From the Palm Beach Post

WASHINGTON - Sudan has denied a visa for U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson to visit the country, which has been accused by the U.S. government since 2004 of genocide in the Darfur region.

The denial was the first for a member of Congress but the third this week for a U.S. government delegation, Nelson’s office said.

“The Sudanese government clearly has reversed its long’standing position of allowing official visits and engaging in dialogue,” Nelson said in a statement. “Preventing a U.S. senator from visiting Darfur won’t stop the international community from pressuring the Sudanese to end the genocide and other atrocities.”

The U.S. Embassy in Sudan informed Nelson’s office of the denial this week.

Nelson spokesman Bryan Gulley said the senator’s office was told that two administration delegations also were denied visas, but he did not have specific information about what agencies were involved.

A spokesman for the Sudanese Embassy in Washington did not return phone calls Wednesday.

Instead of going to Sudan, Nelson said he plans to visit refugee camps on the Chad border with Sudan during the Memorial Day recess. Nelson is a member of the Senate committees on foreign relations and intelligence.

Gulley said he did not believe the visa denial was linked to a bill passed during the Florida Legislature’s recent session calling for the state pension fund to divest itself from any Sudanese investments.