(TALKZIMBABWE, XINHUA) Sudan criticizes Obama on sanctions against African leaders

Sudan criticizes Obama on sanctions against African leaders
Xinhua
Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:43:00 +0000

SUDANESE ruling National Congress Party (NCP) criticized on Sunday the U.S. administration's decision to impose a travel ban on political leaders in Sudan, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

"This decision clearly indicates that the administration of the current U.S. President Barak Obama is following the same steps of the previous president George W. Bush's administration," the NCP Political Secretariat Mohamed Mandour Al Mahdi told Xinhua.

"The U.S. administration wants to put pressure on Sudan through new means," he added.

The U.S. administration on Saturday imposed travel restrictions on politicians from the three African countries to the United States.

Al Mahdi said he was not optimistic that improvement of the relations between Khartoum and Washington was possible, saying "There are signs which do not encourage optimism including the contradicting stances of the U.S. and its envoy Scott Gration."

"The U.S. decision-making centers have been affected by the Zionist lobby which is fiercely hostile to Sudan and works to separate southern from northern Sudan and adopts a separation line," he added.