Cablegate: Juba Roundup: Goss Ratifies State Constitutions, Ignoring

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PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #2771/01 3350351
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P 010351Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5443
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0045

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 002771

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ECON SOCI PREL PINR SU
SUBJECT: Juba Roundup: GoSS Ratifies State Constitutions, Ignoring
CPA

Ref: A) Khartoum 02702, B) Khartoum 02654

1. (U) The following is a brief round-up of current issues from the
Consulate General in Juba:

--GoSS Goes Ahead with State Constitutions;
--Minor SPLM Reshuffle Finishes with State Minister;
--Penal Code Marks First Laws in Southern Sudan;
--Juba Bridge Still Hanging On; and
--Chinese Establish Foothold with GoSS.

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GoSS Goes Ahead with State Constitutions
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2. (U) Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) Minister of Legal Affairs
and Constitutional Development Michael Makuei has put into law 9 of
the 10 Southern state constitutions despite the fact that the
national Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not issued certifications as
required by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). Makuei
announced his intentions and his justifications for doing so at the
last Assessment and Evaluation Commission Power Sharing Working
Group meeting (Ref A). Only Warrap State has elected to wait for
MoJ approval. Although the move violates the CPA, Makuei told
ConGen that he will no longer allow Northern stall tactics to delay
development in the South. In its defense, the GoSS assert that the
NCP's objections to the naming of state capitals and defined borders
in the constitutions is baseless and inconsistent with such
designations for Khartoum. Makuei said the National Congress Party
(NCP) could take the issue to the Constitutional Court if it
objected.

--------------------------------------------- ----
Minor SPLM Reshuffle Finishes with State Minister
--------------------------------------------- ----

3. (U) The November 26 swearing in of Professor Elias Nyamlel
Wakoson as State Minister for International Cooperation completes a
small-scale SPLM cabinet shift that began three months ago with the
naming of then- State Minister for International Cooperation Dr.
Barnaba Benjamin as the GoSS Minister for Regional Cooperation.
Other changes include the moving of GoSS Minister for the Interior
(MoI) Daniel Awet to Governor of Lakes States, the naming of GoSS
Presidential Advisor for Legal Affairs Paul Mayom as the new GoSS
MoI, and the creation of a new cabinet post, Minister in the Office
of the President, held by Dr. Luka Biong. GoSS President Salva Kiir
has also replaced four governors in the same time period: Lakes,
Western Equatoria, Warrap, and Northern Bahr al-Ghazal.

4. (SBU) COMMENT: While not the major change many in the SPLM were
hoping for -- Kiir dislikes dramatic action -- the moves are a
subtle power shift. For example, some SPLM insiders hoped Dr.
Justin Yaac would be replaced as Minister for Cabinet Affairs.
While Kiir let him keep his position, the newly appointed Biong has
almost the exact same portfolio. END COMMENT.

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Penal Code Marks First Laws in Southern Sudan
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5. (U) In its second session, the Southern Sudan Legislative
Assembly passed a penal code based on the English Common Law system
as the first new laws for Southern Sudan. These laws were
considered a priority, because some judges were still applying
Sharia law in Southern Sudan. The CPA states that all previous laws
remain valid until new ones are passed. The Penal Code will not be
fully operational until the Assembly passes the Criminal Procedures
Code and the Rules of Evidence, which is next up on the agenda.

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Juba Bridge Still Hanging On
----------------------------

6. (U) The remaining lane of the Juba bridge over the Nile is still
intact and open for traffic, and has been watched carefully by local
police since the collapse of the inbound side of the bridge on
November 7. The bridge is a major artery and the only bridge over
the Nile in all of Southern Sudan. The partial collapse of the
bridge was not a surprise given its age (last reconstructed in
1976), lack of maintenance, and the high volume of heavy cargo
traffic from Kenya. To protect the remaining side of the bridge,
police officers are regulating traffic. While no scales are
available, only one large truck is allowed on the bridge at a time,
and the officers sporadically require loads from large trucks to be
transferred onto several smaller trucks for the crossing.

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Chinese Establish Foothold with GoSS
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KHARTOUM 00002771 002 OF 002

7. (U) The Chinese became associated with some of the worst abuses
of the civil war when Northern soldiers brutally cleared large areas
of landed, displacing thousands, so that Chinese companies could
begin exploiting southern oil. This has not stopped the GoSS, which
is desperate for development, from establishing some direct ties
with the Asian power. There have been several GoSS delegations to
Beijing, and Chinese workers are currently renovating the Southern
Sudan Legislative Assembly building and doing some minor
construction work at the SPLA Chief of Staff compound. The GoSS has
also awarded a subsection of the disputed Super Block B to a Chinese
oil company, which has promised to build a pipeline to Kenya and a
local refinery as well (Ref B). In perhaps the biggest sign of the
growing Chinese presence, the truck that finally collapsed one lane
of the Juba bridge (see above) was laden with construction materials
for what will be Juba's first Chinese restaurant.

HUME

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