الأمريكان ماذا قالوا عن زيارة حمدوك (أمانى شاقة محبطة)

Asarq Al-Awsat

Sudan’s Hamdok Head s Busy Agenda for US Visit

Tuesday, 3 December, 2019 - 09:30

Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who arrived in the US on Monday, will meet US officials at the State Department, the Treasury, and the National Security Council, as well as the Defense Department, the CIA and congressional leaders, sources said.

Sources also pointed out that Hamdok will meet the President of the World Bank and the Director of the International Monetary Fund, hold meetings in some think tanks and business councils, and meet with the Sudanese community in the US.

Hamdok arrived in Washington heading a delegation of ministers of defense, justice, youth and sports, and religious affairs.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mansour Bolad said on Sunday that Hamdok's visit to Washington is part of Sudan's efforts to normalize relations with the United States.

He added that it is crucial that the US lift sanctions against Sudan because these sanctions impede the implementation of government programs. For example, Sudan cannot borrow money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as long as it is on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Sudan was placed on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism in 1993, during the three-decade rule of former President Omar al-Bashir

Three months ago the US State Department said it will test the commitment of Sudan's new transitional government to human rights, freedom of speech, and humanitarian access before it agrees to remove the country from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.

In this regard, observers note that many issues remain obstacles to the full normalization of relations between Khartoum and Washington, particularly the issues of combating terrorism, compliance with UN Security Council resolutions, and boycotting North Korea.

Two weeks ago, a UN delegation visited Sudan to discuss lifting UN sanctions.

While Hamdok did address the General Assembly of the United Nations at the end of September, it has been years since a senior Sudanese official paid an official visit to Washington.
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SUDAN TRIBUNE
هذا موقع سودانتيربون الذى يحرر من فرنسا وليس له علاقة بالصحيفة الورقية التى تصدر بالسودان بنفس الأسم، الموقع ساق فى النشأة والتسمية.

Sudan’s Hamdok has no chance to get sanctions removal soon: U.S. expert

December 2, 2019 (WASHINGTON) - Sudan still has a long way to run before to get rid of U.S. terror list and branch sanctions as its civilian government faces ’insurmountable task", wrote Cameron Hudson a former chief of staff to the special envoy for Sudan and ex-director for African Affairs on the National Security Council.

Hudson is one of the few Americans that follow Sudan’s affairs on daily basis and has close relations with different officials and security services as he also served for the CIA and now he is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center.

He released a long article on the occasion of the first visit of Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok to Washington who came seeking help on how to bring an end to Sudan’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism and relieve Sudanese from the heavy burden that al-Bashir’s era has left on their shoulders.

Before to make a list of what Washington wants from Khartoum before to remove the sanctions, Hudson said Trump Administration fears the "possibility that the military will reassert its authority as soon as sanctions are lifted".

But the most import that he disclosed the concerns that the State Department wants to settle particularly on the counterterrorism level.

The former CIA said Washington wants clarifications about the security and intelligence service after the recent reforms and that this agency is "fully under civilian control".

In addition, he pointed to the presence of "a number of known international terrorists and rebel groups from neighbouring countries most of whom use the large, ungoverned desert expanse from the Red Sea to Libya as an ample hiding ground".

The last issue on the counterterrorism he mentioned is that Hamas and Hezbollah, which are designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the State Department, maintained a political office in Khartoum.

In remarks at the Atlantic Council last October, U.S. Special Envoy Donald Booth said that his administration has to verify that Sudan is no longer a state sponsor of terrorism.

Hamdok who arrived in Washington on Sunday held two separate meetings on the same day with Sudan’s negotiating team and the lawyers’ team for the removal from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list.

His delegation includes defence, justice, religious affairs, and youth and sports ministers.

In his detailed article, Hudson mentioned one of the sticky matters that US officials avoid to speak about publicly related to judgments against the Sudanese government for its support of the terrorist bombings of the USS Cole in 2000 and the US embassy bombings in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 1998.

So before Sudan removal from the blacklist, Hamdok government has to pay over $300 million only for the victims of the attack on USS Cole and $2.1 billion in damages to American families of victims of the 1998 embassy bombings.

"With so many pressing needs to respond to, with such elevated public expectation that civilian rule will quickly erase thirty years of corruption and neglect, and with so many countervailing forces on the path to success, Hamdok seems confronted with an insurmountable task," said the expert.

He further underlined internal factors related to the US election in November next year as it is difficult to maintain on the agenda of the policymakers. The second matter is the pledge by President Donald Trump to on terror as he is running for a second term next year.

