Cablegate: Sudan: Launch of the Nuba Mountains People's Forum

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FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0185
INFO DARFUR COLLECTIVE
IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 000169

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE PASS TO AMEMBASSY MALABO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/08
TAGS: PREL SU EG UNCHS
SUBJECT: Sudan: Launch of the Nuba Mountains People's Forum

CLASSIFIED BY: Donald A. Blome, Minister Counselor, DoS, ECPO;
REASON: 1.4(B), (D)

1. (C) Key Points:

-- Leaders of the Nuba community informed Embassy Cairo that they
have created the International Permanent Forum for the Nuba
Mountains Indigenous People (Nuba Forum) to protect and advocate
for the rights of the Nuba people, which they believe are in danger
under the NCP regime.

-- Cairo-based Nuba leaders are taking a cautious approach to
registering local members of the Forum alleging evidence of
surveillance.

-- The Forum is supporting SPLM presidential candidate Yasir Arman,
but will boycott parliamentary elections because they believe the
"incomplete census" disadvantages the Nuba people.

-- The Forum advocates for a unified, confederal Sudan, but accepts
that secession will likely occur and is preparing to aggressively
defend Nuba rights under any scenario.

-- The Forum would like S/E Gration to visit the Nuba Mountain
region and meet with Nuba leaders.

2. (C) Comment: Uncertainty over the Nuba Mountain region has most
of our Sudanese contacts worried that the region could become the
next "flashpoint" for conflict in Sudan.

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Creation of Nuba Forum to Protect Nuba Rights

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3. (C) SYG of the Nuba Forum Nour Elanbia Aburaida Shemaila
(protect) and local Cairo leaders presented us with an announcement
of the organization's creation on February 2. (Note: Shemaila is
also a member of the SPLM National Secretariat. End Note).
Shemaila informed us that Nuba representatives in Sudan, Australia,
Egypt, France, Kenya, Libya, Norway, Saudi Arabia and the United
States had decided to create the Forum to protect and advocate for
the rights of the Nuba people. He said the Forum's agenda is based
on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples. Shemaila said the Nuba Forum has officially opened offices
in Norway, France and Sweden and plans to open offices in the near
future in most of the aforementioned countries except Sudan and
possibly Egypt, where Cairo office Treasurer Mojo Khalifa (protect)
worried about "security concerns."

4. (C) Cairo Office Director of External Relations Mubarak
Manakaden (protect) told us the Forum's goals are the recognition
of the Nuba identity, the right to preserve and teach the Nuba
language and culture, ensure that the Nuba people have ownership of
land and local resources and the right to self-determination, which
are in danger under the NCP regime. Shemaila said the model for
the Nuba movement would be to obtain similar rights as the
Aborigines have in present-day Australia.

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A Cautious Approach in Egypt

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5. (C) Khalifa said the Cairo office of the Nuba Forum is working
with the NGO Habitat International Coalition to organize seminars
to raise the awareness of the Nuba people on their rights including
land ownership and equality. However, Shemaila said the group has
halted registration of new members in Egypt and alleged that its
website was hacked and leadership phone calls were monitored.
Khalifa believes the GoE is concerned about the Nuba Forum's
activities because it could "stimulate the Nubian people in Egypt
to ask for similar indigenous rights" and the Forum's activities
could create instability in the Nuba Mountain region, which would
threaten Egyptian peacekeepers deployed to UNMIS.

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Forum Supports Arman, Will Boycott Parliamentary Elections

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6. (C) Shemaila stated that the Forum supports the presidential
candidacy of SPLM Parliamentary Head Yasir Arman as "the last
chance for unity." However, he said the Nuba Forum will boycott
the parliamentary elections because a complete census did not take
place among the Nuba people and the resulting distribution of
parliamentary seats would not reflect the influence of the Nuba
population of South Kordofan. According to Cairo office
Information Spokesman Mohamed Gom'a Suliman (protect), the Nuba
will only receive 2 of 10 parliamentary seats allotted to South
Kordofan, but comprise approximately 60-70 percent of the
population. He added that under the current parliamentary setup,
the Nuba will have little say in the public consultations that
could lead to self-determination.

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Desire for a United Sudan, Preparing for Conflict

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7. (C) Despite fighting on the side of the SPLM in the last civil
war, Shemaila told us that the Nuba people have historical ties to
northern Sudan. He stated that because of this, the Forum supports
a united Sudan with a decentralized, confederal system of
governance that would grant the Nuba autonomy over the Nuba
Mountains region. However, he told us that if the South secedes,
the Nuba Forum will advocate for its right to self-determination,
in which the Nuba people should decide whether to be independent,
part of the North, or part of South Sudan. He stated that the
denial of Nuba self-determination would create "another Darfur."
Shemaila said the Nuba have "25,000-soldier army" at Al Abayad
dedicated to protecting Nuba rights.

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S/E Gration Should Visit Nuba Mountains

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8. (C) Shemaila contended that the Nuba Mountain region has been
ignored by the USG. He encouraged S/E Gration to come to the
region and meet with Nuba leaders. Shemaila said the Forum values
and needs U.S. support in order to help it protect the Nuba's human
rights.
SCOBEY

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