President Bashir Tests New Obama Policy on Sudan

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the news that President
Omar al-Bashir plans to travel to Turkey and Egypt in the coming days,
President Obama faces the first test of his recently announced Sudan policy.

The Enough Project at the Center for American Progress, the Save Darfur
Coalition, and the Genocide Intervention Network jointly released the
following statement in reaction:

If President Obama and Secretary Clinton are unwilling to engage in personal
diplomacy at the highest level to ensure that a wanted war criminal does not
continue to travel with impunity to the capitals of key U.S. allies, it will
send a powerful message that the administration isn't serious about
implementing the Sudan strategy it just announced.

John Norris, Executive Director of the Enough Project, noted, "For Turkey, a
member of NATO and an aspiring member of the European Union, to welcome
President Bashir is frankly baffling. If Turkey is truly committed to the
values that would make membership of the European Union possible, it should
quickly make clear that President Bashir is absolutely unwelcome."

Jerry Fowler, President of the Save Darfur Coalition, added, "President
Bashir's travel is a test of the administration's resolve on Sudan. If the
President and Secretary of State let it happen without objection, Khartoum
will get the message that the newly stated commitment to multilateral
leadership is hollow. And for Turkey, it's an opportunity to align itself with
the E.U., most Latin American countries, and the emerging practice in
sub-Saharan Africa: Convey to Bashir that he shouldn't come unless he wants to
risk arrest upon landing."

Sam Bell, Executive Director of Genocide Intervention Network, added, "Given
the depth and breadth of U.S. engagement with Egypt, it is striking that the
situation in Sudan - and Bashir's status as a war criminal - don't appear t be
part of the recent conversation among senior officials. How can the
administration expect to effectively implement its new plan if it doesn't make
Sudan a top priority?"

For more information or to set up an interview, contact Eileen White Read at
the Enough Project, 202-741-6376, eread@enoughproject.org.

SOURCE Center for American Progress

Eileen White Read, +1-202-741-6376, eread@enoughproject.org; or Andrea Clarke,
+1-202-460.6756, andrea@savedarfur.org; or Mame Annan-Brown, +1-202-483-2701,
annan-brown@genocideintervention.net