Cablegate: Sudan Plans New Visa Procedures for South

VZCZCXRO9023
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #2745 3311259
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 271259Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5382
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 002745

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL CVIS SU
SUBJECT: Sudan Plans New Visa Procedures for South

Ref: STATE 187662

1. Consul General Juba (CGJ) delivered reftel demarche on November
20 to Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) Minister in the Office of
the President Luka Biong and GoSS Minister for Regional Cooperation
Barnaba Benjamin, but modified the text slightly to reflect
additional guidance from Embassy Khartoum based on the report that
President Bashir had rescinded the travel restriction limiting the
movement of Americans in Sudan. (Note: First Vice President/GoSS
President Salva Kiir was unavailable. End note). The two ministers
said that the restrictions on travel of Americans had already been
lifted. CG requested written confirmation of that decision. (Note:
The Embassy has still not received an official, written
notification of the lifting of the travel restriction from the MFA.
As of November 26, visas issued to officials Americans traveling to
Sudan were still being annotated to limit travel to a 25-mile radius
of the Presidential Palace in Khartoum. End note.)

2. The CG also discussed the general problems with visas issuances
for travelers to the south, including long delays and non-issuance
to both aid workers and foreign government officials. The ministers
said they had reached a deal with the Government of National Unity
(GNU) to establish special visa-issuance units for southern
travelers staffed by the GoSS in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya. This
would initially include offices in the respective embassies, but
could expand to cover consulates in places like Gulu, Uganda and
Lokichoggio, Kenya, as well as at embassies in other countries.

3. Finally, CG asked about the plans for the controversial Southern
Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC) passes. The
SSRRC passes were de facto visas issued during the war by the SPLM
to areas they controlled. After the war, the GoSS continued to
issue these passes in an effort to avoid problems associated with
GNU visa delays, despite the fact that doing so contradicts the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). While many governments and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) use these passes to travel to
the South, USG employees, contractors, and NGO partners are required
to get visas.

4. The ministers responded that a compromise was also reached on
this issue after extensive meetings between the GoSS, led by
Minister of the Interior Paul Mayom, and the GNU. They explained
that the SSRRC passes will be phased out, possibly over the next two
months. In that time, GNU immigration officers will establish
offices in police stations throughout Southern Sudan where holders
of SSRRC passes can apply to convert their passes to either
residency permits or multiple-entry visas, as appropriate. The
ministers emphasized that until the transition period is complete,
the GNU agreed to recognize the SSRRC passes as valid documents. CG
requested this decision in writing as well.

HUME

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