Some 35 US organizations representing Darfur and Sudanese expatriates sent on Wednesday an open letter to President Obama calling for the removal of Special Envoy to Sudan of his duties.
This call for Scott Gration’s head follows an “off-the-record” meeting that he held with expatriate Darfuris on January 26, 2010.Mr. Gration said that the Government of Sudan does not have a deliberate policy to kill Darfuris but to combat rebels and civilian casualties are due to poor military technology.
He added that IDPs should not be resettled in their places of origin and April elections will be a good exercise of democracy even if Darfuris do not take part.
Finally the special envoy said the United States will focus on South Sudan and the new state there.
He added that the 2 billion US dollars the U.S. government spends on Darfur every year will be going to the new Southern State instead.
The signatories write that Mr. Gration’s comments upset many attendees because his statements were at odds with official U.S. policy statements.
They accuse Mr. Gration of having a conciliatory position towards the NCP.
The parties asked President Obama to assign the Sudan portfolio to experienced diplomats in the State Department with the active oversight of Secretary Hillary Clinton.