DEBY HOSTS HEADS OF STATE MEETING ON DARFUR

C O N F I D E N T I A L NDJAMENA 000261 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF, AF/C, AF/SPG, INR, PRM, USAID/OTI; LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICAWATCHERS; GENEVA FOR CAMPBELL, ADDIS/NAIROBI/KAMPALA FOR REFCOORDS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/04/2015 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREF KAWC CD SU SUBJECT: DEBY HOSTS HEADS OF STATE MEETING ON DARFUR Classified By: Political/Economic Officer Kathleen FitzGibbon for reaso ns 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir agreed to stop aerial activity over Darfur and implement a unilateral ceasefire during the N'Djamena Summit on Darfur held on February 16. Bashir also told the heads of state of Chad, Gabon, Congo, representatives of Egypt, Libya, Nigeria, the African Union, and United Nations that he would withdraw Sudanese military troops from positions occupied after December 8 and begin the demobilization and disarmament of the jandjaweed. In a meeting February 18, Chadian President Deby told the Ambassador that if there is not enough progress on the ground in Darfur, Khartoum would not be allowed to host the annual African Union summit in July. End Summary. ¶2. (U) On February 16, Chadian President Idriss Deby hosted a heads of state summit on Darfur to jump-start the Darfur peace process. The meeting was attended by: President Omar Bongo of Gabon, Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo, Omar Al-Bashir of Sudan, Libya's Secretary of African Union Affairs Ali Abdelsalam Triki, Egypt's Minister for Relations with Parliament Mohfid Shehab, Nigeria's Minister for African Affairs Lawan Gana Guba. Alpha Konare, Chair of the AU Commission and former Senegalese President and current Secretary General of the Francophonie, and Jan Pronk, Special SIPDIS Representative of the UN Secretary General for Sudan, attended the meeting. President Olusegun Obasanjo did not attend because he was "sick", according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs protocol officers. No others were allowed in the room. - - - - - - - - - - - PRESIDENTIAL READ-OUT - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (C) President Deby told Ambassador Wall on February 18 that the heads of state presented Al-Bashir with "the truth" about what they see happening in Darfur and that he understood all of their concerns. Bashir, according to Deby, agreed to stop aerial activity over Darfur, implement a unilateral cease-fire, withdraw Sudanese military troops from positions occupied after December 8, and accepted the Government's responsibility to demobilize and disarm the jandjaweed. Deby described the discussions as long and precise. ¶4. (C) Deby said that meeting was necessary to establish a real cease-fire on the ground. A map of the parties' positions is necessary in order to design a plan to separate their forces. The heads of state recommended sending a verification team expeditiously to Darfur to determine those positions. Deby said that Chad will continue to work with the African Union toward a political agreement in Abuja. ¶5. (C) Deby seemed to accept Bashir's latest commitment to respect the cease-fire, pull back Sudanese forces, and disarm the jandjaweed. He told the Ambassador that without demonstrable progress on the ground, Khartoum will not be allowed to host the African Union summit in July. - - - - - - COMMUNIQUE - - - - - - ¶6. (U) The communique from the meeting refers only vaguely to Bashir's "commitments" without spelling them out. The communique urges the Sudanese parties respect the N'Djamena Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement, the Abuja Protocols on the Improvement of the Humanitarian Situation and the Enhancement of the Security Situation in Darfur, and any other commitments they have made. In addition, the heads of state urged the Chair of the Joint Commission to send a team to verify the positions of the parties on the ground to work out a plan for the separation of forces. The international community is called upon to strengthen the African Union's mission in Sudan. ¶7. (C) Several elements of the communique were presented by the Governments of Sudan and Libya, according to representatives of the U.N. staff who attended the meeting. First, the international community is called upon to support ongoing African efforts to resolve the crisis and to refrain the deployment of any non-African forces in Darfur. Second, a "peace framework" should be prepared and submitted to the parties at the next round of talks. This agreement "should open the way for the holding of a large conference of all the children of Darfur". Third, the communique mentions the resumption of the Inter-Sudanese Peace Talks on Darfur, but the Libyans reportedly wanted the wording "in Abuja" dropped. ¶8. (C) The thrust of Libya's intervention was to gain support for preventing U.S., NATO, or European Union forces from being deployed to Darfur. Also, U.N. and A.U. personnel told P/E officer that the Libyans are still trying to get the venue of the peace talks moved from Abuja. According to a member of Jan Pronk's team, some of the communique language was hastily added and that it is "harmless". Nonetheless, Sudan and Libya are likely to point to the communique as evidence of agreement on these issues as well as on the idea of an all-Darfur conference when it suits them. - - - - - - - ATMOSPHERICS - - - - - - - ¶9. (C) The summit pushed Chad's protocol resources to the breaking-point. There was complete confusion over the meeting's timing and its participants. The diplomatic corps was trotted out to the airport tarmac to greet arriving heads of state and then taken to the Foreign Ministry to wait for five hours while the heads of state concluded their meeting without any explanations. Outside the venue, dozens of armored humvees took over the parking lot. Ambassadors Wall, Prosper, and Yates, P/E officer and Proper's special assistant attended the reading of the communique. Even Deby himself commented on the poor protocol arrangements at the ceremony. Nonetheless, the Chadians appear relieved to have pulled the meeting off and once again demonstrated leadership on Darfur. - - - - COMMENT - - - - ¶10. (C) Deby hopes that this is the beginning of the cease-fire on the ground in Darfur, but remains cautious. He believes that Bashir clearly understood the message of the other heads of state. It may be that Deby and the African Union are calculating that the possibility that Khartoum will host the annual July summit may result in compliance on the ground. Deby and the assembled heads of state collectively placed pressure on Bashir to respect the ceasefire. However, without the presence of President Obasanjo, the group probably lacks sufficient clout to make a difference without continued outside pressure and the use of other carrots and sticks to enforce the Government of Sudan's compliance with the ceasefire. As for the reference to an all-Darfur conference, this is an old idea and one that the Sudanese Government supports as long as it can manipulate the attendees. ¶11. (U) Khartoum and Tripoli Minimize Considered. WALL NNNN