U.S. ties Sudan's terror delisting to vote

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- If Sudan conducts a referendum in January and abides by its results, the United States will consider taking the country off its terror list, officials said.

Under a peace accord that ended a years-long civil war in Sudan, the government agreed to the referendum, scheduled for Jan. 9, in which the people in southern Sudan will vote on whether to break away from the north. The offer to delist Sudan, delivered to Sudanese leaders during the weekend by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., is the latest component of a package of incentives the Obama administration offered to Sudan in September for its cooperation with the vote, The New York Times reported Sunday.

As the vote nears, reports indicate Sudanese authorities are dragging along as they prepare for it, and there are fears of more violence if the north does not honor the results, which are predicted to be overwhelmingly in favor of secession.

In September, the Obama administration offered Sudan incentives to allow and accept the vote. They include delivery of agricultural implements, debt relief, normalized diplomatic relations, lifting of sanctions and removing Sudan from the U.S. State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism, the Times said.

"I believe a broad agreement is within reach if they act with the sense of urgency that is necessary to seize this historic opportunity," Kerry said in a statement Sunday as he left Sudan.

Officials said that, originally, the delisting wouldn't occur until late 2011 or 2012 because it is tied to ending the violence in the Darfur region, an administration official said. Now, however, the United States made it contingent only on the referendum.

Another U.S. official told the Times the United States won't ease "our commitment to solving the problems that have dogged Darfur."