Talking to Sudan

The following editorial appeared in The New York Times:

President Barack Obama is offering Sudan’s leaders an opportunity that they do not deserve but is necessary. The administration will replace a punishment-heavy approach with one that is more balanced. Sudan, he said, can look forward to rewards if it brings stability to Darfur and the country’s south and to tougher sanctions if it does not.

We have difficulty accepting the idea of any outreach to President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for directing the genocide in Darfur. Washington officials insist that they will not work directly with Mr. Bashir but will try to negotiate with other Sudanese officials.

We are skeptical that any of Bashir’s henchmen can be trusted to keep their word. But complete isolation wasn’t working, not least because other countries — most notably China, which buys oil from Sudan — were never willing to cut their ties.

The violence in Darfur — where some 300,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million driven from their homes — has lessened. But the situation remains dire. Refugees in camps must be protected and a way must be found for them to return home and rebuild their lives. Sudan must declare a cease-fire and engage rebel groups in serious negotiations.

It must also implement a fragile north-south peace agreement that ended a devastating war in 2005 by preparing for national elections next year and passing a law governing a 2011 referendum on self-determination in South Sudan.

In announcing the new policy, Obama also cited the need to ensure that Sudan does not provide a safe haven for terrorists — that important goal cannot absolve Khartoum of the horrors it has committed.

Before Monday’s announcement, Obama’s special envoy to Sudan, Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration, seemed to suggest that the new policy change would stress only incentives. So we were relieved when Obama promised to renew existing sanctions on Sudan, which include a trade embargo and freeze on assets of the government and individuals held responsible for the violence in Darfur. (We were somewhat less reassured after aides said that details on the new policy are concealed in a secret annex to the strategy document.)

Incentives, including a gradual lifting of sanctions, must be granted only for measurable progress. Obama also must be prepared to fulfill his other promise: to persuade other countries to increase pressure on Khartoum if it continues to abuse its people.

Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have taken a strong stand on the need to end the killing in Sudan. They deserve support as they attempt a new approach. They must be held to account if it fails.