SUDAN: SRSG PRONK BRIEFS PRESS ON UN REHAT, ABUJA,

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000181 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/SPG DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL SU SUBJECT: SUDAN: SRSG PRONK BRIEFS PRESS ON UN REHAT, ABUJA, EAST ¶1. Summary: UN Special Representative (SRSG) for Sudan Jan Pronk briefed the press on January 22. His statement and the following Q&A focused mainly on the possibility of a UN rehat of the AU force and the Abuja peace talks. He also reported that UNMIS is monitoring the East and said the recent SSDF-SPLM agreement of January 8 is positive. End summary. -------------- UN Rehat -------------- ¶2. During a January 22 press conference, SRSG Pronk made several comments trying to indicate that the UN was not pushing a rehatting of the African Union mission in Darfur. He said if the AU confirms the decision to pursue that course, the UN "might" have to do it. If the UN Security Council takes that decision, the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) will need considerable time to prepare, Pronk said, necessitating increased resources for the AU to continue beyond March 31. For that reason he went to Washington and Brussels to ask for support to the AU. Pronk said any move to rehat is not part of a conspiracy against Sudan, as some articles here in Sudan have stated, and reiterated that the AU has done a good job. He added that the protection force should be perhaps twice as big. Asked if Sudan would accept a UN rehat, Pronk said only that he had not seen any government statements on the issue. He also refused to take a position on the possibility of Sudan chairing the AU. -------------- Darfur Peace Process -------------- ¶3. Pronk said his main concern at the Abuja peace talks is Mini Minawi's absence, which tells the two million Darfurians in IDP and refugee camps that he is not serious. He said he asked Washington and Brussels to pressure the movements to seek a political solution. The government has been tough but constructive, he added. ¶4. Pronk expressed concern that the report of the Panel of Experts of the Security Council has stalled in committee. Pronk said he had seen the two reports, which address individuals who are a hindrance to peace and arms suppliers to the parties in conflict, but noted that they need to be taken up by the UNSC. -------------- East, South -------------- ¶5. Pronk said that UNMIS is now on the ground in the East and has told the Eastern Front that it needs to honor its commitment to Libya as a mediator. He said the situation is stable, with agreement that the SPLA will remain in Hamesh Koreb for a period. UNMIS is optimistic that the Eastern Front is willing to talk instead of fight. Regarding the South, Pronk said the January 8 agreement between the SSDF and SPLM is positive and achieves the difficult step of power sharing. ¶6. The transcript of the press conference should be available soon at http://www.unmis.org/english/weekly-p- releases.htm.