Hamdok, will not be received by President Trump or Secretary of State Pompeo. He will meet only the Secretary of the Treasury on Tuesday and the Undersecretary for Political Affairs, H.E Davis Hale. Also, he will meet the chair and member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Tibor Nagy, U.S. top diplomat for Africa said they consider the Sudanese civilian government as a partner.

Also, a meeting of Friends of Sudan will take place in Khartoum next week to decide on the support they can make for the impoverished country for its budget for 2020.

The meeting also will decide where to hold a donor conference among reports that Washington wants to host it.

In remarks at the Atlantic Council last October, U.S. Special Envoy Donald Booth said that his administration has to verify that Sudan is no longer a state sponsor of terrorism.

Hamdok who arrived in Washington on Sunday held two separate meetings on the same day with Sudan’s negotiating team and the lawyers’ team for the removal from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list.

His delegation includes defence, justice, religious affairs, and youth and sports ministers.

In his detailed article, Hudson mentioned one of the sticky matters that US officials avoid to speak about publicly related to judgments against the Sudanese government for its support of the terrorist bombings of the USS Cole in 2000 and the US embassy bombings in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 1998.

So before Sudan removal from the blacklist, Hamdok government has to pay over $300 million only for the victims of the attack on USS Cole and $2.1 billion in damages to American families of victims of the 1998 embassy bombings.
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APR
https://www.npr.org/transcripts/784553301https://www.npr.org/transcripts/784553301https://www.npr.org/transcripts/784553301https://www.npr.org/transcripts/784553301

حوار APR مع حمدوك شفاهى إستغرق 7 دقائق .. تفاصيل الأسئلة والأجوة أدناه
للإستماع أفتح اللينك أعلاه

< Sudan's Prime Minister Is On A Mission To Show The World His Country Has Changed
December 3, 20194:31 PM ET

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

For the first time in more than three decades, the leader of the government of Sudan is visiting Washington, D.C. His mission - to convince U.S. officials that Sudan is no longer the Islamic dictatorship, the haven for terrorists or the site of genocide the world once knew; to convince them that the street protests of the last year have produced real change; and that now, a newly created military-civilian transitional council will deliver the democracy that it promises.

One measure of how surprising all this is - the prime minister himself. Economist Abdalla Hamdok says he couldn't have imagined it even a year ago.

PRIME MINISTER ABDALLA HAMDOK: Well, not at all. I think, you know, the change that happened in Sudan surprised everybody, including political activists and all that. It was primarily led by young people, women, creating this momentous change. Puzzling - it's just exciting.

CHANG: I understand that you've also helped usher in many changes since you came into this role. One of the most recent is the decision to repeal so-called morality laws. These are laws that restricted women's freedom of movement, that regulated, say, the type of clothing they were allowed to wear. What message are you trying to send with these kinds of reforms؟

HAMDOK: You know, the first thing we did when we started putting together the transitional government structures - we had in mind that our women should be represented not because we are giving them a gift or handout - because it is a just and well-deserved representation. They were part of this change. Over the years, we felt so sad to see those type of laws which - dehumanizing. And we've repealed it - rightly so.

CHANG: Are you willing to go farther with these kinds of legal reforms to change what you call dehumanizing aspects of the old regime؟ For example, flogging is still a legal form of punishment. Are you prepared to make more reforms؟

HAMDOK: We are prepared and happy and ready. The sky is the limit for our ambition in observing the human rights of our people.

CHANG: One of the goals during your visit in Washington is to try to persuade the U.S. government to take Sudan off the list of state sponsors of terrorism. Tell me - what is at stake if Sudan does remain on this list؟

HAMDOK: You know, the delisting of Sudan hold the key to so many processes. To start with, we inherited a mounting debt close to 60 billion. We will not be able to start any process of debt restructuring if we were not delisted.

CHANG: Because of the accompanying sanctions on Sudan that come with being listed as a sponsor of terrorism.

HAMDOK: Yes. The immediate challenge we are facing in this transition is the shortage of commodities, the very high inflation, which is in double digits. All this is creating very serious hardships to the ordinary citizens on the streets. So I think we would like to see decent companies from all over the world, but particularly from the U.S., to come and invest in our country that will create jobs. And all this can only happen if we are delisted from this list.

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مقابل مساعدات أمريكا للسودان حمدوك يعرض خدمات السودان لأمريكا فى المنطقة (؟؟؟!!!!)

CHANG: OK. So you have explained why Sudan needs the help of the U.S. But tell me why the U.S. should help Sudan.

