PRESIDENT DECLARES U.S. DIPLOMATS RESTRICTED TO 25

C O N F I D E N T I A L KHARTOUM 002347 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SPECIAL ENVOY NATSIOS, AF/SPG, AND CA/VO/L/C E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/25/2011 TAGS: PREL CVIS US SU SUBJECT: PRESIDENT DECLARES U.S. DIPLOMATS RESTRICTED TO 25 KM RADIUS OF CAPITAL Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES CAMERON HUME; REASON: 1.4(B) AND (D) ¶1. (SBU) U.S. diplomats in Sudan will be restricted to a 25 km radius of the Presidential Palace, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir declared during a September 24 press conference in Khartoum. According to the state-owned Sudan News Agency (SUNA),Bashir said any American official visiting Sudan would have his passport stamped and his movement restricted to 25 kilometers of the capital. One Khartoum mobile phone provider reportedly sent out text messages late on September 24 announcing the new rules. The restrictions come as retaliation for annotations placed in visas issued to Bashir and his delegation to UNGA on September 17, limiting their movements to a 25 mile radius of Columbus Circle in New York. The new rules would not be lifted until relations between Sudan and the United States improved, Bashir vowed. ¶2. (SBU) DCM and Pol/Econ Chief discussed the President's announcement with counterparts in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Americas Department on September 25. MFA officials were clearly caught off guard by Bashir's declaration, and indicated they would have to consult before announcing the precise restrictions. MFA Americas Director Sanousi told DCM that Sudanese consular posts would be instructed that USG officials visiting Sudan would have their visas limited to a 25 km radius of Khartoum, though he added that this restriction should not affect U.S. diplomats resident in the country. The MFA would provide the Embassy officially with more information shortly, though Sanousi did not elaborate. ¶3. (SBU) Post plans to send a diplomatic note to the MFA as soon as possible explaining the Department's mistake restricting Bashir's visa to UNGA, as relayed to USINT Havana. (Note: The Department's current reciprocity schedule for Sudan does not include a 25 km restriction for diplomatic or official travellers, though earlier versions did. Embassy Khartoum has not included this restriction on visas issued to Sudanese diplomats here in recent memory, though other posts sometimes do.) Post will also encourage Sudanese officials to apply in Khartoum whenever possible, and to allow least three weeks to process SAOs. ¶4. (C) In a separate meeting, Minister for Cabinet Affairs Deng Alor told CDA Hume that Bashir had brought the travel restriction issue up twice at a recent Council of Ministers meeting, and was clearly upset. Hume responded that U.S. diplomats in Khartoum already needed MFA permits to travel to many locations outside Khartoum, including Darfur--much to Alor's surprise--but this extra limitation would not be helpful. It might, for example, affect the impending visit of AF/SPG Director Landis, or even travel by Special Envoy Natsios. Alor agreed, noting that the restrictions were not helpful for "what we need to do;" Alor and other SPLM officials planned to meet privately with Bashir on September 26, and would bring the issue up with him then. Hume promised to pass Alor a copy of the diplomatic note explaining the incident as soon as possible. In a late phone call to the DCM, Sanousi requested written confirmation that current USG policy does not restrict Sudanese diplomatic travel in the United States, and that the annotations had been made in error. An official communication might help settle the issue, Sanousi suggested. HUME