DARFUR: SUDAN CONTINUES ALL-FRONTS CAMPAIGN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KHARTOUM 000571 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KPKO UN AU SU SUBJECT: DARFUR: SUDAN CONTINUES ALL-FRONTS CAMPAIGN AGAINST U.N. INTERVENTION REF: A) Khartoum 548, B) Khartoum 500, C) Khartoum 467, D) Khartoum 447 ¶1. (SBU) Sudan continues its campaign against U.N. intervention in Darfur, with President Omar al-Bashir telling military academy graduates that the government was opposed to "foreign" troops in the region, but favored keeping the current African Union force. Foreign Ministry officials, however, took a slightly different tack, telling Arab and Chinese news services that Sudan would withdraw from the African Union if AU ministers allow the United Nations to take over the AU mandate. The Government of National Unity (GNU) also won the support of two opposition parties for its stance against U.N. forces in Darfur, and called for a mass demonstration against foreign intervention on March 6. Khartoum is now clearly fighting on all fronts against a U.N. force -- though its ultimate success remains uncertain. End Summary. -------------- -------------- Bashir Speaks to Military Grads, Rejects "Intervention" -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) Sudan continued its campaign agaQ the prospect of United Nations peacekeeping troops in Darfur on March 4, as President Omar al-Bashir addressed the graduating class of the Commanders and Staff College in Omdurman. "We are opposed to foreign intervention in Darfur, although we remain committed to cooperation with the international community," Bashir told the graduates, according to the website Sudan Tribune. Reports in Sudan Vision, a pro-government English language paper, stressed that African Union troops were deployed in Darfur "in accordance with an agreement with the government," and that "the government had spared no effort in supporting" the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). ¶3. (U) Transferring control of peacekeeping operations from AMIS to the United Nations would be "dangerous," al- Bashir reiterated, and called upon the world to "respect the people's sovereignty." He also commended the graduates, pledging "we are acting on developing and modernizing the armed forces to enable it to fulfill its duties." The speech was Bashir's first on the issue of U.N. peacekeeping forces since last week, and a slight moderation of his February 26 comments that Darfur would become a "graveyard for foreign troops" (Ref A). -------------- -- Foreign Ministry Continues Diplomatic Offensive -------------- -- ¶4. (U) Meanwhile, officials at the Foreign Ministry kept up their own media blitz, with Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, al-Qmani al-Wasila, telling al-Jazeera on March 4 that Sudan might withdraw from the African Union if the AU Peace and Security Council voted later this week to ask the United Nations to take over AMIS' peacekeeping role in Darfur. The Ministry spokesman, Jamal Mohamed Ibrahim, made similar comments in a statement to the New China News Agency (Xinhua) the same day, saying "We will resist this attempt and respond strongly to it even if that leads to withdrawal from the AU and the review of Sudan's membership in the African organization." AU Foreign Ministers are currently scheduled to meet on Friday, March 10, to discuss the issue. ¶5. (U) The Ministry has also scored a few diplomatic victories in recent days. The Sudan News Agency (SUNA) has widely disseminated a statement by Arab League Foreign Ministers in Cairo supporting AMIS' current mission in Darfur and rejecting the deployment of U.N. forces without the consent of Khartoum. The news service also printed written messages of support from sources as diverse as the Arab Labor Conference participants in Morocco, and Guinea-Bissau President Joao Bernardo Nino Vieira. -------------- -------------- GNU Rallies Opposition Parties, Convenes States Council -------------- -------------- ¶6. (U) The Government of National Unity (GNU) appears to have won the support of two major opposition parties for its stance against U.N. intervention. The DQocratic KHARTOUM 00000571 002 OF 003 Unionist Party and the Sudanese Communist Party both issued statements over the weekend opposing U.N. troops in Darfur, Sudan Vision reported on March 5. The ruling coalition issued its own statement following its weekly meeting on March 4, stressing the necessity of dealing with international intervention "within the framework of partnership governing the policies of the GNU" and emphasizing the importance of continuing the AMIS mission in Darfur by "removing all difficulties impeding its successful performance." ¶7. (U) The Government has also convened an emergency meeting of the Council of States, the upper house of Sudan's parliament, on the evening of Monday, March 6. Newspaper announcements in Khartoum indicated that delegates would discuss "the aftermath of the Darfur issue." -------------- Cartoons: Al-Qaeda On the Way to Darfur? -------------- ¶8. (U) Morning newspapers in Khartoum were rife not only with discussion of Darfur, but with cartoons about the issue. Pro-government Sudan Vision featured a snake labeled "intervention" en route to Sudan, ready to be dispatched by a featureless man in a robe. The more moderate Juba-based newspaper Citizen showed a robed man, labeled "al-Qaeda," ready to throw a bomb in the direction of Darfur. The cartoon ostensibly refers to the widespread theory -- leaked to media outlets by government officials, and echoed by U.N. Special Representative to Sudan Jan Pronk on February 27 in New York -- that U.N. forces in Darfur would attract al-Qaeda terrorists, as part of their broader war against the West. -------------- To Demonstrate...or Not -------------- ¶9. (U) The Government also called upon "on all sectors of the Sudanese nation" to take part in a demonstration against foreign intervention in Darfur organized by the Popular Organization for the Defense of Religious Faith and Motherland (aka People's Organization for the Defense of Creed and Homeland). Newspapers on March 5 declared the demonstrations would occur on Monday, March 6, but the date subsequently has been moved to Wednesday, March 8, coinciding with another anti-U.N. rally by the Popular Defense Forces. Organizers have called for one million people to take to the streets of Khartoum, to deliver "letters" to the Government, the United Nations, and the U.S. and British embassies. Muslim students groups in Khartoum are also reportedly planning a sit-in protest in front of the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday, March 7, demanding that Ali Abdel Latif Street be re-opened to public traffic and that the Embassy -- "a symbol of colonization and tyranny" -- be closed. (Note: Similar protests by the same organizations were scheduled for last week, but were abruptly cancelled at the last minute. ) ¶10. (U) Rallies against foreign invention have also occurred in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur State, according to the pro-government newspaper Sudan Vision on March 6. The paper reported that residents rallied through the city and delivered a statement to the U.N. representative in Darfur and the A.U. Mission, expressing "absolute rejection" of the entry of foreign forces in the country; however, these reports have not been independently confirmed. -------------- Comment: A Fight on All Fronts -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Sudan is clearly campaigning on all fronts -- enlisting key interest groups, using any possible rallying cry -- to thwart the prospect of the United Nations taking over AMIS' work in Darfur. The Government is trying to wind up the military at home, enlist sympathetic allies abroad, reach out to domestic opposition parties, and call the people out on to the streets. After a few false starts, Khartoum has clearly decided against U.N. peacekeepers, though its success in mobilizing others to support it is less certain. KHARTOUM 00000571 003 OF 003 WHITEHEAD