SUDAN: ENSURING THAT THE AU REQUEST A UN RE-HAT OF AMIS

C O N F I D E N T I A L MASERU 000128 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR AF/S, AF/SPG AND IO/PSC E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/8/2016 TAGS: PREL KPKO NATO SU LT SUBJECT: SUDAN: ENSURING THAT THE AU REQUEST A UN RE-HAT OF AMIS REF: (A) STATE 36548 (B) MASERU 92 (C) STATE 22854 (D) MASERU 06 CLASSIFIED BY: JUNE CARTER PERRY, AMBASSADOR, EXEC, STATE. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) On March 8, Ambassador raised with Minister of Foreign Affairs Monyane Moleleki points concerning the need for a clear request from the African Union Peace and Security Council meeting March 10 on rehatting of the AMIS contingent in Darfur. As previously indicated refs (B) and (D),the FOMIN stated that the Government of Lesotho (GOL) was for the rehatting and had discussed this matter during the February meeting of the African Union (AU). He asserted that several other African states were also very supportive of this request particularly because they see the conflict in Sudan as 1) a racial one between the blacks and Arabs, and 2) a religious one between the Muslims and Christians. Therefore, Lesotho being a very Christian country is deeply concerned about the continuing conflict between the religious groups in Sudan. However, the stumbling block is Sudan itself. In that regard, he stated that the Prime Minister in Sudan would be sending an envoy to deliver a letter to Lesotho's Prime Minister Mosisili on March 9. Moleleki further stated that he expected to encounter the envoy himself in the Johannesburg International Airport as he, the FOMIN, would be on enroute to the AU session. ¶2. (C) When we expressed our concern that Sudan's position was holding up international action while people were continuing to die in this unacceptable situation in Darfur, Moleleki said that the Sudanese argued at the last AU meeting that the United States was funding the Arab fighters responsible for the genocide in Darfur. We refuted that argument and restated our deep concern that there must be an international peacekeeping operations force in Darfur. Additionally, we support the idea of, and would press for, an African commitment of these blue-hatted troops. On that point, Moleleki interjected that he believed the Nigerians, who had played a peacekeeping role in West Africa, would likely have a number of candidates to serve as commander. We added that Botswana had also played an important role in peacekeeping operations and were certain it would be possible to find a very capable African commander. During the course of this discussion, we reviewed points concerning U.S. funding for AMIS being at jeopardy because of the on-going challenges AMIS faced in controlling the violence in Darfur; the usefulness of NATO training and support to AMIS; and our desire to receive a concrete expression of the AU's request during the discussions. ¶3. (C) Comment: The GOL has consistently indicated its abhorrence of the conditions in Darfur and the Prime Minister has been quoted by Moleleki as being staunchly against the acts of genocide there. At the same time, Lesotho has not, thus far, broken ranks with the Sudanese that African states have maintained in terms of outright condemnation, i.e. this concrete request to effectively deal with the situation in Darfur. The GOL, through the Foreign Minister, has promised to press other African states during the March 10 discussion to make this request formal. How that will unfold remains to be seen. End Comment. PERRY