Saturday, 24 October 2009
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Dictator should present himself to the International Criminal Court
President Barack Obama will renew far-reaching economic sanctions on Sudan this month, underscoring his administration's pledge to use both carrots and sticks to induce cooperation from Khartoum on key security issues.
The announcement on sanctions came as the White House on Monday said it had established a new set of "benchmarks" for Sudan to meet in order to improve its ties with Washington.
The U.S. is seeking cooperation from Khartoum in several specific areas: fighting terrorism, ending the ethnic conflict in Darfur, and implementing a U.S.-backed peace process between north and south Sudan.
Senior U.S. officials stressed that it isn't enough for President Omar al-Bashir's government to lend support to counter terrorism measures while allowing his government and Khartoum-linked militias to sow unrest in the Darfur region.
Mr. Obama said he would renew the congressionally mandated sanctions as a signal to Khartoum that it couldn't expect better ties without specific actions. "If the government of Sudan acts to improve the situation on the ground and to advance peace, there will be incentives," the president said.
Senior U.S. officials declined to outline the specific incentives, saying they are confidential. The U.S. first established financial sanctions on Khartoum in 1997. The measures ban U.S. firms from doing business with Sudan's government and limit the exporting of oil industry-related products.
Mr. al-Bashir's government, which wasn't expecting any lifting of sanctions, generally welcomed the tenor of the U.S. announcement, though it criticized the U.S.'s continued description of the violence in Darfur as genocide.
"Basically . . . this is a strategy of engagement. It is not a strategy of isolation," Sudan's point man on U.S. relations, Ghazi Salahadin, said in Khartoum.
Human-rights activists in Washington generally praised Mr. Obama's new Sudan policy, saying it was tougher on Khartoum than many had expected. Last year, the International Criminal Court formally indicted Mr. al-Bashir for allegedly overseeing ethnic cleansing and genocide in Khartoum.
"If this policy is implemented it should prove effective and be different" from the Bush administration's, said John Prendergast, co-founder of the Enough Project, which focuses on ending the Darfur conflict. "But will the Obama administration stand up if Khartoum continues to stoke unrest?"
The Bush administration similarly used engagement and sanctions to manage its Sudan policy, but resisted formally supporting multilateral efforts to pressure Mr. al-Bashir, such as the ICC.
U.S. officials view Sudan as entering into a crucial 18-month period in which they fear civil war could break out if there isn't extensive international involvement. Next year, Sudan holds national elections, and in early 2011 the United Nations will oversee a referendum to gauge whether south Sudan wants to remain under Khartoum's mandate. Many Sudan analysts believe the oil-rich region will vote for independence.
Still, U.S. officials stressed that Washington has no intention of directly engaging Mr.al-Bashir.
"We firmly believe that he should get himself a good lawyer, present himself to the ICC, and face the charges that have been leveled against him," a senior U.S. official said.
The Wall Street Journal 10-20-09 per Jay Solomon
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