AFRICAN LEADERS MEET BASHIR IN CHINA

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIBREVILLE 000677

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

KINSHASA ALSO FOR BRAZZAVILLE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/13/2116
TAGS: PREL PINS KPKO CD IR SU GB
SUBJECT: AFRICAN LEADERS MEET BASHIR IN CHINA

Classified By: Ambassador Barrie Walkley for reasons 1.4 and d


1. (C) On November 10, immediately upon the Gabon
delegation's return from the China-Africa summit, Ambassador
Walkley met with Foreign Minister Jean Ping for a read-out
regarding discussions concerning Darfur/Sudan. Ping said
that on October 12, Abdoulaye Wade -- identifying himself as
the Coordinator of the African Union "Comite des Sages" --
sent Bashir a document in French titled "Projet de points
d'engagement des Etats-Unis et du Soudan." (FYI: In that
document, Wade at times purports to speak for the US: "The US
will begin, without delay, the process of lifting sanctions
against Sudan . . . . President Bashir will be invited to the
US for an official visit," etc.) The essential thrust of
Wade's document is that the US will undertake to persuade all
factions to sign and accept the Abuja accord, that there will
be no NATO troops in Darfur, and that any UN force will be
comprised of AU troops "meeting UN standards," supplemented
by soldiers from other countries "chosen in consultation with
Khartoum." Ping said all of these elements are important to
Bashir.


2. (C) On November 4, Omar Bongo decided to take advantage of
opportunities offered by the Africa/China summit and invited
Bashir, Sassou Nguesso, Wade, Obasanjo and Alpha Konare to
his suite to discuss Darfur. Bongo and the group pushed
Bashir hard and demanded a written response to Wade's
document. The three-page response, in English and signed by
Bashir, was delivered the next day. In essence, Bashir states
that Sudan is currently involved in a dialogue with US
Special Envoy Natsios aimed at "finding a third track out of
the impasse created by UNSC resolution 1706." He then offers
"a solution within the formula AU plus a UN financial,
logistical and technical support." He next calls for a "new
omnibus UNSC Resolution, overriding 1591, 1593 and 1706" that
will determine the expected role of the "UN Peace Mission in
the Sudanese Region of Darfur."


3. (C) In Ping's view, this "AMIS plus" formula is the best
solution yet put forward. Bashir accepts a UN Mission (the
Ambassador specifically asked Ping: "Does Bashir accept that
this is a blue helmet force?" Ping's reply: "Yes"). Ping
says that Bongo, Obasanjo and the other "sages" believe that
it perhaps can be made to work -- if pressure is constantly
put on Bashir. The next step, according to Ping, is to get
the response of the US and France (Ping said he has already
spoken to Douste-Blazy) and of the UN (Obasanjo and Konare
will be pursuing those lines). If the responses are
favorable, the "Comite des Sages" will request a meeting with
Bashir in Khartoum. Ping said that plans are underway to
expand that group, to include South Africa, Egypt (Arab
participation is necessary) and Libya (Qadhafi can ruin
things if he thinks he is being excluded). Ping said that he
has spoken to the Egyptian Foreign Minister and that Bongo
has already spoken to Mubarak.


4. (C) Ping also said that the Chinese have been approached
regarding Darfur and have agreed to put pressure discreetly
on Bashir.


5. (C) As this Embassy is not directly involved in the Darfur
process, we do not know whether any of this information is of
interest or significance. We report it at Ping's request.
Ping says that Bongo is available to help move anything
forward "either in the background, doing the real work, or in
public." For the time being, Wade and Sassou Nguesso will be
the public face of the initiative. Ping gave the Ambassador
copies of Wade's document and Bashir's response; both have
been transmitted to the Department.


WALKLEY