In joint hearings of the House Africa Subcommittee and the House Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Relations, Rep. Tony Hall of Ohio was the only person present in the room with the courage to point out that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Susan Rice, was indeed not wearing any clothes. In contrast to the politeness and equivocation of other members of the Subcommittees, Hall stated pointblank that the policy of war that the Rice-Prendergast cabal had carried out since September 1997 was a failure, whose only result was a humanitarian catastrophe in which thousands of victimized civilians, particularly children, are dying every day of starvation.
    "The policy of isolating Khartoum does not work," he said. It is wrong that the United States does not have an ambassador in Khartoum. How can the United States pretend it is for a peace process if it is not even talking to Sudan? He said the United States urgently had to do more for the entire situation and called for a high-level U.S. special envoy to force through the peace negotiations.
    In an exchange with the chief witness, Susan Rice, Hall said that the administration had made a prediction of decisive victory against the Sudan government, but that absolutely nothing had materialized, and that therefore, the case had to be put forward that a political solution must be negotiated. He said, "Otherwise, 12 years from now, we will be sitting here discussing the same problem."
    To Rice's incompetent equivocations and dodges, he said simply, "But the policy has failed. We need a new policy of peace. IGAD will not work."
    A few other Subcommittee members did muster the gumption to {ask} Susan Rice if she was sure she was wearing clothes. This included Rep. Menendez, who asked Rice why the United States had not responded to the current famine in southern Sudan a lot earlier. He demanded to know why there had not been any warning. [Riak Machar, President of the Coordinating Council of the Southern States of Sudan has said that the famine was reported by the Sudan government as early as January, but there was no response before the end of March.] Rice equivocated on this also, stating that "mechanisms are now in place" to assure that famines are caught in time.
    Human Rights Subcommittee chairman Chris Smith also asked Rice if there had been any deadline placed on breakthroughs in the negotiations, as Sen. George Mitchell had done with Ireland, that is, was Rice serious about negotiations. She indicated this was not being contemplated.
    Along with Hall, Smith, Frank Wolf, and Carol Bellamy of Unicef, who testified, and the head of the World Food Program, who also testified, all called for the U.S. to back a policy of peace to end the 15-year long war in southern Sudan.
    In her testimony, Rice retooled all the hackneyed, unsubstantiated charges against Sudan, and complained that Sudan was always trying to bypass the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development talks, and that therefore she did not think a Special Envoy for peace was needed.
    She said that in the longer term, the military solution would win out, although the administration would retain its commitment to the IGAD talks, but clearly with no real commitment to them.

    June 24 (EIRNS)--PRESSURE IS BEGINNING TO MOUNT on the Clinton administration to take serious action to bring about an end to the war in Sudan, in the same way it has launched efforts to bring peace to Bosnia, Northern Ireland, and the Mideast.

    On June 4, Rep. Tony Hall (D-Ohio) and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va) wrote an open letter to President Clinton calling for the President to appoint a special envoy to Sudan, "a high-level diplomat of stature and experience, such as Sam Nunn or James Baker, III." The Congressmen write to the President: "With your full support, backing, and authority, such an envoy would signal the United States' seriousness about pressing for an end to the war and its atrocities.... Senator George Mitchell and Richard Holbrooke have made a difference in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, and hopefully, in Cyprus. Why not in Sudan?"

    In a June 15 press conference, Hall stated that "the United States needs to re-examine our policy toward Sudan -- and place a higher priority on strengthening regional efforts to reach a negotiated settlement, including an immediate ceasefire."

    It is noteworthy that in early-May negotiations in Nairobi, Kenya, between the Sudan government and the SPLA, the Sudan government called for such a ceasfire, which Garang rejected.

    Given the Sudan government's willingness to negotiate, Hall declared that "a window of opportunity [exists] here to push for such a monitored ceasefire -- but it will require the active interest of the United States, as well as Sudan's neighbors."

[Source: Release of Bishop Benoni Ogwal-Abwang, Harrisburg, 7/6/98]: UGANDAN BISHOP ENDORSES TONY HALL CALL FOR SPECIAL ENVOY FOR SUDAN PEACE PROCESS. Bishop Benoni Ogwal-Abwang, the former Bishop of the Church of Uganda for the Diocese of Northern Uganda and currently the Rector at St. Paul Episcopal Church in Harrisburg, Pa., issued a release stating: "On behalf of the Acholi community of northern Uganda and on behalf of the religious leaders of northern Uganda, I wish to strongly endorse the call by Rep. Tony Hall (D-Ohio) of June 15 calling upon the United States to `work harder for a resolution of' the 15-year-long civil war in Sudan. I also wish to strongly endorse the open letter of June 4 by Rep. Hall and Rep. Frank Wolfe (D-Va.) calling upon President William Clinton to appoint a Special Envoy `of significant stature' to direct a peace process to end the war."
    The Bishop also called for a U.S. Special Envoy to simultaneously work for bringing peace to northern Uganda, where Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is ignoring the calls of the Ugandan people to come to the negotiating table with the Lord's Resistance Army. The Bishop noted: "Northern Uganda-Acholiland borders southern Sudan, and the same communities live on both sides of the Uganda-Sudan border. These are the Lugbara, the Kakwa, the Acholi, the Madi, and others. The plight of the southern Sudanese people is the same as the plight of their brothers and sisters in Uganda: death of innocent civilians through the destruction to agriculture and the economy caused by war. Because of the close relation of the people of northern Uganda and southern Sudan, the peace process in one area will aid bringing peace across the border.
    "Because of our experiences in the past, the Acholi people believe that a guarantee for peace must be secured by the United States and her allies in order to restore respect and confidence in both sides of the peace table. It is our hope and prayer that President Clinton will answer the call of Reps. Hall and Wolfe to appoint a Special Envoy for a peace process in Sudan, and additionally, that a Special Envoy be appointed to initiate a similar process in Northern Uganda. If it is not possible to appoint a Special Envoy for Uganda, then we would request that the United States support the religious leaders of Uganda and the Acholi community and Ugandan leaders who are pursuing peace."