HAMDOK: Well, I think Sudan offered the U.S. huge opportunities in investment in every sector you can think about. But also, Sudan was a strategic position bordering seven countries. If we get it right in Sudan, this has an extremely strategic impact and effect in the entire region.

CHANG: Beyond the financial interests of the U.S.

HAMDOK: Yes, beyond the finance. And you'll see in the region full of misery. You look at it - Libya, Yemen, Syria, all these places. You have here a change that is peaceful, that will give hope to that region of the world, which created so many challenges and problems to the global peace and security and all that. So helping Sudan, which is going in the right direction - it will bring hope to the world, I would like to think.
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CHANG: Well, one of the most critical concerns of the U.S. is whether Sudan can turn a corner to turn away from its past not only as a sponsor of terrorism, but also as an abuser of human rights. I mean, how can this transitional government convince the U.S. that Sudan has turned a corner, that it will turn a corner؟

HAMDOK: Well, I guess they should just judge us from what we've done in the last two months. We started by repealing these laws. We put in place a condition that will create human rights. We have acted on unfettered access of humanitarian assistance and support from any organizations, whether it is across lines from the country or across borders from anywhere.

CHANG: But I'm thinking, for example, about Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who is a member of this transitional council that is ruling Sudan now. He runs a paramilitary group that has been notorious for years for atrocities across the country. Just this June, they violently broke up a sit-in in Khartoum. At least 87 people were killed. Why should the world believe that this is a new Sudan when there are elements of the old regime still in power؟

HAMDOK: You know, what we are doing in Sudan today is what I would call a Sudan model of transition. It has the potential of addressing all these challenges, working together. In terms of the atrocities that were committed on the 3 of June, we have, actually - I'm sure you know that - established a well-distinguished, reputable committee that is going to investigate this. And I think we will get to the bottom of that.

CHANG: You believe that people will be held to account for what happened there...

HAMDOK: Absolutely.

CHANG: ...Including Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

HAMDOK: Anybody. Anybody.

CHANG: Including a member of the transitional council.

HAMDOK: Absolutely. I think the committee will allow us and afford us the opportunity to get to the root of this, the perpetrators and who did it. So...

CHANG: Well, let's talk about accountability. The former dictator of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir - he's wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, for war crimes, for genocide. Those are far more substantial charges than he's facing in Sudan. Why not turn him over to the ICC to demonstrate that Sudan has really changed؟

HAMDOK: You know, Bashir right now as we speak - he's also undergoing prosecution. And the list of the court cases are very long. In Darfur...

CHANG: But they don't rise to the level of genocide. The types of charges that he's facing before the International Criminal Court are far more serious...

HAMDOK: Absolutely.

CHANG: ...Than what he's facing in Sudan. So why not turn him over to the international community؟

HAMDOK: Absolutely. All right. But this is a starting point. I'm saying the court cases could go into the tune of 20, 30, 40, starting from the Day 1, toppling an elected government, and all the way through Darfur genocide, through other atrocities. It's not only Darfur. There are many atrocities committed in so many parts of the country. We're working on establishing judiciary structures that is independent, credible. I think...

CHANG: Yes, prime minister, but how many decades do you expect it will take for Omar al-Bashir to account for his crimes against humanity؟

HAMDOK: No, no, no. Actually, on this issue, our bottom line and yardstick is that justice has to be seen as served to the best, maximum satisfaction of the victims. They are the one who will guide us in this process, and we are happy to do anything that will satisfy them.

CHANG: Abdalla Hamdok is the prime minister of Sudan's transitional government.

Thank you very much for spending the time to speak with us today.

HAMDOK: Thank you so much for having me.

The New York Times

إدارة ترمب ترفع درجة علاقتها الدبلوماسية مع السودان بتادل السفراء بعد 23 سنة

Trump Administration Moves to Upgrade Diplomatic Ties With Sudan
The two nations agreed to exchange ambassadors for the first time in 23 years. But the State Department is keeping Sudan on a list of state sponsors of terrorism.

WASHINGTON — The United States said on Wednesday that it would begin exchanging ambassadors with Sudan after a 23-year gap, a sign the countries intend to strengthen diplomatic ties.

The announcement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was the Trump administration’s vote of confidence in a new Sudanese civilian-led government installed in August after a sweeping revolution ended military rule.

Mr. Pompeo said the move could help transform Sudan’s political and economic systems, bolstering changes demanded by protesters who filled the streets of the country’s major cities over the summer and withstood harsh crackdowns — including killings — by security forces.

Since taking office this summer, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok “has demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with armed opposition groups, established a commission of inquiry to investigate violence against protesters and committed to holding democratic elections,” Mr. Pompeo said in a written statement.