Dana Milbank of the Washington Post had this hilarious video report on the Sudanese ambassador’s Washington press conference yesterday. John Ukec Lueth Ukec threatened to halt exports of gum arabic — an ingredient in the carbonated beverage — if President Bush follows through on recently announced economic sanctions.
As the Post reported on Wednesday, Bush’s plan will add 30 Sudanese-owned or -controlled companies to an existing list of 130 companies banned from any involvement with the U.S. financial system. Bush also added three Sudanese individuals — two senior government officials and a rebel leader — to the list of four people already subject to U.S. sanctions.
At the UN, the US will seek a new Security Council resolution imposing strengthening international sanctions on Sudan and expanding an arms embargo.
What’s missing, however, are sanctions against Sudan’s main revenue source: oil. Many experts on Sudan doubt that sanctions will affect Khartoum, especially its booming oil business.
As John Prendergast noted in an interview, the sanctions name three people with
suspected links to the violence as well as about 30 companies in Sudan. “Three people? After four years? And not one of them the real ringleader of the policy to divide and destroy Darfur? This will not build multilateral pressure, and this will not end the crisis in Darfur.”
Since February 2003, violence in Darfur has killed 200,000 people and forced 2.5 million more from their homes. Perhaps we should voluntarily give up gum arabic-containing sodas — losing weight and helping isolate this genocidal regime….