VZCZCXRO9166
OO RUEHBC RUEHBZ RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHKUK RUEHMA
RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNJ #0536/01 3201354
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 161354Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7437
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NDJAMENA 000536
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
STATE FOR AF/C
STATE FOR S/USSES
OSD 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 PREF MARR SU LY PINR ER FR CD
SUBJECT: CHAD/JEM: FRENCH AND LIBYANS ON JEM ISSUES
REF: A. KHARTOUM 1278
B. NDJAMENA 0483
C. 2008 NDJAMENA 557
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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) The French ambassador told us 11/14 that he had no
information regarding recent or upcoming deliveries of arms
to JEM in Chad and that he believed that the GOC has put
Khalil Ibrahim "on a short leash," restricting his in-country
travel to prevent him from getting involved in JEM armed
activity in eastern Chad. The Libyan ambassador told us
11/12 that The Libyans and President Deby had been pressing
JEM to leave Chad and engage in meaningful Darfur
negotiations, including going to Doha, but that Chad
ambassador to Libya Daoussa Deby was still involved in JEM
affairs, including funneling Eritrean assistance to JEM from
Tripoli. The Libyan called for increased international
pressure on JEM and its supporters in Eritrea and the Gulf,
to help Chad break with JEM.
2. (SBU) The Libyans are probably telling us what they
assume we want to hear; they know that U.S. relations with
Eritrea are poor; and they conveniently ignore their own
support for JEM. The French Ambassador's unsurprising
remarks reflect both French Chad policy and long-standing
French views on JEM, as well as France's excellent sources of
information here. The Libyans once claimed (Ref C) that they
got Daoussa Deby re-appointed to Tripoli to remove him from
the Chad/JEM equation; but now they acknowledge that
Daoussa's current position may not have stopped him from
keeping his hand in with JEM.
3. (SBU) Embassy NDjamena remains prepared to meet with
Khalil or his advisors
here to pass messages or seek information regarding JEM
actions and plans (Ref B), whenever the Department provides
guidance and talking points for further engagement with JEM.
END SUMMARY.
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FRENCH AMB
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4. (SBU) Ambassador talked to the French Ambassador Bruno
Foucher on November 14. Foucher's key JEM-related points
were:
-- French Embassy has no information regarding recent or
upcoming deliveries of arms to JEM in Chad;
-- French Embassy believes that the GOC has put Khalil
Ibrahim "on a short leash," restricting his in-country travel
to prevent him from getting involved in JEM armed activity in
eastern Chad.
-- French Embassy is puzzled by actions of JEM representative
in Paris, whose apparent antipathy to Khalil Ibrahim's
leadership results in the Paris rep spreading
"disinformation" designed to discredit Khalil: French
Ambassador cited a recent "report" from the JEM Paris rep
that JEM had received 30 vehicles from the GOC, evidence for
which the French cannot find.
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LIBYAN AMB
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5. Ambassador spoke to Libyan Ambassador Green Saleh Green
on November 12. Green's key JEM-related points were:
-- Eritrean support for JEM is at root of many problems with
JEM;
-- Eritrean political and material support for JEM is far
greater than any Chad-related support for JEM;
NDJAMENA 00000536 002 OF 002
-- Chad Ambassador to Libya (and President Deby's
half-brother) Daoussa Deby is more supportive of JEM than
President Deby and might be involved in transferring support
from Eritrea to JEM via Tripoli, involving Eritrean Embassy
there;
-- Libya has been pressing President Deby to continue be
tough with JEM, encourage JEM to negotiate a solution in
Darfur, go to Doha, etc;
-- Libya has been pressing Khartoum to negotiate seriously on
Darfur;
-- President Deby has been clear with Khalil Ibrahim and
wants to "break" with JEM, but there are limits to how far he
can go within the "Zaghawa nation;"
-- President Deby needs help in getting JEM out of Chad and
into negotiations;
-- International pressure must be put on Asmara to stop
backing JEM;
-- International pressure must be exerted to stop support for
JEM emanating from "Gulf States" and "Gulf Arab people.
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COMMENT
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6. (SBU) The Libyans are probably telling us what they
assume we want to hear; they know that U.S. relations with
Eritrea are poor; and they conveniently ignore their own
support for JEM. The French Ambassador's unsurprising
remarks reflect both French Chad policy and long-standing
French views on JEM, as well as France's excellent sources of
information here. The Libyans once claimed (Ref C) that they
got Daoussa Deby re-appointed to Tripoli to remove him from
the Chad/JEM equation; but now they acknowledge that
Daoussa's current position may not have stopped him from
keeping his hand in with JEM.
7. (SBU) Embassy NDjamena remains prepared to meet with
Khalil or his advisors here to pass messages or seek
information regarding JEM actions and plans, whenever the
Department provides guidance and talking points for further
engagement with JEM. END COMMENT.
NIGRO