SRF 2018 1ST Quarter Newsletter
SRF-2018-1Q-Newsletter-Control-Final-Docs.compressed
Sudan Hopes for Sanctions Repeal as Deadline Looms
With the clock ticking on an impending Oct. 12 deadline for the permanent lifting of U.S.-imposed sanctions on Sudan, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour arrived in Washington in an attempt to clinch the deal with U.S. authorities.
About 50 other members of the Sudanese community from all over the U.S. gathered outside the Capitol to urge the Trump administration to keep sanctions on Khartoum. The sanctions bar trade between Sudan and the U.S and put some economic restraints on Sudanese leaders.
In January, then-President Barack Obama tentatively lifted elements of U.S. economic pressure on Sudan as a reward for improved behavior from the once-rogue regime. Obama highlighted improvements, but he made the final lifting of sanctions contingent on continued compliance by Khartoum over a six-month review period.
In July, the Trump administration extended the review period, citing a need for more time.
Sudanese-American Human Rights Activist Writes an Open Letter to President Trump
Simon Aban Deng is a former Sudanese slave, a human rights activist, and an American citizen living in the United States. . Now a free man, he is determined to use that freedom to advocate for peace and prompt the Trump Administration to help end slavery and genocide
In an open letter to President Donald Trump, Simon provides counsel on the grave situation in South Sudan. He discusses how the world’s newest nation is the only country in Africa that is currently blocking Islamic extremism from flooding southward to overtake the entire continent.
Without US engagement, Simon says there would be no South Sudan today, and without its leadership again, there may not be a South Sudan in the near future.
The only hope that Southern Sudanese have now, according to Simon, is the leadership of President Trump when it comes to preventing the further spread of extremist Islam from overrunning all of Africa. The situation is still salvageable, with America’s help.
Dr. Tom Catena: Lifting Sanctions Will Help Sudan’s Leaders. What About Everyone Else?
On July 12, the day by which the United States must decide whether to lift sanctions against the government of Sudan, is a day that I’ll be watching closely because it will affect me and the people I serve.
As the lone surgeon in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, I help to run the only referral hospital that serves 750,000 citizens. Every day I treat an average of 500 patients with injuries and ailments— many of which are direct or indirect byproducts of the conflict. From my vantage point here, there has been no improvement in the humanitarian situation.
Lifting the sanctions will, in fact, serve to reward the bad behavior of a government that has not allowed humanitarian aid to enter our region. It would reward a government that has targeted civilian areas of the Nuba Mountains with indiscriminate aerial bombardments and artillery shelling for the better part of the past six years.
I know this is a complicated set of issues for U.S. policymakers to weigh, but I’d make this plea on behalf of the men, women and children I treat every day: Please extend the sanctions to hold Khartoum accountable. Let’s not let Sudan’s government off the hook.
Frank R. Wolf: Putting Sudan on notice
On July 12th, the Trump administration postponed a decision for 90 days on whether to continue to implement U.S. sanctions on Sudan that were established as the result of decades of violence, genocide and crimes against humanity.
Together we brought testimony, evidence, and arguments to the administration. And they listened. At a time when there is much tension in our culture and politics, it gives me hope to see many people and organizations come together on this important issue, and to be able to have an impact for those suffering in Sudan.
I am grateful to President Trump for extending the review period so his administration has more time for fact-finding and comprehensive analysis. The United States must ensure that the genocidal government of Sudan will not use the lifting of sanctions as a means to acquire the capacity to commit more crimes in the future. I hope all who care about this issue will speak up as the Trump administration considers its next steps.
Dr. Tom Catena: Lifting sanctions will help Sudan’s leaders. What about everyone else?
On July 12, the day by which the United States must decide whether to lift sanctions against the government of Sudan, is a day that I’ll be watching closely because it will affect me and the people I serve.
As the lone surgeon in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, I help to run the only referral hospital that serves 750,000 citizens. Every day I treat an average of 500 patients with injuries and ailments— many of which are direct or indirect byproducts of the conflict. From my vantage point here, there has been no improvement in the humanitarian situation.
Lifting the sanctions will, in fact, serve to reward the bad behavior of a government that has not allowed humanitarian aid to enter our region. It would reward a government that has targeted civilian areas of the Nuba Mountains with indiscriminate aerial bombardments and artillery shelling for the better part of the past six years.
I know this is a complicated set of issues for U.S. policymakers to weigh, but I’d make this plea on behalf of the men, women and children I treat every day: Please extend the sanctions to hold Khartoum accountable. Let’s not let Sudan’s government off the hook.
Religious Minorities in Sudan Need Protection
In a joint letter, the Sudan Relief Fund and six other faith-based and human rights groups have urged Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to consider issues relating to religious freedom and the persecution of religious minorities in Sudan as part of any strategic review relating to U.S. policy.
As the State Department is currently focused on analyzing the actions of the Government of Sudan and the future of U.S. policy, the Sudan Relief Fund warned Tillerson that religious and ethnic minority groups and faith-based charitable organizations in Sudan face discrimination, detention, violence, and the destruction of churches by the regime in Khartoum. Those living in areas of conflict such as South Kordofan and Blue Nile are particularly vulnerable to religious-based discrimination as a mechanism to create fragmentation between groups and therefore exert state control.
As a result, we have highlighted a number of areas of concern as well as actions we believe the Sudanese Government must take. We are hopeful that the State Department will be cognizant of this critical issue as well as create a new track engagement with the Sudanese Government that is centered on issues of peace and human rights that could help ensure that fundamental rights are being addressed.
Melinda Henneberger: Even genocidal regimes now have Washington lobbyists
For $40,000 a month, Squire Patton Boggs will work for the Sudanese government headed by war criminal Omar al-Bashir, whose best known work includes the ongoing genocide in Darfur and the Nuba Mountains. The Washington, D.C. lobbying law firm, which is headed by former Republican Sen. Trent Lott and former Democratic Sen. John Breaux, was hired by Sudan to help convince the Trump administration that most economic sanctions against Bashir’s government, which the U.S. has long recognized as a state sponsor of terrorism, ought to be allowed to lapse in July.
According to the firm’s June filing with the Department of Justice, Squire Patton Boggs will help the Sudanese government “avoid ‘snap back’ of U.S. sanctions on Sudan and to “identify and implement strategies to improve Sudan’s investment climate.”
http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/melinda-henneberger/article157716354.html
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