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.

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MAGZOUB MEETING ON BUSH-BASHIR LETTER
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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.

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SALIM ON NEXT STEPS
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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.

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DARFUR-DARFUR DIALOGUE
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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

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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.

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COMMENT
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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