Senior US official talks peace with Garang

A senior United States official has held talks with John Garang, leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), to outline the US government's policy towards Sudan, Associated Press (AP) reported. Walter Kansteiner, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, was quoted as saying on Wednesday that he had had a "get-to-know-you meeting" with Garang, and that there "seemed to be some receptivity" from the rebel leader to the US's approach to bringing peace to Sudan. Kansteiner told reporters in Nairobi that the review of US policy towards Sudan had been completed, and the conclusion had been reached that the US needed to become more involved. "It [the US] needs to be engaged to pursue peace," he said. "We are going to have to talk to all belligerents, as well as the neighbours." Kansteiner added that President George W. Bush would appoint a special envoy to Sudan in the "not too distant future". Bush's first choice candidate, Chester Crocker, in June, declined an offer to become the president's special envoy, saying he was sceptical that the current peace initiatives being pursued would be successful. Kansteiner also said the Bush administration would oppose a bill passed in the House of Representatives - the Sudan Peace Act - because, if it became law, it would forbid companies from trading shares in the US unless they fully disclosed the nature of their operations in Sudan. "Capital market sanctions... where we, the government, would start putting filters on who could and couldn't use the New York Stock Exchange, that is unacceptable," he was quoted as saying by AP. The SPLM/A and international human rights groups accuse the Sudanese government of forcing tens of thousands of villagers to flee the oil regions, and of using oil revenues to pursue the war, AP said.