Sudan: Anti-American Rhetoric Continues from

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000888 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR SU SUBJECT: Sudan: Anti-American Rhetoric Continues from Government Members ¶1. SUMMARY: Over the past month, high-ranking government officials have been giving interviews to the state press organ (SUNA) and major Arabic news sources to reiterate and amplify their claim that the crisis in Darfur is a Western creation, and that the U.nited S.tates is only interested in destroying Sudan. In separate interviews held in late March or early April, Minister of Justice Muhammed Ali al-Mardi, Minister of the Interior Al-Zabair Bashir Taha, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lam Akol, Assistant to the President Nafie Ali Nafie, and Presidential Advisors Ghazi Salahuddin al-Din all continued to deny Darfur was anything but an ethnic conflict exacerbated by the West, specifically the U.nited States. While the level of anti-American sentiment among these high government officials varied, at some point they all specifically blamed the U.nited S.tates for Sudan's problems. END SUMMARY -------------- Minister of Justice -------------- ¶2. Minister of Justice Muhammed Ali al-Mardi gave the most detailed account as to why the crisis in Darfur was cause by tribal tensions fed by outside weapons and Western interests. He said ethnic cleansing and genocide are impossible in Darfur, because everyone is the same ethnicity. Al-Mardi explained that no one talked about a division between Arabs and Zaghrqawah before the media created a split, and that there had been normal tribal tensions and conflicts over resources for generations. He admitted that these conflicts were now worse due to the influx of weapons from the Libyan-Chadian, Ethiopian- Eritrean, and North-South Sudanese wars. According to al- Mardi, his government would easily disarm these tribes and control the region if they were not restrained by UN Security Council Resolution 1519 and other Western interference. Nevertheless, the Sudanese government would continue to seek peace in Abuja despite the fact that the rebels are not serious about peace. ¶3. Al-Mardi denied that any human rights violations had taken place in Darfur, saying those reports come from biased groups believing sources that lack credibility. He said some normal crimes occur, and that the courts in Darfur are handling all the cases, including cases against military members. While the courts were moving slowly, he explained that this was unavoidable considering the legal process and the difficulties in gathering evidence across the vast reaches of Darfur. He added that because these courts have shown themselves to be competent, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has no jurisdiction and would not get involved. ¶4. The Justice Minister also denied any large-scale pattern of rape, saying that only 64 cases of rape were reported in Darfur in 2005, as opposed to 94,780 in the United States during the same period. He also claimed that the rape cases in the Uni.ted S.tates had more evidence behind them than the cases in Darfur, but they are continuing to investigate all claims received and will prosecute when appropriate. -------------- -- Asst. to the Pres., Pres.idential Advisors Point to U.S. -------------- --- ¶5. In separate interviews, Assistant to the President Presidential Advisors Nafie Alial Nafie and Presidential Advisor Ghazi Salahuddin al-Din were the most willing to place the blame for Darfur squarely on the shoulders of the U.nited StateSs. Nafie simply said that the U.nited S.tates engaged in neo-colonialism in Sudan. The first step in neo-colonialism, Nafie explained, is to destroy the sovereignty and stability of the country, hence Darfur. ¶6. SalahuddinAl-Din was more detailed in his attack on the United States. He said that the Un.ited S.tates could easily apply enough pressure to end the crisis in Darfur right now, but it is only interested in being negative and creating problems. According to SalahuddinAl-Din, the Sudanese dialogue with the U.nited S.tates had become a monologue. The Sudanese government was willing to cooperate and help the U.nited S.tates with its biggest problem, terrorism, but the U.S. was unwilling to cooperate with Sudan on Darfur, its biggest problem. He said that President Bashir had sent a letter to President Bush several weeks ago suggesting ways for increased cooperation and U.S. help in solving the problem, but had only gotten "preaching and threats" (Note: a response has since been delivered, but not KHARTOUM 00000888 002 OF 002 publicized to the press. End note.). Claiming Noting athe growing lack of unpopularity of the United .S.tates around the world, SalahuddinAl-Din asked, "is it possible that it is only the U.S. that is right?" -------------- Interior Minister Claims Conspiracy -------------- ¶7. Minister of the Interior Al-Zabair Bashir Taha believes that the U.nited S.tates is trying to destabilize Sudan to gain control of its oil reserves, and prevent the oil frorm going East. He said that Sudan's political enemies were also its economic enemies, and that the U.nited S.tates needed to destabilize Sudan and strip it of its sovereignty to cut the flow of oil to its Asian rivals. Taha said that the Sudanese government threw Chevron out of Sudan in 1991, but it did not realize that a member of Chevron's Board of Directors, Condoleezza Rice, would later become Secretary of State, something he intimated was partially the work of the "Zionist Lobby." ¶8. Because Taha believes the U.nited S.tate's goal is destabilization, he does not think that a peace agreement in Abuja will solve the problem in Darfur. Therefore, he asked the Sudanese people to continue their opposition to international intervention and to prepare for a long battle against the west. -------------- -------------- Foreign Minister More Diplomatic, Still Accusatory -------------- -------------- ¶9. Foreign Minister Lam Akol took a more conciliatory tone, but still expressed the belief that the United States was uninterested in helping Sudan. Akol said that the GNU would continue to reach out to the United States despite the fact that the U.S. had shown no interest in improving relations. As evidence of the United State's unwillingness to change, he cited lack of any positive movement by the U.S. after the CPA was signed. ¶10. Like the others, Akol believed that foreign intervention would not help Darfur. Although he was pleased that the African Union (AU) extended its mission, he had wanted ithem to completely close the door to foreign intervention. He also did not understand why itstheir statement included references to controlling demonstrations and the ICC. He lamented that if the AU cannot solve a "small problem" like Darfur, "where can it succeed?" STEINFELD