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US House Passes Legislation to Aid Sudanese Rebels
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a legislation authorizing U.S. president to make 10 million dollars available to the rebels in the Sudan's south and urging the Bush administration to support peace talks and help deliver humanitarian aid blocked by the government.
The legislation, approved with an overwhelming 422-2 vote, also bans companies doing business with the Sudan from selling stocks or securities in the United States unless they fully disclosed their dealings with the African country.
Under the legislation, businesses, especially oil companies, could not raise funds that are ultimately used for "the genocide of the Sudanese people," said Representative Tom Lantos of California. "We should not help foreign oil companies who are helping prolong this bloody slaughter" in the Sudan.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton froze the assets of the Sudanese government in the United States and barred most U.S.- Sudanese trade and most U.S. investments in the country.
Sudanese government forces have been fighting with southern rebel group, Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), which has been struggling for greater autonomy for the predominantly Christian and animist south since 1983. The rebels and the government have been holding peace talks for almost four years.
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