U.S. decision on Sudan sanctions was made on false bases : al-Mahdi

January 14, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The leader of the National Umma Party (NUP), Sadiq al-Mahdi Saturday said the decision of the American administration to ease sanctions on Sudan has been made on false bases.

President Obama in a decision issued on Friday 13 January, explained his decision to partially left sanctions on the Sudanese government saying that Khartoum reduced its military activities and maintained a cessation of hostilities in the conflict areas, improved humanitarian access and cooperated with the U.S. to address regional conflicts and the threat of terrorism.

In a statement released on Saturday, in al-Mahdi welcomed Obama decision, saying it would have a positive impact on the activities of Sudanese businessmen. “The measure eliminates an unfairness sustained by Sudanese civilian financial sectors,” he added.

However, he pointed that “It would be more appropriate to measure the feasibility of any measure to support peace and democratic transformation” in the Sudan, taking into account the signing of a cessation of hostilities agreement, a deal on the humanitarian access, creating a conducive environment for the national dialogue, and the government commitment to implement the Roadmap Agreement.

“In the absences of these four pillars, it would be useless to speak about positive developments,” he stressed.

The leader of the opposition party, will travel to Paris to participate in a five-day meeting for the factions of the Sudan Call alliance. The meeting will discuss ways to bolster the coordination between the opposition and civil society groups in order to put more pressure on the regime.

Other Sudanese opposition groups minimized the decision of the American administration to ease sanctions on Sudan, saying it means to reward Khartoum on its security cooperation at the expense of peace and human rights.

The Secretary General of the Sudanese Congress Party, Mastor Mohamed Ahmed, told Sudan Tribune that Obama’s decision indicates that Khartoum made huge concessions in the file of cooperation against terrorism.

“No economic progress or prosperity will happen, but the economic crisis and the suffering of the people will continue, because the regime does not care about the people but think about its political interests.”

Sudanese Foreign Minister, Ibrahim Ghandour, told reporters that the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump is fully informed of the six month negotiations with Obama administration.

“We expect that the new American administration be committed to what has been agreed,” he added.

He further said that executive order of Friday 13 January came after a consensus between the Republican and Democratic parties, adding that all the institutions including the Congress, and activists were briefed about the decision.

(ST)