Regular News Update From Eurostep
No. 259 08 February 2002
EU WELCOMES CEASE FIRE IN SUDAN – ACTIVISTS CRITICISE EU DECISION TO RESUME CO-OPERATION

The Spanish Presidency of the EU, speaking on behalf of the Union, has welcomed the cease-fire agreement in the Nuba Mountains in Sudan. The EU calls on all signatory parties to implement all parts of the agreement, including the establishment of the international monitoring unit.
Last week we reported that the EU was ready to resume cooperation with Sudan. (See PAF 258) This EU’s move has been widely criticised by activists working in the Sudan. Press reports this week quote John Prendergast, a Sudan expert at the International Crisis Group, who advised former President Bill Clinton, stating ''This (European) announcement was very badly timed. It certainly reduces the political leverage the international community has in supporting the peace process.'' According to Salih Booker director of Africa Action, a grassroots lobby group “The decision to resume aid shows complete hypocrisy and racism,” said Salih Booker, "The EU is about to slap sanctions on Mugabe over legitimate concerns about free and fair elections, while lifting sanctions on an extremist minority regime that's bombing its own population.''
An IPS report this week states that many activists see the resumption of EU aid as motivated primarily by commercial factors. Swedish, British, French, Italian, and Austrian companies have invested heavily in Sudan's oil industry, while German engineering giant Siemens announced last weekend it had been awarded a $180 million contract to build the world's largest diesel power station in northern Sudan. On the day of the EU announcement, the Swedish-Swiss construction firm ABB announced a new 20 million dollar contract to build power lines in Sudan.