ICYMI Sen. Coons in Foreign Policy: Targeted sanctions can help restore democracy in Sudan

Op-Ed

By Senator Chris Coons and John Prendergast

The struggle is on for Sudan's future, and the outcome of the current strife between the kleptocratic military and the resilient protest movement in the streets will have consequences far beyond the Horn of Africa for the United States, its allies, and its adversaries. Russia held talks in Moscow with senior Sudanese military officials as Russian troops were invading Ukraine, and is suspected of involvement in the military coup in Khartoum in October. Egypt and Persian Gulf countries are reluctant to risk short-term stability to support a democratic transition in their neighborhood. China wants a business partner.

Though Europe supports a democratic transition, it does not want hundreds of thousands of new migrants heading north; Sudanese regime leaders have suggested this will happen if the international community does not support the military-led government.

The Sudanese people, however, are not backing down in the defense of their political gains. Even in the face of persistent killings, sexual violence, and arrests by the regime, a massive, nationwide pro-democracy movement has for months maintained nonviolent street protests. The determination these thousands of people have shown as they risk their lives against heavily armed security forces should serve as a reminder the world over of how precious democracy truly is.

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