Cablegate: Dpa Implementation Office Opens in Khartoum

VZCZCXRO9847
PP RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1933 2261502
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 141502Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4142
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001933

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KPKO PREF SOCI US UN AU SU
SUBJECT: DPA IMPLEMENTATION OFFICE OPENS IN KHARTOUM

1. Sudanese and international community efforts to achieve peace in
Darfur received a boost with the opening of the Darfur Peace
Agreement (DPA) Implementation Office in Khartoum on August 12.
Signatories to the agreement and the Declaration of Commitment
attended, as did representatives of Darfur civil society, the
African Union, and the international community. In all, nearly 120
persons were present. A similar DPA implementation office will open
in El Fasher within the month.

2. Ambassador Sam Ibok, AU Senior Advisor and Head of the African
Union DPA Implementation Team, opened the gathering by noting that
the inauguration of the DPA office constituted an "act of faith" in
both Darfur and the DPA. Furthermore, it was a "testimony of the
commitment of the United States" to a lasting peace. The real
implementation of the DPA could begin in this new office and it
could become a home for every Darfurian. Ambassador Ibok also
chastised neighboring states that were supporting non-signatories
and encouraged the broader international community to press them to
sign on to the DPA.

3. Representing the Government of National Unity, Dr. Omar Haroun
made the point that no document was perfect, but that the DPA
nonetheless represented a substantial step toward peace. Darfur is
a region of over one hundred tribes, thus all parties, signatories
and international community alike, must work together to construct a
durable peace. Dr. Abdul Rahman Moussa spoke on behalf of the
signatories of the Declaration of Commitment to the DPA. Minni
Minawi, newly-named Senior Assistant to the President and Chair of
the Transitional Darfur Regional Authority, represented the Sudanese
Liberation Movement (SLM), though he acknowledged he was now part of
the government. Minawi thanked the U.S. for its efforts to both
broker the agreement in Abuja and bolster its implementation via
this office. He specifically thanked Dr. Moussa for his courage in
joining the agreement and encouraged others to sign. Minawi spoke
at length about the Darfur Joint Assessment Mission (D-JAM), the
World Bank-led evaluation of the long-term needs for recovery,
reconstruction, and development in Darfur. A comprehensive plan was
required to enable refugees and internally displaced persons to
return to their villages and resume their lives. Minawi stated
several times that he wanted to be inclusive, that for the DPA to
succeed all had to join, and that he was willing to help facilitate
this.

4. CDA Hume closed the ceremony by stressing the dire humanitarian
considerations of the crisis in Darfur and the imperative for all
parties to shoulder responsibility for the implementation of the
agreement. He also congratulated the signatories for the personal
risks each had assumed in signing the agreement. CDA Hume's remarks
were reported extensively and favorably on the front page of the
English language daily Khartoum Monitor. The English language Sudan
Vision also carried a front page photo of the ribbon cutting
ceremony. The event was not covered in the Arabic language press,
however, as of yet.

HUME

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