Credit: Wikipedia /Flickr Al Jazeera  /  Then-Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir arrives in  Sudan southern capital of Juba 2011. 

By Gary Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

Sudan was designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1993 by then President Bill Clinton.  Sudan has remained on the U.S. State Department’s designated list for more than 25 years, despite the recent overthrow of long-time authoritarian Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir.  The former president,  who ruled the Northeast African nation 30 years with an iron grip, was forced from power in a military-led coup on April 11.

U.S. Appoints Special Diplomat To Sudan As Horn of Africa Nation Falls Into Deadly Violence

Credit: U.S. Department of State / Special Envoy  to Sudan Donald E. Booth

The U.S Department of State June 10  announced the appointment of  Ambassador Donald Booth as Special Envoy for Sudan as the Horn of Africa nation descended  into deadly violence following the overthrow of al-Bashir.  Two days after the removal of al-Bashir,  Lt. Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan announced that the military would give civil society rule of the country within two years.  Last month, the African Union suspended Sudan’s membership “with immediate effect”, as deadly violence grips the Horn of Africa nation’s capital with dozens reported killed.  On July 4, Sudan’s Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the main opposition signed a power-sharing agreement, during a transition period to lead to elections. 

In a Telephonic Briefing with journalists in Brussels Tuesday July 23,  Ambassador Booth explained the U.S. position regarding Sudan:

“The position that  the United States has taken is that we support the formation of a civilian-led transitional government  that will be broadly supported by the Sudanese people.”

-U.S. Ambassador Donald Booth,  Special Envoy for Sudan 

On July 13,  the U.S. top diplomat for Africa Tibor Nagy and Booth met with the opposition Forces for Freedom and Change (FCC) in capital city Khartoum and expressed support for the need to accelerate a civilian-led transitional government amid deadly violence that has gripped the Horn of Africa nation. 

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy

No Indications U.S. Will Remove Sudan From List of State Sponsor of Terrorism 

“So, under current U.S. restrictions that go back many years, including our designation of Sudan as a state sponsor of Terrorism, our ability to operate in Sudan in the economic realm has been limited to humanitarian and democracy and governance areas,”  Ambassador Booth said in Brussels. Booth noted that the U.S. lifted sanction against Sudan in 2017. The U.S.  lifted long-standing economic sanctions against Sudan in 2017 that had been in place for two decades.  The sanctions included a trade embargo, a freeze on some government assets, and restrictions on Sudanese banks and the ability of foreign banks to do business with Sudan. However, the lifting of the sanctions failed to make much of a difference in attracting badly needed foreign investment due to Sudan’s deteriorating economy, the authoritarian government of Omar al-Bashir, and unresolved political conflict.

SUDAN,   IRAN ,   SYRIA   On List Of  State Sponsor of Terrorism 

The U.S. Designation of Sudan as a State Sponsor of Terrorism makes the Horn of Africa nation ineligible  for badly needed debt relief, and financing from the IMF or World Bank. The Clinton Administration in 1993 added Sudan to the list over allegations that president Al-Bashir was sponsoring terrorism.  Sudan is one of only three countries in the world on the U.S. State Department’s list. The other two are IRAN and SYRIA. The Obama administration removed Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism in 2015. However, most recently, the Trump administration is considering putting Cuba back on terror list over island’s support of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro.

Is U.S. Designation of Sudan as Sponsor of Terror Outdated?

“While the US government has a number of open dossiers with its Sudanese counterpart—including legitimate concerns about ongoing violence, humanitarian access, and political space within the African country—these were not the reasons that prompted President Bill Clinton to have Sudan designated a “state sponsor of terrorism” in 1993 and to maintain it subsequently in that category,”   Peter Pham, Director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, writes.  “The original designation was because of worries at the time about Khartoum’s support for groups like the Abu Nidal Organization (ANO), Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and Hizballah. The terrorist Sabri Khalil al-Banna, a.k.a. Abu Nidal, was killed in Baghdad in 2002 and, according to the State Department’s own report, there are no known recent actions by the dead psychopath’s group and, if “ANO associates may still exist in Lebanon, they are likely inactive” (p. 351).  Moreover, while previously members of Hamas were allowed to raise funds, travel, and live in Sudan, by 2015 “the use of Sudan by Palestinian designated terrorist groups appeared to have declined.”   Pham, writes.

 Sudan On The Right Path  But Much work Remains:    Ambassador Booth

“…there’s still a lot that the Sudanese need to do but as I said, we fully support the desire of the Sudanese people to have a civilian-led transitional government that  will tackle the issues of constitutional revision and organizing elections, free and fair, democratic elections, at the end of a transitional period. “

-Ambassador Booth 

In his press briefing in Brussels on U.S. policy toward Sudan,  Ambassador Booth made no mention of removing the the country from the Sponsor of State Terror List.  Many political observers are of the opinion it is time to take Sudan off the Terror list. Some note that international pressure, including US sanctions, has failed to bring about any change in Sudan. It is important to remember that the Sudanese people fed up with the authoritarian rule of Al-Bashir  and the grinding poverty ultimately brought down his government, not sanctions or the Terror listing.  At the end of the day, many international sanctions ultimately end of hurting the common folk, while keeping many authoritarian leaders in power who play the victim and accuse the U.S. of being an economic bully.