Southern Sudan: Tambura Residents Demand

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000943 SIPDIS SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y ((PARA 6 MARKINGS)) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV SOCI AID SU SUBJECT: Southern Sudan: Tambura Residents Demand Development ¶1. SUMMARY: The Acting Consul General (A/CG) accompanied representatives from the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) to Tambura, a county seat near the border of the Central Africa Republic (CAR). This is the first visit by USG officials to the area since the peace deal was signed in 2005. During the visit, A/CG met with both County Commissioner-Designate Paul Matthew, and with village leaders from around the county. Every local leader reassured the delegation that Tambura was a completely safe and secure place for international organizations to operate, despite reservations from some NGOs on the ground. The primary concern of the leaders was development, and several people in separate conversations demanded concrete houses with tin roofs to replace their traditional tukuls. End Summary. -------------- Security Issues -------------- ¶2. County leaders expressed concern over the recent evacuation of international organizations following the attack on the UNMIS compound in Yambio, about 150 km southeast. The immediate departure of UNHCR, GTZ, International Medical Corps (IMC),World Vision, and Medecins Sans Frontieres disrupted refugee returns and curtailed some basic health services in the community. Only IMC and World Vision have come back. The County Commissioner-Designate emphasized that these evacuations were not necessary. ¶3. On the other hand, the regional security director for IMC expressed reservations about the security situation. He told A/CG that he believes it is not a question of "if" the LRA will attack, but "when." The LRA is reportedly operating in northeastern Congo, relatively far from Tambura, but the security director said that he has heard stories of LRA movements in the area. ¶4. The security director does not think he can properly secure the IMC operations in the district, but IMC has made the decision to do the best it can. Because the UN and the local government have failed to establish or approve a proper radio network, IMC has just purchased sets of Motorola Toys-R-Us type walkie-talkies to facilitate internal communication. As for contacting local authorities if they get attacked, the security director explained that the Commissioner-Designate has the only Thuraya in the government, and the local SPLA security forces have no communications whatsoever. ¶5. Even if the SPLA could be notified, the security director doubted there would be an effective response. Following the attacks in Yambio, additional security was requested for Tambura but has failed to materialize. According to the security director, the local Zande population believes that the Dinka-led SPLA does not put a priority on their safety. Ethnic fights between Dinka and Zande are common in the area. -------------- Development NOW! -------------- ¶6. Most of the conversations with local leaders revolved around a demand for immediate development. The villagers complained that due to the heavy rains in Western Equatoria, their tukuls require extensive maintenance every year and must be re-roofed every two years. They asked the donor community for help in building concrete houses with tin roofs and pointed out that all the local NGOs had built or renovated solid houses for themselves. STEINFELD