SUDAN: MINNI MINAWI'S THOUGHTS ON HIS TRIP TO

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001566 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR D, AND AF/SPG E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV SU SUBJECT: SUDAN: MINNI MINAWI'S THOUGHTS ON HIS TRIP TO WASHINGTON ¶1. (SBU) The following report is from Tod Wilson, with Minawi in Dafur. ¶2. (SBU) Summary: Minni indicated that he was bringing an eclectic group consisting of political officials, businessmen, military and civil servants. He said that the visit should not extend past 10 days. Minni desires to focus his agenda on government officials, Congress, USAID and meeting the Darfurian expatriate community. Minni has not been in touch with his US point of contact, but intends to do. He has still not finalized the female delegate position. End Summary. ¶3. (SBU) Minni quickly reviewed the his delegate list and stated that his visit would need to accommodate a wide array of officials from SLM party political officials and civil servants, SLA military officers and Darfurian businessmen. 40 percent of the list (mostly politicians and businessmen) consists of officials living outside of Sudan. The senior military officers on the list have little to no formal military training. ¶4. (SBU) Minni did not commit to a specific time period for his stay. He stated that the length of his visit would be based on his program. When queried on the maximum time he could spend, Minni indicated that he thought none of his party should stay more than 10 days. He appeared emphatic on this time period. In previous discussions he stated that he would not attend the July 18 Brussels AMIS donors meeting given their technical nature and did not plan on cutting his trip short to attend the Egyptian hosted Arab League donors meetings on July 27. ¶5. (SBU) Minni is considering assembling the entire group in Cairo for two days enroute to organize for the visit. Del members in Sudan can fly to Cairo with a two day lay over and then on to their final destination by July 22. Others would fly from their present locations. We assume for those flying from Sudan a fund cite will be provided for tickets and those flying from other locations will be reimbursed separately. ¶6. (SBU) Minni is counting heavily on Washington to develop a tentative program, including with Darfurian expats and Congressional offices, that he can then comment upon. He promised to contact his POC in Washington asap. In addition to official calls, members of the group may benefit from some civil society organization training, political party development discussions, and small business enterprise discussions. Additional options for training could be designed for members of his group according to what their roles will be in DPA implementation. ¶7. (SBU) Minni plans to depart for Egypt on July 5 and will return to Darfur in 3 or 4 days, after which he plans to come to Khartoum. HUME