DARFUR PEACE TALKS: AN ACCELERATING PACE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000722 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS EMBASSY MEXICO PASS TO D; DEPARTMENT FOR AF, AF/SPG, INR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM SU NI SUBJECT: DARFUR PEACE TALKS: AN ACCELERATING PACE ¶1. (SBU) Summary: USDEL is encouraging the mediation and parties to make progress on security arrangements text and has again urged African Union Special Envoy Salim to table a full package for discussion next week. Khartoum CDA Hume outlined the contents of President Bush's letter to Bashir to Magzoub al-Kalifa, who reiterated his instructions from Khartoum were to get a comprehensive peace agreement within weeks. Salim told USDEL that he would be ready to table the entire peace agreement once the security arrangements reached the same state of readiness as the power and wealth-sharing documents. The AU mediation emphasized to the parties that that the beginning of the discussion of the modalities for the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue with the parties is a sign that the negotiations are nearing conclusion. Overall, the international partners, particularly the Europeans, must be persuaded to drop their support for concluding an enhanced cease-fire, an idea that the parties themselves no longer support. Further delays in the negotiations will hamper UN transition planning. End Summary. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - MAGZOUB MEETING ON BUSH-BASHIR LETTER - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (SBU) Khartoum CDA Hume informed GOS delegation chief Magzoub al-Kalifa that Embassy Khartoum had been instructed to deliver a letter from President Bush to President Bashir. Hume said that in the letter President Bush stated his concern about the violence in Darfur and slow progress in implementing the CPA. Bush called for swift progress in the Abuja peace talks and stated that a peace agreement on Darfur was essential for expanding bilateral cooperation. President Bush asked for support for introduction of UN forces and action to disarm the janjaweed. Hume emphasized that his instructions were to work for a comprehensive peace agreement within the next few weeks. Any credible peace plan would require the government of Sudan to adopt a more forthcoming position. A full peace agreement, backed by UN peacekeepers, would benefit both the people of Darfur and the Government of Sudan. ¶3. (SBU) Magzoub reaffirmed that he had been instructed to work for a full peace agreement with the goal of completing this task within a few weeks. He expressed appreciation for USDEL's encouragement of military talks, which he said had created a new atmosphere. He briefly described his own efforts to persuade AU mediator Salim to speed up the work and to present a full package of texts on wealth- and power-sharing and on security arrangements (rather than an interim cease-fire) to the parties. - - - - - - - - - - SALIM ON NEXT STEPS - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (SBU) USDEL members Hume and Yates met with Salim to encourage him to speed up the process of preparing a full package of texts for presentation to the parties. Hume pointed out that President Bush, after his meeting with Nigerian President Obasanjo, had spoken to the press about the need for a Darfur peace agreement. He informed Salim that President Bush had urged Sudanese President Bashir to conclude a peace agreement on Darfur as a matter of urgency and to cooperate in the introduction of UN forces into Darfur. Hume recalled that a peace agreement soon was needed to facilitate the timely introduction of UN forces. ¶5. (SBU) Salim welcomed the interest and support of President Bush for the Abuja peace process. Salim said his team had worked on the wealth- and power-sharing texts; when the security arrangement text reach a similar state of readiness, he was prepared to table all three. He thought there was some more work to be done in this regard. Yates commented that U.S. military adviser Bittrick was busy working with the parties and the mediation on the security arrangements text and was of the opinion that considerable progress was being made. - - - - - - - - - - - - DARFUR-DARFUR DIALOGUE - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶6. (SBU) The AU mediation started discussion of the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue (DDD) with the parties on March 27. The AU Special Envoy emphasized that the parties should view the DDD discussion as a sign that the negotiations were ABUJA 00000722 002 OF 002 getting closer to the end. The Government of Sudan response included acceptance that the African Union should oversee the DDD process, which should be as inclusive as possible. However, the GOS wants the DDD headed by a Sudanese appointed by President Bashir and stressed the importance of Government participation in the DDD because of its role as an implementer of recommendations and the fact that the movements at that point will be part of the Government. The GOS proposes the DDD be held in one of the major cities in Darfur and consist of two stages: stage one lasting one week which brings together Darfurians from all parts of society to make recommendations on key issues to an follow-up committee. The proposed stage two involves implementation of the recommendations by the follow-up committee, with the Sudanese Government heavily involved. ¶7. (SBU) Minni Minnawi's SLM faction asked the AU why the DDD is being discussed before a comprehensive peace deal has been reached. In addition, Minni's faction stated that, in their view, the DDD is a venue to present the final agreement that is reached, not/not a "Congress". As a result, SLM-Minni declined to respond to the AU questionnaire on venue and mandate for the DDD. JEM's response was more ordered than SLM, acknowledging that the goal was reconciliation and support from all tribes, groups, and areas of Darfur for the Abuja agreement. They insist that the DDD does not re-open decisions made at Abuja and emphasize that the DDD be used to settle long-standing, underlying issues of the conflict, such as land use. JEM and SLM-Minni grudgingly acknowledged that the GOS should be included in the DDD, but not organizational responsibility. Delegates from both movements argued that all GOS representatives to the DDD should be from Darfur and "not delegates here now at Abuja". SLM-Abdelwahid asked for a delay to prepare its response, which is expected March 31 after which, the AU intends to prepare a formal paper for further discussion. The AU mediation feels it needs to be on the table prior to the presentation of the comprehensive peace agreement draft. - - - - COMMENT - - - - ¶8. (SBU) Two hurdles must be jumped in the next week to keep the talks on track for a possible conclusion before the end of April. First, the mediation and other international partners who had previously backed the idea of an "enhanced humanitarian cease-fire" as an intermediate step must be persuaded to support a full security arrangements text. The parties now prefer a full text. Second, Salim needs to put a full package on the table and to open an initial discussion to make evident what issues remain to be resolved. USDEL has pointed out to international partners that, without a full agreement this month, UN deployment could be delayed and complicated. CAMPBELL