PRES. ADVISOR MANSOUR KHALID PROVIDES SPLM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KHARTOUM 000781 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/SPG, DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2016 TAGS: PGOV SOCI KPKO SU SUBJECT: PRES. ADVISOR MANSOUR KHALID PROVIDES SPLM POSITION PAPER ON CURRENT POLITICAL SITUATION AND DARFUR REF: KHARTOUM 00779 Classified By: Pol/Econ Chief E. Whitaker, Reason: Section 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: In a March 23 discussion with Pol/Econ Chief, Presidential Advisor Mansour Khalid (SPLM) said the SPLM had drafted a position paper on the current political situation in Sudan in response to recent events, including protests and inflammatory statements by government officials. The SPLM's position paper calls for a focus on Darfur and the East, supports the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), distances itself from vilification of the UN and AMIS, recognizes the UN's role in keeping peace, seeks implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, requests an end to the use of language of war, and calls for a renewed commitment to peace. The SPLM also recommends that the Darfur conflict be addressed by identifying root causes, building confidence among the parties, cooperating with AMIS, respecting the humanitarian ceasefire and ceasing from engaging in military action, and participating in peace talks until the conflict is resolved. The SPLM has provided the paper to President Bashir, and plans to release it to the public in the near future. End summary. -------------- SPLM Statement on Current Political Situation -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Presidential Advisor Mansour Khalid(SPLM) told Pol/Econ Chief on March 23 that the party had become angry following what he called the recent "campaign of denigration" against the role of the UN and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). He also noted the party's displeasure with statements made by government officials, which included the use of the term "jihad." First Vice President Salva Kiir returned from Paris on March 10; the series of protests the week before enraged him. He subsequently called for a party meeting in Khartoum to discuss how best to respond. In the end, the SPLM produced a position paper; Khalid said Kiir presented a copy to President Bashir, who later said he did not sleep that night after reading it. Khalid added that President Bashir had all newspaper offices checked to see if they had received copies; none had. The SPLM plans to release the paper in the near future, following receiving a response from the National Congress Party (NCP). ¶3. (C) The text of the SPLM paper is as follows: (Begin text) Statement by the Interim SPLM Political Bureau and Executive Committee on Current Political Situation During the last two weeks we have been following with concern mass mobilizations orchestrated by the National Congress Party (NCP) in Khartoum and other Northern Sudan towns against what was purported to be imminent intervention in Dar Fur by United Nations peace-keeping forces in place of the AU Forces (AMIS). The mass mobilization assumed intolerable dimensions when it degenerated into calls for jihad, seeming declarations of war, vilification of international and regional organizations of which Sudan is member (UN and AU) and calumnies against AMIS. Some of these calumnations, regrettably, emanated from a state minister. Those uncalled-for utterances invited denunciation from the AU Peace and Security Council as reflected in the communique issued by that Council on March 10th 2006. While all this bedlam was going on, efforts by the Government of National Unity (GoNU) including the SPLM, were continuing apace through the diplomatic arm of government. Those efforts aimed at the prolongation of the AU's mission in Dar Fur and the removal of all impediments that hampered that mission, and they were about to be frustrated by the actions referred to above and of which the SPLM was not part. Indeed, the SPLM has instructed its cadres, including ministers and parliamentarians, to distance themselves from all activities that might put our country at variance with international and regional organizations and there members who stood with us, wholeheartedly and without let, in our endeavours to achieve peace and continued to do so in efforts to rebuild our war-ravaged country. Those actions eventually may shame and embarrass their perpetrators. Consequently, the SPLM, conscious of its responsibilities as a major partner in the GoNU and as a signatory to the CPA, and mindful of the role of the UN Security Council, other UN agencies, the AU, neighboring sisterly countries and the KHARTOUM 00000781 002 OF 003 Facilitators of the IGAD Peace Negotiations, in sustaining peace, and aware of the international and regional responsibilities of Sudan as a member of the UN and the AU, wishes to put the following on record: ¶1. The most urgent problem at our hand is neither the UN, nor the AU, but that of Dar Fur and of Eastern Sudan. To the immediate resolution of both problems, the GoNU should