DARFUR: SANT EGIDIO READY TO ENGAGE

C O N F I D E N T I A L VATICAN 000447

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR EUR/WE LEVIN; AF: SNYDER; AF/SPG SMALL; AF/E;
AF/RSA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/24/2015
TAGS: PHUM PREL SU VT
SUBJECT: DARFUR: SANT EGIDIO READY TO ENGAGE

REF: A) 04 VATICAN 2892; B) FEB 18 SMALL- MARTIN EMAIL


CLASSIFIED BY: Peter Martin, POL, Vatican, State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

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Summary and Action Request
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1. (C) Community of Sant'Egidio representatives told the
Charge February 24 that they were willing to work with the
Darfur rebels to help them become better prepared for the Abuja
negotiations. In confidential talks that could be held at its
Rome headquarters, Sant'Egidio proposed a preparatory "training
program" to help rebels prepare for more serious political
engagement. They believe that such a session could help the
rebel groups develop a greater clarity of purpose, better
organization, and more realistic expectations that could make
the next round of talks in Abuja more productive. Sant'Egidio
made clear that this training initiative would require close
coordination with the Department both to identify participants,
and to guide the discussions. They also envision eventual
African Union (AU) participation. Sant'Egidio's representatives
said they were ready to begin planning right away and agreed
that an early March timetable would allow time to prepare the
rebels for the next round of talks. Please advise post of
Department interest in pursuing this proposal (please see
paragraph seven). End Summary.

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Sant'Egidio Ready to Move Forward
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2. (C) Community of Sant'Egidio representatives told the
Charge February 24 that they were willing and eager to pursue a
plan proposed informally by the AF bureau (ref a) to intensify
engagement with the Darfur rebels by hosting a series of
confidential talks at their Rome headquarters. Representatives

SIPDIS
Claudio Betti, Mario Giro, and Vittorio Scelzi said Sant'Egidio
has kept up its contact with both Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA)
and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leaders since making an
offer last summer to facilitate negotiations (ref b). Various
rebel leaders have since visited Sant'Egidio's headquarters.

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Rebels Must Learn to Negotiate
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3. (C) Betti and Giro were on the same page with AF on the
bureau's informal proposal. They said it was clear that the
Darfur rebels did not know how to negotiate, and could not
engage productively in current talks because of a lack of
organization and the fact that, as Betti put it, "they don't
even know what they want." The key, Sant'Egidio officials said,
would be to work with the rebels to help them identify and
prioritize their goals, and bring them to understand that
negotiating also meant more than "just saying 'no' again and
again." Betti said the rebels needed a dose of reality,
comparing the situation to the Community's work in the Liberian
conflict. "When the Liberian rebels came here, they all thought
they would be vice-president; but when they left they all knew
that was impossible," Betti recalled. Sant'Egidio plans to help
rebels gain the greater clarity of purpose, better organization,
and more realistic expectations that could help make the next
round of talks in Abuja more productive.


4. (C) Sant Egidio would prefer to gather all the rebel groups
together rather than deal with them sequentially, so that they
can develop a common approach. They also stressed the
importance of uprooting the rebels from Asmara, where they come
under the meddling influence of the authorities. Sant' Egidio
believes the credibility of the AU talks is at stake, and that
some sign of progress in the next round will be essential. At
present, the rebels lack both an understanding of how to engage
in a political process and a grasp of the international context
of the conflict. Up to now, they have been courted by the
international media, and have come to believe that they can
simply restate their positions endlessly without truly engaging
with their interlocutors.

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Whom to Invite
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5. (C) Sant'Egidio envisions several days of talks with SLA and
JEM leaders. They mentioned the names of several SLA leaders as
likely participants but said that they would want to consult
closely with the Department when drawing up a list of invitees.

Giro cautioned that it would be important to keep the number of
principals down, as he imagined that each principal would come
with a small entourage, including some with wives. A group of
four leaders would quickly become a party of fifteen.

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U.S., AU Participation
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6. (C) Sant'Egidio believes U.S. participation and
international pressure would be necessary to entice some leaders
to participate. Betti said that U.S. participation for the
duration of the discussions would be essential, though he noted
it would not have to be at senior levels -- at least at the
start of the talks. Giro also anticipated inviting the chief
African Union (AU) negotiator to come to Rome to meet the group
after the first week of what he imagined would be two weeks of
discussions. Although the Community has had little contact with
him, Betti and Giro stressed their good relations with previous
negotiator Sam Ibok and the AU in general. "They know us well,"
Betti said, and noted that the AU had come to Sant'Egidio with a
similar proposal to aid in negotiations some time ago. He
emphasized that they were not looking to sideline the AU, but
only to prepare the groundwork for more productive AU efforts.
Their goal was to aid, not undermine the AU's efforts, Betti
stressed.

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Action Request: Next Steps
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7. (C) Sant'Egidio representatives said they were ready to
begin Qeir "training" initiative as soon as possible, and
agrQ that an early March timetable would allow time to prepare
the rebels for the next round of talks in Abuja. Post requests
Department advise of its interest in pursuing the AF informal
proposal with Sant'Egidio and next steps. Sant'Egidio
understands that considerable coordination will be needed to
identify participants and arrange for their travel to Rome.
Sant'Egidio would be amenable to direct contact from AF, though
Post requests that Department keep us closely advised of
contacts and discussions with the Community.


HARDT


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2005VATICA00447 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL