[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 152 (Tuesday, November 4, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11698-S11699]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       SUDAN SANCTIONS ON TARGET

 Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise today to commend the 
Administration on a policy change announced today.
  Last night President Clinton signed an executive order imposing 
comprehensive sanctions on the Government of the Sudan. Specifically, 
the United States has put into place new, unilateral sanctions that 
will prevent the Government of the Sudan from reaping financial and 
material gain from trade and investment initiatives by the United 
States.
  As Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said earlier today, this 
policy change is designed to send a strong signal to the Sudanese 
Government that it has failed to address the concerns expressed in no 
uncertain terms and on several occasions by the Clinton Administration. 
In particular, the Sudan continues to engage in practices that we 
Americans find unconscionable, including: providing sanctuary for 
individuals and groups known to have engaged in terrorist activity; 
encouraging and supporting regional insur-gencies; continuing a violent 
civil war that has cost the lives of thousands of civilians; and 
engaging in abominable human rights abuses.
  Mr. President, these are the four main issues that continue to plague 
U.S.-Sudan relations. Let me take each of them in turn.
  First, terrorism. Terrorism is clearly one of the most vexing threats 
to our national security today. Terrorist groups, by seeking to 
destabilize or overthrow governments, serve to erode international 
stability. By its very nature, terrorism goes against everything we 
understand to be part of the ``international system,'' challenging us 
with methods we do not necessarily comprehend. People--often, innocent 
bystanders--die as a result of such terrorism. Buildings are destroyed. 
And everyone's sense of personal safety is shattered.
  According to the State Department's most recent Patterns of Global 
Terrorism report, Sudan ``continued to serve as a refuge, nexus, and 
training hub in 1995 for a number of international terrorist 
organizations,'' which likely include some of the most notorious groups 
in the world such as Hamas, Abu Nidal and Hezbollah, among others. In 
addition, the government continues to harbor individuals known to have 
committed terrorist acts. For example, it is widely believed that Osama 
Bin Laden, who was once described by the State Department as ``one of 
the most significant financial sponsors of Islamic extremist activities 
in the world,'' enjoyed refuge in the Sudan in the early 1990's.
  Second, Sudan's support of insurgency movements in many of its 
neighboring countries poses a significant threat to regional stability. 
In Eritrea, it supports the Eritrean Islamic Jihad, and in Uganda, it 
supports both the Lord's Resistance Army and the West Bank Nile Front. 
Sudanese government officals have been known to smuggle weapons into 
Tunisia.
  Third, Sudan continues to promote a brutal civil war against the 
largely Christian and animist people of Southern Sudan. Sadly, during 
its 41 years of

[[Page S11699]]

independence, Sudan has only seen about 11 years of peace. This 
seemingly endless conflict has taken the lives of more than 1.5 million 
people and resulted in well over 2 million displaced persons or 
refugees. Perhaps the saddest consequence of the war is that there are 
thousands of teenagers who do not remember a peaceful period, and who 
know better the barrel of a gun than the inside of a classroom.
  The international community has done the best that it can with this 
situation; there are approximately 40 national and international 
humanitarian organizations providing millions of dollars annually in 
food aid and development assistance. For its part, the United States 
government has provided more than $600 million in food assistance and 
non-food disaster assistance since the mid-1980's.
  The United Nations' Operation Lifeline Sudan [OLS], which maintains a 
unique agreement with parties to the conflict, has been instrumental in 
allowing humanitarian access to displaced persons in the southern 
Sudan. I commend the humanitarian organizations operating in the region 
who daily face not only enormous technical and logistical challenges in 
serving the Sudanese population, but also the all-too-frequent threat 
of another offensive nearby.
  Fourth, the Sudanese government has a deplorable record in the area 
of human rights. According to the most recent State Department human 
rights report, the Khartoum government maintains not only regular 
police and army units, but also internal and external security organs, 
a militia unit, and a parallel police called the Popular Police, whose 
mission includes enforcing proper social behavior. In 1996, according 
to the report, government forces were responsible for extrajudicial 
killings, disappearance, forced labor, slavery, and forced conscription 
of children. Basic freedoms--of assembly, of association, of privacy--
are routinely restricted by the government. Worse, imposition of 
Islamic law on non-Muslims is far too common. An April 1997 U.N. Human 
Rights Commission resolution identified pages of similar abuses.
  Mr. President, this is not a regime that should be included in the 
community of nations.
  In response to Sudan's actions in these areas, particularly with 
respect to terrorism, the U.S. government has imposed a series of 
sanctions on the current Sudanese regime over the past several years, 
including suspending its assistance program and denying senior Sudanese 
government officials entry into the United States.
  In part at my urging, the Administration officially designated Sudan 
as a state sponsor of terrorism by placing it on the so-called 
``terrorism list'' in 1993. Inclusion on the terrorism list, according 
to Section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act (P.L.96-72), 
automatically puts statutory restrictions on the bilateral relationship 
including prohibitions on foreign, agricultural, military and export-
import assistance, as well as licensing restrictions for dual use items 
and mandated U.S. opposition to loans from international financial 
institutions.
  In addition, the United States has supported several resolutions by 
the United Nations Security Council, including three demands that Sudan 
extradite three suspects wanted in connection with the failed 1995 
assassination attempt against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. After 
Sudan failed to comply with these resolutions, the Council later 
adopted measures calling on member states to adopt travel restrictions 
and to ban flights by Sudanese-government controlled aircraft.
  But, as important as these measures have been, Sudan has apparently 
refused to get the message that its actions are simply unacceptable.
  Sudan has the potential to be one of the most important countries in 
Africa. It is the largest country on the continent and has a population 
of 29 million people. With cultural and geographic ties to both Arab 
North Africa and black sub-Saharan Africa, the Sudan has the potential 
to play a significant role in East Africa and the Gulf region.
  Unfortunately, Mr. President, Sudan continues to squander that 
potential by engaging in or supporting outrageous acts of violence and 
terrorism.
  So, Mr. President, I welcome the President's decision to take a 
tougher line with respect to Sudan.

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