Chairman Kerry to lead Congressional delegation to Darfur next week

[Luftmensch067]

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry, will lead a delegation to Sudan's Darfur region, U.S. officials said on Monday, in a possible sign of a growing willingness to engage with Khartoum.

"This is significant," a U.S. diplomatic source told Reuters. "It is the first Congressional delegation to Sudan we have had since 2007. Like the U.S. envoy's current visit, it is a new tack."

more here

[karynnj]

1. What a tricky situation that is!

Good for Kerry making such a comprehensive trip there. It will be interesting to see who goes with him. I think Feingold has been a leading voice on Africa. It will be interesting to see if he might be able to push the government to allow aid in unfettered.

It is a very scary place to be going though I assume the US will keep the delegation safe. Something needs to be done there to avoid it becoming a bigger genocide.

[wisteria]

2. I am pleased at this development. I hope it brings about the much needed changes

that need to occur there.

[BlueIris]

3. Mark my words: This will (eventually) be the most important thing Kerry has ever done.

This is what the history books will remember him for (right after that whole 'running for President' thing).

[karynnj]

4. You might be right if he is seen as driving American policy

and there is a possible solution. Credit ordinarily goes to the President. I would think if he manages to figure out a way to make this better than it is - it might be the fact that there is a pattern. He was an early advocate (possibly the earliest) for doing something on AIDS in Africa. That and his 1971 testimony all make him a force for humanitarian policies overseas.

I may be wrong, but patterns tend to eventually gain notice - and when they do the ignored actions are pulled up.

It will be hard for anything other than the Presidency to surpass the eloquent, sincere decorated vet asking "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?" That comment is iconic and he even has a Springsteen song.

[karynnj]

5. Another article

"
But the top lawmaker will not meet with President Omar al-Bashir, who is under an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the six-year conflict in Darfur, the aide told AFP.

Kerry, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, "will discuss US-Sudan relations and the implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement" reached in 2005, the aide said.

"John Kerry will arrive in the middle of next week, he will visit Darfur and meet with officials in the country. His visit will last a few days," said that official, who asked not to be named.

Implementation of the 2005 agreement, which ended Sudan's two-decade north-south civil conflict, has hit many snags, but some leaders in the region have suggested that the ICC warrant should be deferred if Bashir implements existing peace accords."





http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_2497649,00.html