Obama’s envoy in Sudan to bolster peace deal as activists say US too lenient on Khartoum

US envoy returns to Sudan amid activists criticism

CAIRO — President Barack Obama’s envoy to Sudan launched a new mission Wednesday to overcome obstacles in the country’s fragile north-south peace deal, as activists sharply criticized U.S. policies as too lenient on the Khartoum government.

The 2005 peace deal put an end to the 21-year-old civil war between the mostly Arab and Muslim north and rebels in the Christian-animist south that left 2 million people dead and 4 million displaced. But the deal is plagued by distrust between the two sides and has repeatedly threatened to unravel, bringing to the two sides to the brink of war.

Under the deal, Sudan is to hold key parliamentary and presidential elections in April — the first national elections to include all of South Sudan in four decades — as well as a 2011 referendum in the south on whether to secede.

In both cases, smooth elections are seen as crucial for keeping peace. But disputes have arisen between north and south over census results, which are the basis for drawing election constituencies. They also disagree over the rules for carrying out the self-determination referendum.

U.S. envoy Scott Gration began his fifth visit to Sudan Wednesday in the south’s capital, Juba, saying he would try to find “a path forward on the two remaining unresolved sticking points for full implementation.”

“These are fundamental issues that must be resolved soon,” he said.

The peace deal created an autonomous southern region — now headed by former rebels — and incorporated southerners into a national unity government in the capital Khartoum. It also provides for sharing oil wealth, a key factor in the civil war. Most of Sudan’s oil reserves are concentrated in the south.

Southerners have complained that the north is holding out oil funds. The north is also highly wary over the 2011 referendum. Most observers say southerners are disillusioned with unity and are likely to vote for independence.

The Obama administration says it has been formulating its policy on Sudan, but it has yet to firmly announce it. This summer, Gration suggested easing sanctions against the Sudanese government, causing an outcry from southerners, Darfurians and their supporters who fear Washington is easing pressure on Khartoum to fulfill its commitments.

An umbrella group of Sudan activist groups in the U.S. warned in a letter to the Obama administration Wednesday that the US is allowing the Khartoum government to renegotiate the terms of the peace agreement. It said the leeway given the north could endanger the north-south deal and worsen Sudan’s other main internal conflict — fighting in the western region of Darfur.

“President Obama must be unequivocal in publicly supporting the strict implementation of the (peace deal)” and strongly condemn alleged northern support for militias blamed for recent violence in the south, said the letter from the group, led by the Washington-based Enough Project, the top Sudan advocacy group in the U.S.

“The (northern ruling party) is cleverly exploiting the U.S. willingness to enter into an open-ended dialogue,” the letter said. “If left unchecked, (its) behavior will trigger a return to war in the South and make it all the more difficult to resolve the still simmering crisis in Darfur.”

John Prendergast, a lead Sudan activist and co-founder of Enough, said the north was trying to delay implementation of the deal and its “strategic objective is to never hold the referendum.”

“If the referendum is not held on time, there will be a return to war,” said Prendergast, who was an adviser to former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

The letter also warned that the north was fueling a recent upsurge of militia violence in the south, turning its attention from Darfur, where there has been a reduction in violence in recent months.

Grotion will also travel to Darfur to visit refugee camps, view humanitarian efforts and meet with Darfur women leaders to discuss programs aimed at addressing sexual violence and rape.