SPLM POLITBURO MEETS IN RUMBEK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000849

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ECON PREL PINS SU
SUBJECT: SPLM POLITBURO MEETS IN RUMBEK



1. (SBU) Summary: The SPLM Politburo met in Rumbek from
April 2 to 5 to discuss the internal organization of the
party, select officials for unfilled slots, and debate
policy options. The meetings were reportedly more cordial
than expected. CG Juba was in Rumbek at the time and picked
up the following snippets, although the concluding press
conference and release of the communique occurred after his
departure. End Summary.


2. (SBU) The Politburo meeting in Rumbek, scheduled for two
days, stretched into four. The marathon sessions were
interrupted by the May 3 travel of Government of Southern
Sudan (GoSS) President and SPLM Party Chairman Salva Kiir
and others to attend the inauguration of an Italian built
bridge that opens a land corridor to Yirol. All SPLM
ministers in the Government of National Unity (GoNU) save
the State Minister of International Cooperation attended the
politburo. GoSS Vice President Riek Machar and GoSS
Minister of Transport and Roads Rebecca Garang were also
there, along with most of the prominent officials in the
GoSS. Former Sudanese Vice President Abel Alier and other
notables arrived for the concluding ceremony. GoSS Minister
of Cabinet Affairs Justin Yac was notably absent, undergoing
medical treatment in South Africa.


3. (SBU) From the margins, it seemed that the Politburo
lacked the factional fireworks that some had predicted.
There were reportedly some contentions, but most were
resolved through compromise. We have not laid hands on the
final communique yet (septel),and did not cover the press
conference that took place a full day later than scheduled,
but from side conversations gleaned the following:

-- There was a split over whether National Assembly SPLM
Chairman Yassir Arman or former SPLA Commander for the North
Abdul Aziz al-Hilo should be named the Politburo's Deputy
Secretary General (DSG) for the North. Arman partisans

SIPDIS
argued that the SPLM needed a Northerner in a senior
position if it were to try to compete in the North; those
behind Aziz argued that the transition areas should fill the
slot. In the end, Arman prevailed. The DSG for the South
is a Bari physician from Juba just returned from abroad,
with whom we are not acquainted.

-- The SPLM National Conference will take place in
September, a compromise between those who favored December
and those who pushed for June.

-- SPLM finances were subject to long debate, and eventually
it was resolved to request a grant from the GoSS to support
the party. Details of this arrangement were not explained.

-- There was great emotion surrounding the situation in
Abyei, with a strong consensus that the decision of the
Abyei Boundaries Commission must be binding, as stipulated
in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). Calemont Yada,
former head of the South Sudan Council of Churches, will
become the SPLM's point person on Abyei.

-- According to one source, Salva Kiir will reportedly serve
for an indeterminate period as Minister for SPLA Affairs,
making him the top person in both the military and civilian
chains of command. (Note: This is in addition to his
serving as GoNU First Vice President, GoSS President, SPLA
Commander in Chief, and SPLM Party Chairman. End note.)

-- The position of Under Secretary for SPLA Affairs will be
created; no appointment was made.

-- The Politburo discussed how it will prepare for public
consultations in Blue Nile State and the Nuba Mountains.

-- There were complaints from some quarters that Upper Nile
and Bahr El Ghazel - areas respectively supportive of
Machar/Kiir and Kiir -- were underrepresented on the
Politburo. At the time of CG's departure, no changes to the
Politburo structure had been decided.

-- The Politburo refused to budge on the CPA formula for
Khartoum serving as a secular national capital versus as a
northern state.

-- They resolved that the University of Juba should be
returned to the South and fall under the Ministry of
Education, Science, and Technology.

-- There was considerable anxiety over security. The need
to devise a workable plan for disarmament, demobilization,
and reintegration (DDR) and the status of facilities for the
SPLA came under discussion.

-- The Politburo said that it would push for additional

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funds to speed up repatriation of internally displaced
persons (IDPs) from the North. They decided that port
facilities in Yirol, which are in a shambles, should be
rebuilt to facilitate return by river. An Italian firm has
reportedly agreed to undertake this project.

-- According to one source, the Politburo agreed to devise a
"grand strategy" for working with the National Congress
Party as well as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and
other parties. Details were painfully scarce.

-- The same source said that they had opted for a strategy
of negotiation in the East, following guarantees that UNMIS
that will fill the void when SPLA forces withdraw,
reportedly by May.

-- There was discussion of Darfur and confirmation of who
will take the SPLM/GoSS lead in support of a negotiated
peace settlement. Again, details were painfully scarce.


3. (SBU) Comment: What was not discussed was significant.
To the best of our knowledge, there was no discussion of
corruption or the White Nile/Total petroleum exploration and
development rights controversy, although a Northern
journalist said that he planned to raise these issues at the
concluding press conference. Most of those with whom we
spoke said that the debate centered mostly on how to
reorganize SPLM internal structures to facilitate the
evolution from military movement to political party. While
many of the policies reportedly decided appear positive on
the surface, we will withhold final judgment until the
details are clear. End Comment.

STEINFELD