Egypt is reassured with Washington's new open approach to Sudan, reports Dina Ezzat "We have a prime interest when it comes to Sudan in maintaining its unity and territorial integrity. We believe that stability in the country would serve this purpose. And while we know that the new US policy on Sudan is not tailored to serve the cause of unity, we see it as a helpful contribution to the cause of stability." This is how one Egyptian diplomat summed up Cairo's reaction to a new US policy approach on Sudan declared Monday. The essence of the new US approach towards Khartoum is "engagement". The Sudanese Embassy in Washington issued a statement Tuesday to welcome the new policy, 24 hours after it was announced. And according to one Sudanese diplomat who spoke to Al-Ahram Weekly from Washington after the policy announcement was made, "the message that we get is that we are not in a state of indefinite antagonism any more. We could talk and reach common positions on matters of disagreement," he said. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, and US Envoy Scott Gration jointly announced, after months of internal deliberation, a new policy rooted in diplomacy. Even the administration indicated the possibility of dropping sanctions imposed on Sudan if the Khartoum regime manages to promptly and effectively address the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. Khartoum is also expected to faithfully and promptly honour commitments made under the peace accords signed in 2005 with the southern opposition. Further, the Sudanese government is expected by Washington to end association with any Islamist figures that the US qualifies as terrorists. In return, sources in the US capital tell the Weekly, the Sudanese regime could get more than the mere lifting of sanctions or the end of international isolation. Sudan, sources say, could be offered a negotiated end to the charges levelled against Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir for genocide in Darfur by the International Criminal Court, along with an arrest warrant issued by the court and that was rebuffed by Al-Bashir. "Obviously we have been very concerned over the arrest warrant, and we have told the Americans and other Western partners that chasing Al-Bashir would not end the crisis in Darfur, but that encouraging Al-Bashir would," said the source. According to a position paper issued by the office of the spokesman of the US secretary of state entitled "Sudan Strategy", addressing the humanitarian crises in Darfur is crucial for Washington. Indeed, the objective of this new strategy is primarily to help the Sudanese government take the necessary steps to end the crisis. Egyptian diplomats, for their part, accredit Obama's envoy to Sudan, Scott Gration, with this important policy development. "Gration has been instrumental in opening the door towards a style of positive engagement with the Khartoum regime. He has the respect of Obama in the White House and he has the respect of many in Cairo and Khartoum, as well as other concerned parties," said one diplomat. For Egypt, while this new openness is welcome, the key issue is where Washington stands on the unity of Sudan. Egyptian sources say there are still enough officials in the US administration and the US Congress that support political figures from the south of Sudan who wish to see the country divided into two entities. A referendum on unity that is scheduled for 2011, according to the north-south 2005 peace agreement, is likely to lead to the division of Sudan. One senior Sudanese official told the Weekly that division "looks very possible". Egypt is still hoping that Sudan's unity can be preserved. "It would be exaggerated to say that the US is now endorsing fully the continued territorial unity of Sudan," said an Egyptian diplomat, but "it is accurate to say that there is a higher awareness of the cost of dividing Sudan." Out of concern that Sudan could go down the path of division, Cairo turned a blind eye, until now at least, to an announcement made by one Sudanese official to include Halayeb and Shalatine -- previously disputed territories between Egypt and Sudan -- in the national census currently underway in preparation for the 2010 referendum. If the voting block of this zone, officials say, could carry a unity decision then Egypt is going to be tactical and not make an issue out of it. However, the same officials add, this is not to say that Egypt will "forgo its lawful rights in Halayeb and Shalatine". On Wednesday, Hassan Abu Taleb, the editor of the annual Arab Strategic Report produced by Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, wrote in the opinion page of Al-Ahram daily, "I did not understand the decision [by the Sudanese government] to announce Halayeb and Shalatine as an electoral district [of north Sudan]". Abu Taleb insisted that Egypt is not prepared to compromise its borders and is doing its best to pursue the continued territorial integrity of Sudan. Abu Taleb's article coincided with news published in Al-Ahram on the commitment of the leaders of the Halayeb and Shalatine tribes to Egypt and their determination to "protect Egypt's southern borders". Egyptian officials insist that the Sudanese government knows "very well" that Egypt is not making an issue out of the announcement of Halayeb and Shalatine as an electoral district in north Sudan to avoid complicating the challenge that Khartoum faces in securing enough support for the unity of Sudan. The unity of Sudan for Egypt is a key "national security priority" especially in view of the possibility that the establishment of a new state on the Nile could open the door for a new debate on the division of the Nile water resources. This is a debate that has been challenging Egypt for the past year from some of its southern neighbours. "We are doing much work to promote unity. We are investing and spending generously in the south of Sudan to promote development. For us, the unity of Sudan is a top priority," said another Egyptian diplomat who also spoke on condition of anonymity. Egypt is privately advising Sudan to take advantage of the new US policy approach, and is offering to lend help, both political and humanitarian. "We told our brothers in Sudan that this is an opportunity they should not lose," the same diplomat added.
