SUDAN - June 5 - Call For Lifting Of Sanctions.

Sudan calls for the lifting of sanctions which were imposed after Khartoum failed to hand over 3 men wanted for a 1995 assassination attempt against Egyptian Pres. Mubarak in Addis Ababa. In a letter to the president of the UN Security Council, Sudanese FM Ismail says his country had made "sincere and pragmatic efforts to comply" with the demands made upon it. He says inquiries conducted over the years "show that no trace has been found of the 3 suspects" in Sudan, to which they were alleged to have fled. Ismail also lists a series of steps that he said Sudan had taken since the council called on it to desist from engaging in terrorist activities and to improve its relations with its neighbours. (The sanctions, which went into force in May 1996, require all states to reduce the number of Sudanese diplomatic personnel on their territory and to restrict the entry of Sudanese government officials. The council decided in Aug. 1996 to impose sanctions against flights by Sudanese aircraft. But those measures did not go into effect since the council did not adopt a follow-up resolution setting a date for their entry into force.) Ismail asks the president to "convene a meeting of the Security Council in order to lift the sanctions imposed on the country" in light of the "practical and concrete measures" that he said his government had taken to meet the council's demands. (Separate supporting letters are sent to the council president by the chairman of the 22-member Arab Group of states, Ambassador Abdullah Baali of Algeria, and by South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, as chairman of the 114-member of the non-aligned group of states.)