The American Wall Street Journal said that the United States has an opportunity to draw Sudan toward the West by helping democracy advocates who are struggling to reform the country.
The newspaper pointed out in an editorial for its editorial board that Sudan represents a "prospective bright spot", in a world where good news is less these days.
She added that the United States has an opportunity to attract this country in the northeast of the African continent to the west, but the newspaper fears that this opportunity will be wasted.
The newspaper's editorial board described the head of the transitional government, Abdullah Hamdok, as a "respectable technocrat," noting that although some problematic figures retained a measure of power, Hamdok managed to dismantle the "notorious" security apparatus and abolish laws restricting freedoms.
Besides this, the transitional government has provided more room for the press and the broader civil society to do their work. The newspaper stressed that the United States can help support Hamdok's position.
Untie the isolation
The newspaper recalled how the former regime headed by Omar al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan for 30 years before it was toppled by a popular revolution in 2019, turned the country into a rogue state by granting al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden asylum in his lands in the 1990s.
Also, the Bashir regime caused Sudan to be included in the US list of countries sponsoring terrorism in 1993. After the attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, which killed more than 200 people, Sudan suffered more isolation, but the overthrow of al-Bashir provided an opportunity. To repair the relationship with America, according to the newspaper's editorial.
The newspaper noted that the US State Department had negotiated a settlement with Sudan under which Khartoum would pay $ 335 million in compensation to the families of the victims of the two embassy bombings in exchange for removing the country’s name from the list of states sponsoring terrorism.
The settlement requires congressional approval, which would give Sudan immunity from any future lawsuits related to terrorism.
The Wall Street Journal went on to say that Sudan had met the criteria required to remove its name from the list of terrorism, stressing that this would end its diplomatic and economic isolation and allow it to seek debt relief from institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
According to the editorial board of the American newspaper, if such a development occurs, it will enhance Hamdok's popularity, help strengthen his position, and keep the hopes of moving to a true democratic stage alive.
And she warned that Washington could impose sanctions again if Sudan's military stood in the way of reforms.
The newspaper concluded that Sudan represents a rare opportunity to transform a "rogue authoritarian state and a former safe haven for terrorism into a democratic partner," adding that with the growth of Chinese influence in Africa and the Middle East, the United States will need more friends, such as Sudan.