Cablegate: Sudan Rebels: Demarche to Technical Committee Reps

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OO RUEHBC RUEHBZ RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHKUK RUEHMA
RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNJ #0513/01 3071707
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 031707Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM IMMEDIATE 0551
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7409
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NDJAMENA 000513

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/C
STATE FOR S/USSES
DECDEF FOR DASD HUDDLESTON
NSC FOR GAVIN
LONDON FOR POL - LORD
PARIS FOR POL - BAIN AND KANEDA
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR AU

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV SU CD
SUBJECT: SUDAN REBELS: DEMARCHE TO TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPS

REF: NOVEMBER 2 NIGRO-HUDSON E-MAIL AND PREVIOUS

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U.S. MESSAGE
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1. (SBU) DCM, accompanied by DATT and RSO, delivered points
provided in ref message to members of the Technical Committee
representing SLA and URF factions November 3, stressing that
S/E Gration commended progress thus far, including via the
road map signed in Addis Ababa, toward unification under one
banner. DCM made clear that the U.S. remained committed to
helping spur unification, but stressed that our concerns on
timing were mounting. She pointed out that the proposed
Technical Committee conference was only two weeks away, and
that although we had just received budgets deemed crucial for
moving people, we had yet to receive other transportation
details. She reminded the group that the U.S. was prepared
to reach out to third countries to try to secure funding for
outstanding items on the budget. She advised the group that
the U.S. would not be in a position to continue to devote our
own resources to the reunification effort unless the movement
participants themselves took full responsibility for
organizing their members and the conference at the time the
group had previously chosen.

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CONFERENCE LOGISTICS
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2. (SBU) The SLA and URF reps -- Babiker Abdallah,
Tajelldin Bashir Niam, Abdallah Jafar Khalil, and Mahmoud
Mohammed Korina -- insisted that they were entirely committed
to unification, to attending the Technical Committee
conference, and to peace in a unified, stable Sudan. They
thanked the U.S. for agreeing to provide food and water for
travelers, but also claimed that delays had occurred in
Washington over whether funding could be provided for some
necessary items, including fuel and spare parts allowing
vehicles to travel great distances. Babiker and Niam
stressed that their groups were indeed armed groups, adding
that the U.S. had agreed to ask the Swiss and French to pick
up funding for items the USG could not provide to such
entities. An additional problem had been that "logistics
with the house you rented for us, including lack of internet
connectivity" had slowed things down,

3. (SBU) DCM told the reps that the USG sought on an
immediate basis a complete list of names of those who needed
to travel to the conference, as well as details of their
transportation needs. Babiker and Niam advised that the
various movements who were part of the rebel unification
effort presently needed to engage in individual,
faction-specific, internal pre-consultations, perhaps
involving 500 people. Once those pre-consultations had
occurred -- with the help of the international community if
possible -- attention could shift to the November 15-25
conference itself. The main unknown as far as conference
participation was concerned was who from the Diaspora would
attend. Before settling on a finalized conference list, the
group hoped to receive clarity on how much assistance the
Swiss and French were likely to provide toward fuel costs.
Babiker indicated that his organization had asked the Swiss
to shift funding for three consolidation workshops planned
for some point in the future to the pre-consultation effort,
but the Swiss had told him they "were waiting for a green
light from the U.S."

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JEM
---

4. (SBU) Niam then raised the divisive stance of Khalil
Ibrahim -- who he said was presently in N'Djamena -- pointing
out that Khalil had posted a statement on a website earlier
in the day to the effect that he did not want a unification
conference, did not want to go to Doha, and preferred to
resume fighting. Jafar added that the JEM was threatening

NDJAMENA 00000513 002 OF 002

the entire peace process, seemed bent on undermining the
efforts of others to pursue peace, and might even pose a
direct physical threat of members of the Technical Committee
in N'Djamena -- "we are afraid we will meet him here," said
Jafar. "He may commit crimes here."

5. (SBU) Niam said that in addition to seeking
international financial support for the Technical Committee
unification conference and pre-consultations, the SLA and URF
factions also sought USG assistance in "protection from the
JEM"; in obtaining the release of SLA/AW commander Yousef
Ahmet Yousef (currently held by the JEM); and in convincing
President Deby to meet with the SLA and URF team (Deby had
met with them three times in the past). Perhaps S/E Gration
could come to N'Djamena in the coming days to work with Deby
and the Technical Committee in the aim of delivering all
Sudan rebels, including the JEM, to an event in Doha, said
Naim.

6. (SBU) DCM asked whom the SLA and URF usually met with in
the GoC when Deby was unavailable. Babiker said that
officials from the Interior Ministry and the Secretary
General of the MFA normally were willing to receive them, but
"people below Deby do not have power."

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WAY FORWARD
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7. (SBU) Korina reiterated that the pre-consultation
process with individual movement members still in the field
needed to proceed before final decisions could be made about
the conference. DCM reiterated that S/E Gration's patience
was wearing thin, and that the USG did not want to continue
to invest efforts in a process that was going nowhere. She
recommended that the group immediately provide the USG with a
list of conference participants, including identity details
and information on where they needed to travel from. Niam
and Babiker acknowledged that rounding up the right Diaspora
reps might in the end not be so important as identifying key
players from the field, "so if necessary, we will forget
about Diaspora participation." They noted that they would
have a larger meeting among themselves this evening to try to
nail down information on who could attend the conference.
This would involve trying to contact potential JEM defectors
currently in Tripoli. If allowed to proceed as they wished
with pre-consultations, "maybe more than ten groups will come
to the conference," said Naim. DCM asked that a rep of the
present gathering get in touch with Embassy N'Djamena
November 4 to let us know whether they had put together their
list. She stressed that the group could always reach out to
S/USSES staff or to Embassy Khartoum as well.
NIGRO

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