Cablegate: Ncp Politicians: "Close U.S. Mission"

VZCZCXRO5986
PP RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #2384 2702006
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 272006Z SEP 06 ZEL ZEL ZEL
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4760
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 002384

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/SPG, S/CRS
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (SBU AND U MARKINGS)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL SOCI EAID UN US SU
SUBJECT: NCP POLITICIANS: "CLOSE U.S. MISSION"

1. (U) During an annual conference of military conscripts on September
23, several pro-National Congress Party (NCP) politicians said that
proposed UN intervention in Darfur was a ruse to steal Sudan's
resources and called on the Sudanese government to close the U.S.
Mission for violating Sudanese law.

2. (U) Fathi Khalil, the chairman of the Sudanese Bar Association,
described the presence of the U.S. Mission in Sudan as a threat to
national security and accused it of espionage. He said that the
U.S. Embassy's activities did not strengthen relations between Sudan
and the USG.

3. (SBU) Badereldin Taha, a prominent NCP politician, said that UN
Security Council Resolution 1706 represented a Western strategy to
dominate Arab and Islamic countries and make them a "toy in the
hands of the U.S." He declared his support for countering
international intervention with force, characterized the conflict
between the Sudanese government and the international community as
religious, and called on the Sudanese people to practice jihad
against the "Crusaders." "We are neither terrorists nor
fundamentalists, but we are against the Pope's analysis and his
abuses of Islam," said Taha. (Note: Taha was a luminary in the
National Islamic Front, a former governor of Khartoum, and a former
Minister of Trade. He recently resigned from the Popular Congress
Party to join the NCP. End note.)

4. (U) National Assembly Member Fadul Jadeen lauded the Sudanese
government's humanitarian programs in Darfur. He also claimed that
international non-governmental organizations inflated their
contributions to relief efforts, claiming they provided no more than
30 percent of the needs of internally displaced persons. He said
that the UN has no legal basis to intervene in the internal affairs
of Sudan, and blamed the Darfur crisis on a diplomatic and
intelligence effort, in cooperation with international media, to
capture Sudan's wealth.

HUME

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