Military

DATE=6/24/04

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=POWELL / SUDAN (L)

NUMBER=2-316984

BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST

DATELINE=STATE DEPARTMENT

HEADLINE: Powell To Visit Sudan, Including the War-Torn Darfur Region, Next Week

INTRO: In a surprise move, Secretary of State Colin Powell will visit Sudan next week as part of a previously announced foreign trip to press authorities in Khartoum to disarm Arab militiamen blamed for ethnic-cleansing in the western Darfur region. Mr. Powell will go to Darfur to assess the humanitarian situation and meet relief workers. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

TEXT: The Powell visit, which will be the first by a U.S. Secretary of State to Sudan since 1978, was approved by President Bush Thursday morning.

The announcement followed a round of almost-daily telephone conversations between Mr. Powell and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is also due in Sudan next week, and talks with Sudanese leaders who are said to have welcomed the Powell visit.

According to State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, Mr. Powell will press Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir to make good on a promise last week to disarm government-backed militiamen, whose scorched-earth tactics against Darfur rebels have displaced at least a million people:

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"We haven't seen follow-though on that yet, in fact we've heard some say that the government might now be retracting that statement. We strongly urge and will strongly urge the government of Sudan to fulfill President Bashir's declaration to immediately disarm the militias and provide unfettered humanitarian access. We will also note that we hold the Darfur rebels responsible for the cease-fire as well."

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The Bush administration has described action by "Janjaweed" militiamen, who get arms and air support from Sudanese forces, as ethnic-cleansing. The State Department is also looking into whether the situation fits the legal definition of genocide.

An estimated ten thousand people have been killed since the Darfur fighting erupted last year and relief groups warn that tens of thousands of refugees face starvation unless supplies reach the remote area.

Spokesman Boucher said Bush administration has a "complex" relationship with Sudan. It credits Khartoum authorities with effective action against terrorism, and has praised its efforts to end the conflict with southern rebels. But Mr. Boucher said their behavior on Darfur is "still not right" and that Secretary Powell will be "frank and blunt" in his talks on the issue:

/// 2ND BOUCHER ACT ///

"We hope they see this as an opportunity to show that they are willing to take some real action against the militias and to really open up humanitarian access for the region. But we'll have to see when we get there. Certainly the problems that I'm outlining for you today are real, and need to be dealt with. We hope that the visit is a sign the government is prepared to deal with them. But in any case, we think it is important to raise these issues directly at a senior level with the government."

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The United States has been the largest contributor of relief aid for Darfur refugees, among other things providing nearly 90-thousand tons of food to the U.N.'s World Food Program since last October.

But it has come under criticism from members of Congress and others who draw parallels between the situation in Darfur and the unrest that led up to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

The U.S. Congressional Black Caucus this week urged the Bush administration to intervene militarily in Darfur to head off further violence.

Presumptive Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry earlier called for stepped-up U.S. and allied pressure on the Sudanese government, and for planning for international intervention through the United Nations if political efforts fail.

An official here said the Bush administration succeeded in getting language on Darfur into a recent U.N. Security Council resolution on the north-south Sudan peace talks, and a G-8 summit statement two weeks ago that expressed "grave concern" about the Darfur situation.

He said the United States is consulting in the Security Council about a possible resolution specific to Darfur, and said the administration, as it warned last week, is looking into possible targeted sanctions against Sudanese officials held responsible for the Darfur attacks. (Signed)

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