KHARTOUM, Sudan — Youths have been gathering in parks, marketplaces and squares in this capital to demand that the interim government act quickly to halt the spiraling cost of just getting by.
The northeastern African country for decades has faced shortages of food, fuel and other essentials coupled with sharp increases in prices, sparking protests that led to the ouster of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in April. The protests, however, haven’t helped the economy.
“People are not happy. We are suffering as a country,” said Mohamed Khalid, 33, an activist who started leading protests in Khartoum before the end of Mr. Bashir’s 29-year rule. “The new government needs to quickly address the economy. They need to bring down fuel prices and basic commodities.”
Many say real relief starts far away — in Washington. Mr. Khalid and millions of other Sudanese say the first crucial step to a real recovery is persuading the Trump administration to remove Sudan from the dreaded list of official state sponsors of terrorism. Sudan is one of four countries so designated, along with Syria, Iran and North Korea. Four other countries — Cuba, Libya, Iraq and South Yemen — have been removed.
Not all international economists agree, but the feeling is strong in Sudan that shedding the “state sponsor of terrorism” label will clear the way for a spate of foreign investment and allow the country to receive much-needed International Monetary Fund and World Bank support and help with its $60 billion debt.
“There are good signs that the future is bright,” said Mr. Khalid, referring to a December visit to Washington by new Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. “The world is now embracing our country, and we are happy that our prime minister visited Washington. We believe that they are going to remove all sanctions, and this will help improve our economy.”
The U.S. lifted most economic sanctions against Sudan in 2017 but retained the state terrorism designation while the autocratic Mr. al-Bashir was in power. The popular revolt that overthrew him has accelerated lobbying efforts to get Sudan off the list.
The U.S. and Sudan agreed in December to exchange ambassadors for the first time in two decades, and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell recently visited Khartoum to support removal from the U.S. terrorism list.
Al Qaeda links
The Clinton administration added Sudan to its list of state sponsors of terrorism in 1993, four years after Mr. al-Bashir took power, citing what U.S. officials said were his extensive links to Islamist militant groups. The U.S. also imposed sanctions on Sudan for supporting terrorist groups, including al Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah.
Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, who was responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, lived in Sudan from 1992 to 1996.
The U.S. designation of Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism has blocked aid from a number of international institutions.
With the transitional government in place, Mr. Hamdok is taking decisive steps to renounce Mr. al-Bashir’s long rule.
In a major step last month, the government agreed to hand over Mr. al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court to face charges of murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture and rape of hundreds of thousands of people during the 2003 conflict in Darfur.
Mr. Hamdok also has agreed to pay $30 million to the families of the 17 American sailors killed in the al Qaeda attack on the USS Cole in 2000.
Both moves are widely seen as efforts to persuade the Trump administration to remove Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently invited Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chairman of Sudan’s transitional military council, to visit Washington and highlighted efforts to remove Sudan’s terrorism tag.
“We have been looking at whether to lift the designation of the state sponsor of terror on Sudan for quite some time,” Mr. Pompeo told reporters last month. “One of the elements of that is there are a series of claims for victims of the Cole.”
Some analysts say a U.S. delisting won’t instantly solve Sudan’s debt and investment problems and note that multiple steps, including a congressional review, are needed to remove a country from the list.
“The process required for delisting is widely misunderstood, the expectations for the results are exaggerated and, most importantly, the real reforms necessary for economic recovery are grossly underappreciated,” wrote Hilary Mossberg and John Prendergast of The Sentry, an investigative team that focuses on corruption in Africa.
Delisting, they wrote in late January, “will require multiple, methodical steps by both Sudan and the United States.”
U.S. ’mercy’
Still, the anticipation is palpable among Khartoum residents, who insist it is time for the U.S. to lift remaining sanctions so the new government can address the moribund economy.
“It’s now time for the U.S. to have mercy on us. They should appreciate what we have done as a country,” said Abdi Noor, who owns an auto parts shop in Khartoum. “We ousted Bashir through protests, demanded for a civilian government, and we are instituting a series of changes. That’s enough for the U.S. to believe in us and remove sanctions that might hurt us as citizens of this country.”
Analysts said recent steps toward democracy and a return to full civilian rule strengthen the case that Sudan no longer belongs on the terrorism list.
“The Trump administration should now reward Sudan by lifting all economic sanctions in order not to hurt the Sudanese people,” said Philip Nying’uro, a professor of international relations at the University of Nairobi. “The move would help the country open up for foreign investment and financial aid from international financial lenders such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.”
However, Mr. Nying’uro said he fears the procedure for removing Sudan from the terrorism list will be long. He said Washington was keenly following events in Sudan and testing its commitment to human rights, democracy, its fight against terrorism, freedom of speech and humanitarian access before it agrees to remove the country from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
“They will not rush to delist Sudan since Trump appears to have no interest in Africa,” Mr. Nying’uro said.
He noted that the Obama administration faced criticism for lifting economic sanctions on Myanmar too quickly in 2012. The country’s military reasserted itself, and the government sanctioned a major ethnic cleansing campaign against the minority Rohingya population. Mr. Nying’uro predicts the U.S. under the Trump administration will tread cautiously this time.
“They will first monitor the situation in Sudan moving forward before they can consider removing it from the list,” he said. “Therefore, Sudan should prove itself and meet the requirements.”
Mr. Noor, the Khartoum auto parts seller, agreed. He said the U.S. could play a key role in Sudan’s economic recovery after decades of poverty under Mr. al-Bashir’s rule.
“We have a new country with new leaders. Let the West not punish us for the evil things Bashir committed during his reign,” he said. “Foreigners should be encouraged to come here and invest, as this will create jobs to our people.”
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