Obama the peacemaker seeks accord with Sudan

In a significant change of tack on dealing with Sudan, US President Barack Obama said yesterday he would end the Bush-era policy of international isolation and seek instead to engage with the Khartoum Government to improve security and peace across the country, including in ravaged Darfur.

Officials insisted the change of approach did not mean Washington was going soft on the Sudanese Government, which has been accused of fomenting the Darfur violence.

Instead, the US will be ready to assist in solidifying gains towards peace, but only if President Omar al-Bashir's Government takes the steps expected of it, they said, noting that existing US sanctions against Khartoum due to expire this week will be renewed for now.

The changes are a clear fit with Obama's wider philosophy of seeking dialogue with countries that had previously been shut off by Washington.

A senior Sudanese official said the fresh course reflected the new "Obama spirit" in international relations.

"Sitting on the sidelines is not an option," said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"It is up to us and our partners in the international community to make a concerted and sustained effort to help bring lasting peace and stability to Sudan and avoid more of the conflict that has produced a vast sea of human misery."

Obama noted that diplomatic efforts on Sudan should focus on ending the violence in Darfur as well as the broader aim of implementing the shaky 2005 peace agreement between the north and south that ended Africa's longest-running civil war.

"These two goals must both be pursued simultaneously, with urgency," he said. The treaty, for example, calls for a referendum in the south on succession in 2011.

"If the Government of Sudan acts to improve the situation on the ground and to advance peace, there will be incentives; if it does not, then there will be increased pressure imposed by the US and the international community," Obama said: "The Government of Sudan must meet its responsibilities to take concrete steps in a new direction."

Others on the list of nations that have seen overtures from Washington since Obama took office include Iran, North Korea and Syria.

The President's moves to engage with countries that have typically been at odds with the US will not be unrelated to his controversial selection as the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

To date, however, it is hard to point to any single achievement attributable to the new approach. Similarly, it will be months before any new Sudan policies can be judged.

Yesterday saw fresh warnings from the UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur of a renewed military build-up in the region, including of Government troops.

An adviser to Bashir, Ghazi Salahadin, said the US carrot-and-stick plan had some positive points but he disputed continuing references to genocide.

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