U.S. and European media

November 5, 2022

The Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan: Sudan Government Calls on Gration to Normalize Ties with Washington.  The Advisor to the President of the Republic, Dr. Ghazi Salah Addeen described incentives indicated in US new strategy as unsuccessful, adding that Sudan government calls for rights not charity work from anyone, stating that normal relations between the two countries is a natural right if there is willingness. Salah Addeen said that they were committed to their rights but were not keen on incentives. He added that the subject of incentives had not been discussed yet. He said this in press statements yesterday at the premises of the Ministry of Federal Rule following his meeting with US special envoy Scott Gration.  Salah Addeen disclosed that he discussed with the US envoy situations in general, especially matters regarding Comprehensive Peace Agreement and noted difficulties facing the government, especially under the absence of a real partner.

IRIN: SUDAN: Poor start to Southern voter registration.  Sudan has started registering voters for presidential, legislative and regional elections, but officials in the south and international observers say the process has begun on a flawed note.  The month-long process began on 1 November. "In the context of Southern Sudan, where you don't have [telephone] networks, where you don't have roads, where you don't have public transport, it is very unrealistic to expect registration to be completed by 30 November," Itto told reporters in the Southern capital, Juba.  Should the NEC fail to take immediate and drastic action, warned the SPLM, fewer than 10 percent of eligible voters in the south would be able to register and vote.  Observers, however, said the centres had been slow to open even in state capitals, and reports indicated that access for rural populations was poor.  Awareness that registration had begun or even knowledge of the need to register was low, while state election committees had complained of delays in operational funding.

This editorial appeared in The New Republic: The Ingratiator: Fire Darfur envoy Scott Gration.  Scott Gration is an embarrassment. As Barack Obama's special envoy to Sudan, Gration has a dual mission: to help win justice and peace for the nearly three million Darfuris who currently live in camps after being subjected to genocide by Sudan's government; and to prevent that same odious government from initiating another slaughter in southern Sudan, where a 2005 peace agreement is looking more tenuous by the day.  How is he doing? Since taking the job in March, Gration has gone about ingratiating himself to the Sudanese government--an odd choice given that the government is a genocidal one. He seems interested only in offering Khartoum incentives, even though it has provided him basically nothing in return.

The Darfur Daily News is a service of the Save Darfur Coalition. To subscribe to the Daily News, please email [email protected]. For media inquiries, please contact Ashley Roberts at (202) 478-6181, or [email protected].