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Posted on 10/12/2001 2:21:20 PM PDT by SAMWolf

Mr. Speaker, I am appalled and outraged that language was included in recent legislation that unanimously passed the House under suspension that will lift the embargo on gum arabic from Sudan.

Language was included in the H.R. 4868, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act 2000 which does not even mention the word or country "Sudan" or "gum arabic." Yet, the passing of this language is a significant foreign policy issue for the U.S. The language as it reads in the bill says:

"Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Executive Order 13067 of Nov. 3, 1997, shall not apply with respect to imports of articles described in headings 1301.20.00 and 1301.90.90 (other than balsams, tragacanth, and karaya)."

This is very cryptic language that was used to describe a major foreign policy issue for the U.S. -- whether to lift significant sanctions against one of the worst regimes in the world.

The regime in Khartoum harbors gobs of terrorists. Virtually every major terrorist group in the world passes through Khartoum, many under the tutelage and sponsorship of the Government of Sudan. The Government of Sudan was implicated and behind the assassination attempt on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The Government of Sudan condones slavery. Slavery exists in the 21st century. More than 2 million people have died because of the war conducted and generated by the northern-led Government.

The Government of Sudan indiscriminately and repeatedly bombs and kills innocent civilians. Bishop Maccram Gassis of El Obeid Diocese in Sudan has had hundreds to thousands of people die from these attacks in the past few months alone. The Catholic church in Sudan has suffered greatly over the past several months because of the Khartoum regime's attacks on civilians. Just during the past few weeks, the Sudanese regime shut down the U.N. humanitarian/relief program "Operation Lifeline Sudan" that feeds millions of people in southern Sudan by repeatedly bombing and attacking U.N. relief workers, planes, and facilities.

Chinese troops are now supposedly present in Sudan, most likely guarding the precious oil fields that are generating hard cash for the government's military acquisitions a nd war.

Now, I have just learned that Osama bin Laden, one of the world's most wanted international terrorists, is reportedly a major investor in Gum Arabic Company Limited. This company is a Khartoum-based firm that has a virtual monopoly over most of Sudan's gum arabic exports.

The book The New Jackals, by Simon Reeve, has this to say about bin Laden's role in Sudan's gum arabic industry:

Perhaps most crucially, bin Laden cannily invested in Gum Arabic Company Limited, a Khartoum-based firm which has a virtual monopoly over most of Sudan's exports of gum arabic, which in turn comprises around 80 percent of the world's supply. Gum arabic comes from the sap of the Sudanese acacia tree. A colorless, tasteless gum, it makes newspaper ink stick to printing presses, keeps ingredients in drinks from settling at the bottom of a can, and forms a film around sweets and medical pills, keeping them fresh. It is a crucial ingredient in dozens of products Western consumers use every day, and within two years of arriving in Sudan, bin Laden is believed to have secured an effective monopoly over the entire Sudanese output.

Even now the State Department in Washington and analysts at the CIA remain unsure whether bin Laden is still profiting from his investment. Thirty percent of the shares in Gum Arabic Company Limited are held by the Sudanese government, who may or may not be siphoning profits into bin Laden accounts. The other 70 percent is held by individual shareholders and banks, any or all of whom may be acting as fronts for bin Laden. It is still possible that every time someone buys an American soft drink they are helping to fill Osama bin Laden's coffers.

Osama bin Laden was behind the bombings of Americans in Tanzania and Kenya. I have a description of him as described by the Anti-Defamation League that is attached.

Gum arabic is one of Sudan's primary exports. It was included on the list of products in the comprehensive economic sanctions against Sudan that the Administration initiated in Executive Order 13067 of November 3, 1997. This Executive Order was issued as a "direct consequence of the Sudanese regime's sponsorship of international terrorism, its efforts to destabilize neighboring countries, and its abysmal human rights record, including the denial of religious freedom."

Inserting this language on gum arabic in the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act legislation effectively reverses the Executive Order and as a consequence would serve as a reward to the government of Sudan, despite its threat to regional stability, support for international terrorism, and continued human rights abuses (condoning slavery, indiscriminately killing and bombing innocent civilians, hospitals, and non-governmental relief organizations to name a few).

I am also concerned that the Government of Sudan retains a 30 percent stake in Gum Arabic Company Limited. If the gum arabic sanctions are lifted, U.S. companies will be not only assisting Osama bin Laden, but the Sudanese Government, a government with one of the world's worst human rights records. Where will bin Laden strike next? Wouldn't it be horrible if American money generated through gum arabic sales helped to finance bin Laden's next attack?

I call on Congress to strike this language from the Senate version of H.R. 4868, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2000.

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