US Makes Offer to Sudan

The US has offered to speed up the time in which Sudan will be taken off the list of state sponsors of terrorism if the government agrees to a 2005 peace referendum. The proposal states that Sudan will be dropped from the list in mid- 2011 if they recognize the results of the upcoming succession referendum of the southern part of Sudan from the Northern part, along with the acceptance of the peace agreement. Sudan was put on this list in 1993, and has been trying for years to be taken off. The proposal says nothing about the warrant for arrest for the President of Sudan for war crimes, or the current crisis in Darfur. The referendum comes from a 2005 peace agreement, that will allow the already autonomous southern Sudan to succeed, even though that region has a majority of Sudan's oil. The succession reform is considered to be a "make or break" issue for peace, because if the north doesn't respect the results of the referendum and accept the peace agreement, it is likely that war will break out between the north and the south. Once peace is established, the US is prepared to step in and help the situation in Darfur, and to maintain peace and security.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/11/08/sudan.kerry/index.html

By: Kathleen Tite