NCP POLITICIANS: "CLOSE U.S. MISSION"

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 002384 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/SPG, S/CRS DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (SBU AND U MARKINGS) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL SOCI EAID UN US SU SUBJECT: NCP POLITICIANS: "CLOSE U.S. MISSION" ¶1. (U) During an annual conference of military conscripts on September 23, several pro-National Congress Party (NCP) politicians said that proposed UN intervention in Darfur was a ruse to steal Sudan's resources and called on the Sudanese government to close the U.S. Mission for violating Sudanese law. ¶2. (U) Fathi Khalil, the chairman of the Sudanese Bar Association, described the presence of the U.S. Mission in Sudan as a threat to national security and accused it of espionage. He said that the U.S. Embassy's activities did not strengthen relations between Sudan and the USG. ¶3. (SBU) Badereldin Taha, a prominent NCP politician, said that UN Security Council Resolution 1706 represented a Western strategy to dominate Arab and Islamic countries and make them a "toy in the hands of the U.S." He declared his support for countering international intervention with force, characterized the conflict between the Sudanese government and the international community as religious, and called on the Sudanese people to practice jihad against the "Crusaders." "We are neither terrorists nor fundamentalists, but we are against the Pope's analysis and his abuses of Islam," said Taha. (Note: Taha was a luminary in the National Islamic Front, a former governor of Khartoum, and a former Minister of Trade. He recently resigned from the Popular Congress Party to join the NCP. End note.) ¶4. (U) National Assembly Member Fadul Jadeen lauded the Sudanese government's humanitarian programs in Darfur. He also claimed that international non-governmental organizations inflated their contributions to relief efforts, claiming they provided no more than 30 percent of the needs of internally displaced persons. He said that the UN has no legal basis to intervene in the internal affairs of Sudan, and blamed the Darfur crisis on a diplomatic and intelligence effort, in cooperation with international media, to capture Sudan's wealth. HUME