What does Obama Victory Mean to Sudanese?

By Alesio Clement Pwong
Kapoeta –South Sudan

The message of change on which Obama’s victory depended may mean different things to the American citizens. For Sudanese the message of changed received with mixed reactions. In South Sudan, today is declared official public day by the President of South Sudan, General Salva Kiir, who is also First Vice President of the Republic of Sudan. While Juba the capital of South Sudan jubilated on receiving the expected news, the Democratic Party win is no good news to the people in power in Khartoum who fear that Obama is shall renew American sanctions against Sudan, first imposed by Washington on Khartoum in 1997 by the former Democratic party president Bill Clinton because of the North-South war and Sudan’s alleged sponsorship of terrorism. There are many unresolved issues between the Islamist government in Khartoum with the opposition and the international community, such as the war in Darfur and issues to deal with the peace agreement signed with South-based movement in 2005.

Darfurian rebels who expect support from the new administration to end their plight as they have today welcomed the election of US senator Barack Obama as the next president and expressed hope that his administration would make Sudan’s troubled western region a top item on his foreign agenda.

In Khartoum meanwhile, the ministry of foreign affairs made a congratulatory message to Obama but the ministry also made their fears more explicit of the changes in the White House requesting for more cooperation with the US under the new government in Washington.

Obama made it clear during the campaign that Darfur is on his foreign policy agenda, and his position of Vice President Elect on Darfur is not unknown to Khartoum. Both Obama and Biden want that they often call genocide stopped through more robust regional engagement with the Chinese and Russia to reduce their support to war in Sudan, and for more robust hybrid military intervention to end the war faster than currently. Khartoum regime which came to power in June 30, 1989 inspired by extreme agenda and influence of radical political Islam declared America an arrogant, infidel and evil system that must be fought.

The regime succeeded in the first five or six years in power to mobilize support against America, until 1996 when it sent Osama Ben Laden away under American pressure. Driven by their instincts to survive of losing power and wealth they accumulated in the short period in power, the hardliner did not only tone down its anti-America rhetoric, but it turned out, through networks of Sudan state security organs, Islamists went an extra mile to cooperate through Sudan’s security organs with CIA to pass data and information on terrorism to Bush government.

Through cooperation with the Republican Administration Khartoum was assured that possibilities of regime change in a manner in Khartoum pursued by the Democrats under Clinton culminating in 16 US cruise missile surprise attack of Al-Shifa pharmaceutical plant in Khartoum on Aug. 20, 1998, is not likely so long as US interests in the region are safeguarded. Since that time Khartoum learned its lessons, and through state Security chief-Salah Gosh- cooperation with devil America paid off. Americans pressured for a peace deal ending bitter Sudan’s war and pressure on Sudan lessened under Bush.

Risk of lost of eight years of cooperation is so high, unless Khartoum foreign policy strategists, informed by their sense of pragmatism, read the signs so well and reinvent themselves to ward off possible the possibilities of renewed American pressures.