Renewed US sanctions - business as usual
The Government of National Unity (GoNU) in Khartoum has rejected an offer by the president of the United States of America (USA) Barack Obama, who in September threatened to renew economic sanction on Sudan, if the government does not cooperate in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), with a timely conduct of Southern Sudan Referendum and ending war in Dafur.
In a press statement on 10th November 2010, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Khartoum said they rejected the move by the US leadership to renew these sanctions on Sudan, because the move was not aimed at resolving the Sudanese political malaise, but was part of US’s selective policies in dealing with Sudan.
According to a ministry’s spokesperson, they had been discussing with the US to remove sanctions on Sudan for over 13 years fruitlessly, thus they (the government in Khartoum) had lived with the sanctions and without the assistance of the US government. “We reject the decision of the US government. This decision represents no surprise to our Government because it’s a regular decision they always renew on the 3rd of November each year” the spokesperson Mr. Muawia Osman Khalid said.
\"Renewal of sanctions will hardly make any difference.\"
Osman Khalid, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson
Osman also claimed that, the move to renew sanctions proves that the US administration lacks political and sufficient courage to take a decision in favor of the Sudanese political problems at the time when the Khartoum Government was gearing into a crucial historical event (Southern Sudan Referendum). He further stressed that, the move to renew sanction on Sudan will ‘hardly make a new change’ since they have been on economic embargo for decades, which, according to him has made the Central Bank of Sudan to adapt new strategies that make the Government survive without foreign aid.
It is interesting to note, however, that during the post referendum meeting brokered by the US government in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, Khartoum made it clear it will not accept the US proposal on Abyei unless all economic sanctions are removed, and Sudan is no longer on the US list of sponsors of terrorism. Although Khartoum openly expresses pride of the alternative strategies put in place to reduce the impact of the sanctions, the realities of the regular citizens in Northern Sudan scream the opposite of pride.
According to Abdullah Yosuf Al-Tayeb a merchant in Souq Al-french in Khartoum, Dollars and Euros are scarce in the local banks. As a result, merchants are facing more and more difficulties in importing new stocks of goods. Prices have shot higher due to the scarcity in hard currencies, and regular citizens are stuck between a proud government and the harsh realities of life.
Dollars and Euros are becoming scarce in local banks in Khartoum.
Finance Minister Ali Mohamoud Salih affirms that, consumption and importation of certain luxury goods is to be reduced to avoid an economic collapse. “I have already ordered the cease in importation of second-hand cars, because in the long run, a used car is a burden to the owner and the country’s economy, we need to go local and cease luxury” the minister said.
Renewing economic sanctions on Sudan is aimed at pressing the Government in Khartoum to comply with the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and fostering peace in Darfur. The anticipation of the January referendum adds to the complexity of this reality, as one of the main issues to be discussed is the country’s foreign debts and the future of the economic sanctions, both in case of secession or unity.
