SUDAN: NDA OFFICIALS IN CAIRO SAY JUNE 18

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 004875 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID PHUM SU EG SUBJECT: SUDAN: NDA OFFICIALS IN CAIRO SAY JUNE 18 AGREEMENT POSITIVE YET NOT COMPLETE REF: A. CAIRO 4681 ¶B. CAIRO 4360 Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On June 23, Cairo-based representatives of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) shared with the diplomatic corps their perspectives on the June 18 Cairo agreement. The tone of the briefing was hopeful, as the NDA highlighted increased NDA participation in Sudan's democratic future. The briefers also called for continued international support as the NDA and the GOS coordinated "implementation modalities" agreed to in Cairo. The NDA representatives highlighted the status of military forces and power sharing arrangements as key issues left unresolved. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) On June 23, NDA officials briefed the diplomatic corps on the Cairo agreement of June 18th. Deputy Chairman and lead negotiator for the NDA, General Abdel Rahman Saeed, kicked off a briefing at which Mr. Farouk Abou Eissa clarified details of the agreement and noted many unresolved issues. Citing the Cairo agreement as "a step for bringing the NDA on board" and influencing a political settlement in Sudan, Abou Eissa outlined the agreement's goals as: 1) removing the state of emergency after the adoption of an interim constitution, 2) solidifying NDA participation in the National Constitutional Review Commission, 3) inserting NDA views into early drafts of the constitution (effectively giving the NDA a voice in discussions which pre-dated its participation),4) consulting on "commissions" stipulated in the Naivasha accords and interim constitution, and 5) reinforcing the role of women in Sudanese politics. ¶3. (SBU) Abou Eissa candidly discussed the issues that could not be resolved at the Cairo talks, particularly power sharing (the ratio of NDA seats in a unified government) and the status of the armed forces in eastern Sudan. He nonetheless highlighted the current NDA delegation of 27 participants in the constitution-drafting process (nine voting delegates and 18 experts as "alternates") as an early benefit of the agreement and stressed the NDA's role in ensuring a more democratic outcome. He said a "modalities committee" would ensure continued negotiations on outstanding issues, describing the three committees (political, legal, and reconciliation) that were established as a follow-up mechanism. Abou Eissa noted that he co-chaired the political panel. ¶4. (SBU) On the complex issue of NDA military status, the briefers called for a national non-partisan military force. Abou Eissa argued that military forces should not be allied to any political party, but answer to the nation as a whole. Abou Eissa argued that the judiciary was similarly a national asset that should be independent of the Congress Party. He discussed the need for a new and more democratic approach to the "administration of justice" and called for many "new laws." Power sharing is a similarly complicated issue, but Abou Eissa made it clear that the NDA would not settle for 14% of the seats in a new 60-member cabinet and would remain "in opposition to GOS" unless given sufficient representation. He proclaimed that the NDA did not have to infringe upon the seats promised to the SPLM or other southern political forces, but could share some of the 52% held by the Congress party. The NDA briefers stressed that NDA participation in the constitutional commission had exceeded the original percentage (totaling "over 17%" when only 14% had been promised). This precedent made a similar concession in the unified government "logical," they stressed. ¶5. (SBU) All committees would start work immediately, according to Abou Eissa, with the intent of ensuring NDA participation at all levels of the government. Summarizing the haste leading to the June 18 agreement, he said that discussions had continued until 3:00 a.m., with Egyptian President Mubarak slated to host an event at around noon that same day. Agreement was reached to sign a limited accord and to continue working toward resolution of outstanding issues. After initially agreeing to delay implementation of this limited accord until all issues were resolved (according to "Annex B" to the agreement dated June 18),Abou Eissa said a second Annex ("Annex C") dated June 20 set in motion NDA participation in the constitutional review commission immediately. ¶6. (SBU) The NDA, according to Abou Eissa and his colleagues, was "satisfied partly with this agreement." They hoped it would lead to a more democratic transition -- and were encouraged that the agreement represented "specific modalities signed publicly" by the government in Khartoum. Egypt's role in reaching the accord also gave the GOE an incentive to help ensure implementation; the GOE has an interest in "realizing what was agreed to under Mubarak's auspices," Abou Eissa noted. ¶7. (SBU) Abou Eissa called on the international community to assist in Sudan's democratic transition. "It is all of our jobs to push for what was agreed to in Cairo." Clearly acknowledging the limits of the Cairo agreement, the NDA emphasized in this briefing the positive direction indicated by the accord. ¶8. (SBU) Hesham Afifi, member of the minister's cabinet at the Egyptian MFA, told PolOff June 26 that the NDA's input in the draft constitution had been submitted June 25 for consideration by the Sudanese president and then the parliament. He said the June 18 agreement which initiated the NDA's participation in that drafting exercise was very positive in spite of many issues left unresolved. Now that this "important step" has been taken, he said, the NDA's views would need to be taken into consideration; the resulting inclusion was positive, in his analysis. ¶9. (U) Khartoum minimize considered. Visit Embassy Cairo's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/cairo You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. CORBIN