in the process to know what
judgment we'll make.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Lockhart said one issue to be considered is
whether direct U-S help to the rebels would jeopardize
broader humanitarian aid efforts in Sudan. They
include the United Nations' Operation Lifeline Sudan
program, which has been providing food to civilians on
both sides of the conflict with the acquiescence of
the Khartoum authorities.
U-N officials have openly warned that if the
Administration begins shipping aid to the rebels, the
Sudanese government would be all but certain to shut
down the program -- to which the United States has
contributed nearly a billion dollars over the last 10
years.
Mr. Lockhart would not speculate as to when the
Administration review might be completed, but said
contrary to some news reports on the issue, a decision
is not imminent. (Signed)
NEB/DAG/WTW
29-Nov-1999 14:33 PM EDT (29-Nov-1999 1933 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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