give urgent, immediate and undivided attention, so that peace becomes comprehensive and all-embracing. ¶2. The SPLM supports the continuation of the AU mission in Dar Fur and, in that respect, expresses its appreciation of the decision taken on March 10th by the AU Peace and Security Council in relation to Dar Fur. ¶3. The SPLM distances itself from all accusations, vilifications and calumnies leveled against the UN and its personnel, AU and AMIS. ¶4. The SPLM recognizes, and is highly appreciative of, the role of the UN Security Council as the prime international guarantor of peace achieved under the CPA. ¶5. The SPLM endorses actions taken hitherto by its Chairman to ensure full implementation of the CPA and calls upon him to continue his efforts in that regard so that the CPA is fully implemented, in letter and spirit. It also calls upon the Chairman to draw attention of the other party to the CPA that unilateral actions that may impinge on, or derogate from, the CP A must cease. ¶6. The SPLM advises that the dissemination of the language of war, including calls for jihad, is injurious to the environment of peace created by the CPA. ¶7. The SPLM also advises all concerned that declarations of war, even threats thereof, are matters of high policy that are governed by very clear and strict stipulations in the CPA and the Constitution. War is too serious a matter to be left to individual ministers. ¶8. The SPLM asserts that there shall be no return from the on-going peace process, but for peace to be implanted in Sudan, both parties to the CPA must internalize the demands of that Agreement, engage in sincere consultations between them and desist from the fantasy of taking one another for granted. ¶9. The SPLM welcomes the call by President Beshir to engage all Sudanese political forces in an effort to reach consensus on matters of national concern. This engagement should not only be limited to current topical issues, but should also cover all issues whose resolution, within the bounds of the CPA, shall result in the creation of a healthy democratic transformation. The Situation in Dar Fur The Dar Fur crisis continues to be an impediment to comprehensive and sustained peace in Sudan with ominous regional spillovers. Since the inception of the Government of National Unity (GoNU),the SPLM called for the articulation of a common position by that government, taking into consideration valuable inputs from other Sudanese political forces and meaningfully engaging sisterly neighboring countries as well as international players in that effort. That call was prompted by the SPLM's belief that the Abuja negotiations, despite the involvement of some of its cadres in those negotiations, reached a dead end. Nevertheless, the SPLM recognizes that some progress was made including direct contacts, at high levels of government, with the Dar Fur armed political groups, neighboring countries, the AU and concerned international players. Those promising contacts should be intensified and the crisis in Dar Fur should be given priority over all other matters of state. Equally, for those contacts to succeed, persistent intimidations of all countries and organizations that expressed good will, or have the potential, to help in the resolution of the Dar Fur crisis must cease. Such intimidations, to say the least, shall be counterproductive. Above all, the GoNU, especially, the two signatories to the CPA on whose shoulders lie the major responsibility for the implementation of the CPA, the foundation for comprehensive peace in Sudan, are duty-bound to lead the peace process in Dar Fur. It is, therefore, the considered opinion of the SPLM that, although the CPA is not a panacea for all Sudan's ills, it still remains the cornerstone for comprehensive KHARTOUM 00000781 003 OF 003 peace in our country and provides an excellent starting point for the resolution of current crises in the West and the East. On the basis of the above, the SPLM urges its leadership and members in the GoNU to observe the following in support of the worthy efforts to find a resolution for the Dar Fur crisis: -- Identification of the root causes of the crisis and addressing those causes instead of offering hand-outs as was the case in the past. -- Building-up confidence based on mutual respect between the two conflicting parties. That respect must be reflected, in particular, in the negotiations fora. -- Fully cooperating with the AU Peace Mission and adequately consulting major players and concerned neighboring countries in the process of peace-making. -- Respecting the Humanitarian cease-fire agreements and protocols and providing a peaceful environment conducive to the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance and protection of civilian life. Parties that contravene those agreements must be condemned. -- Cessation of all military actions by both parties, especially while the negotiations are on course. -- Fully cooperating with AMIS in the prosecution of the duties they are mandated to carry out. -- Engaging the Dar Furian parties uninterruptedly in the peace talks till a final peace agreement is reached. (End text) STEINFELD