SUDAN/DARFUR: SPLM REJECTS BASHIR'S POSITION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001559 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KPKO SOCI PINR PREL AU UN SU SUBJECT: SUDAN/DARFUR: SPLM REJECTS BASHIR'S POSITION ON UN PKO, REVEALING CLEAR NCP-SPLM SPLIT ON KEY ISSUE Ref: Khartoum 1540 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: First VP Salva Kiir and other key leaders of the SPLM have publicly announced that they have no objection to UN peacekeeping in Darfur. They add that they were not consulted by the NCP with regard to President Bashir's enunciation of a strong rejection of a transition to the UN. This marks the first time that the SPLM has publicly taken on the NCP on a critical national security issue. Given early reports of Bashir's continued "nyet" in Banjul, however, it is not clear what impact, if any, the SPLM's voice will have on this matter. Meanwhile, NCP heavyweights here continue the drumbeat against the UN with inflammatory, almost apocalyptic, rhetoric, and press commentary frets over the public split in the GNU. End Summary. Kiir takes on Bashir -------------- ¶2. (U) During the inauguration of UN radio in Juba on June 30 (septel),First VP Salva Kiir said that the SLPM "does not have any problem with the coming of the UN to Darfur. We accepted deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission and we do not see any differences between the UN forces in the South their presence in western Sudan. If there is anything the NCP is afraid of in Darfur this is their problem." ¶3. (U) SPLM spokesman Yassir Arman also spoke to the issue in a June 30 press conference, noting pointedly that the SPLM was not consulted by the NCP in formulating the government's position. "Our position is that the SPLM wants dialogue between Sudan the international community." He denied that the GNU discussed the issue of deployment of UN forces. He also said that the SPLM would not now concur to the idea of sending Joint Integrated Units (SAF and SPLA) into Darfur, an idea raised two years ago by John Garang, and recently revived by the NCP. He said that this was also not discussed between the two parties, and that this idea now "comes too late." Defending Deng Alor -------------- ¶4. (U) These comments with regard to UN PKO come in the wake of GNU (SPLM) Minister Deng Alor's statement last week distancing the SPLM from Bashir's decision, comments that were then slammed by NCP Nafie ali Nafie (reftel). Arman criticized Nafie's dressing down of Deng Alor, saying the SPLM would not tolerate intimidation of its ministers. "Our ministers must be treated with respect. The remark made against Deng Alor is not acceptable; it hurt us and we will not tolerate such intimidations. Our ministers are not students of anybody else's school of politics. SPLM was built on its own ideology and will make decisions and act according to its own good judgment; so any harassment of our ministers cannot be tolerated." NCP continues to defend Bashir's position: Martyrdom -------------- -------------- ¶5. (U) Meanwhile, as this NCP-SPLM disagreement continues to play itself out, NCP hardliners -- the Defense and Interior Ministers, and Intel Head Salah Gosh -- stress the importance of supporting Bashir and the GNU (sic) stance of rejecting deployment of international forces in Darfur. They also called for the unification of the internal front. The Defense minister confirmed the readiness of the armed forces to stand with the President in the same ditch to defend the homeland (referring to Bashir's comment last week that he would lead the resistance in Darfur). Salah Gosh is reported to have received death pledges at a rally last week from a large number of participants who held photos of Bashir on which were written: "I solemnly promise not to return, and only to the Creator shall I kneel." The Press joins the Fray: Fears of the "New Sudan" -------------- -------------- ¶6. (U) As reflected in a spate of editorials over the past week, there is considerable public alarm that the inter-party dispute might spiral out of control, perhaps really inflicting damage on the National Unity Government. "Where is this Government Taking Us?" (Al- Adwaa, June 29),for instance, deplores the evident lack of consultation between the coalition partners, while "Be Quiet, Nightingale" (Al-Sudani, July 2),raises the specter of a Somali-style state collapse. The pro- Southern press has sharpened its rhetoric against the KHARTOUM 00001559 002 OF 002 NCP. An editorialin the English-language daily The Citizen ("Who is Irresponsible?" July 2) criticizes the NCP stance on international intervention (and its attack on the SPLM) as another in a series of "irresponsible" decisions of the Northern right-wing going back to the 1950s. For the Khartoum Monitor, the NCP is trying to highjack the entire government on the peacekeeping issue, despite Kiir's explicit disavowal of this stance ("Al Basher's Unilateralism Exposed," July 2) ¶7. (U) On the right, there are fears that the split could make Sudan even more vulnerable to "foreign intervention" ("Between the Hammer and the Anvil," Al-Sahafa, June 29). Al-Tayib Mustafa, uncle of Bashir and prominent leader in the Northern separatist camp, writes that the SPLM stance is part and parcel of a "New Sudan" package hostile the North ("Hot Air," Al-Intibaha, June 29). "The formation of a New Sudan is supported and created by the U.S. to reconfigure the Sudan in such a way as to put an end to its Arab and Islamic identity. This is also in line with plans for redesigning the region to further American strategies, including enhanced security for Israel by threatening Egypt's national security -- which depends largely on the Nile. In addition, there are hidden schemes for controlling the resources of Sudan, in a manner similar to that of Iraq. We have the right to ask, will the SPLM army support the international forces if they arrive in Khartoum to implement the resolutions of the international community (otherwise known as the U.S.)?" HUME