For Immediate Release
May 10, 2007
Contact Information
Dan Mclaughlin
202-224-1679
SENATOR: SUDAN CLOSING DOORS TO SCRUTINY
(May 10, 2007)WASHINGTON, D.C.- U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson
(D-FL)said Wednesday the Sudanese government has denied his visa for a fact-finding trip to the country in an apparent attempt to restrict outside observers from focusing additional international attention on humanitarian offenses in Darfur.
The issue arose Monday when a State Department official informed Nelson the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied his request for a visa to visit there later this month. The State Department official said it was the first such outright rejection of a member of Congress, and the third such of a U.S. government delegation this week - signaling the start of a trend.
“Khartoum’s impatience with what it perceives to be overly-critical visits . . . appears to be growing,” the U.S. official told Nelson’s office.
The visa rejection comes just weeks after U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer ( D-MD ) led a bipartisan congressional delegation of 11 House members to Sudan, including stops in Khartoum and Darfur, and afterward launched an Internet site aimed at drawing increased attention to the genocide and suffering in Darfur.
It also follows charges made late last month by the State Department’s No. 2 official who accused the Sudanese government of engaging in a “campaign of intimidation” against humanitarian aid workers assigned to bring relief to the people of Darfur. After returning from his own visit to Sudan, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said the government there was denying visas to aid workers and putting other obstacles in their paths.
In a statement issued today, Nelson said: “The Sudanese government clearly has reversed its long-standing position of allowing official visits and engaging in dialogue. Preventing a U.S. senator from visiting Darfur won’t stop the international community from pressuring the Sudanese to end the genocide and other atrocities.”
Recently, the United Nations reported that civilian killings in Darfur remain widespread and unabated, and that large-scale attacks, rape and torture are commonplace. Since 2003, more than 400,000 people have been killed in Darfur and an estimated 2.5 million have been displaced. Millions more depend on international aid for their survival.
Nelson, a member of the Senate’s Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees, said instead of going to Sudan he will visit refugee camps on the Chad border with the Darfur region.
(D-FL)said Wednesday the Sudanese government has denied his visa for a fact-finding trip to the country in an apparent attempt to restrict outside observers from focusing additional international attention on humanitarian offenses in Darfur.
The issue arose Monday when a State Department official informed Nelson the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied his request for a visa to visit there later this month. The State Department official said it was the first such outright rejection of a member of Congress, and the third such of a U.S. government delegation this week - signaling the start of a trend.
“Khartoum’s impatience with what it perceives to be overly-critical visits . . . appears to be growing,” the U.S. official told Nelson’s office.
The visa rejection comes just weeks after U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer ( D-MD ) led a bipartisan congressional delegation of 11 House members to Sudan, including stops in Khartoum and Darfur, and afterward launched an Internet site aimed at drawing increased attention to the genocide and suffering in Darfur.
It also follows charges made late last month by the State Department’s No. 2 official who accused the Sudanese government of engaging in a “campaign of intimidation” against humanitarian aid workers assigned to bring relief to the people of Darfur. After returning from his own visit to Sudan, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said the government there was denying visas to aid workers and putting other obstacles in their paths.
In a statement issued today, Nelson said: “The Sudanese government clearly has reversed its long-standing position of allowing official visits and engaging in dialogue. Preventing a U.S. senator from visiting Darfur won’t stop the international community from pressuring the Sudanese to end the genocide and other atrocities.”
Recently, the United Nations reported that civilian killings in Darfur remain widespread and unabated, and that large-scale attacks, rape and torture are commonplace. Since 2003, more than 400,000 people have been killed in Darfur and an estimated 2.5 million have been displaced. Millions more depend on international aid for their survival.
Nelson, a member of the Senate’s Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees, said instead of going to Sudan he will visit refugee camps on the Chad border with the Darfur region.
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