EASTERN FRONT LEADERS HEAD TO KHARTOUM, FINALLY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASMARA 000703

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/27/2017
TAGS: PREL SU ER
SUBJECT: EASTERN FRONT LEADERS HEAD TO KHARTOUM, FINALLY

REF: ASMARA 491

Classified By: CDA Jennifer A. McIntyre, for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: After months and months of bickering amongst
themselves, the leaders of the Eastern Front (EF) are finally
scheduled to leave Asmara for Khartoum on August 27, and take
up their positions within Sudan's Government of National
Unity (GNU). Implementation of security and national
development provisions under the Eastern Sudan Peace
Agreement also appears to be moving forward, albeit slowly.
Yet despite the EF's victory lap through Asmara, giving
camels to the Eritrean racing team and lauding the Eritrea,s
role in bringing peace to Sudan, the Eastern Front (EF)
remains a tenuous political entity. The Government of the
State of Eritrea (GSE) and the Eastern Sudanese agree that
troubles persist within the Eastern Front organization,
however the Eastern Sudanese remain hopeful that they can
regroup and rebuild themselves into a unified political
entity by 2009. END SUMMARY.

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EASTERN FRONT LEADER SPEAKS UP
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2. (C) On August 24, Poloff met with Dr. Amna Dirar,
Secretary of the Eastern Front and Vice Chair of the Beja

SIPDIS
Congress. Dr. Dirar confirmed the Eastern Front plans to
depart Asmara on August 27, and fly directly to Khartoum for
the swearing-in ceremony with President Bashir. Following
the ceremony, she plans to return to Eastern Sudan to meet
with her remaining supporters. In response to questions
about capacity and capability of the Eastern Front, Dr. Dirar
claimed she had been meeting with some EF members in Asmara
about plans to strengthen the party, including building the
organization at the grassroots level through committees in
the Red Sea, Kassala and Gedaref provinces of Sudan.
According to Dr. Dirar, she and others, including Mubrouk
Mubarak Salim of the Rashaida Free Lions, have discussed
coalescing the EF elements into a unified party by 2009, a
party not comprised of coalition groups but rather a
stand-alone party with individual membership. She further
explained that the Eastern Front will strive to build an
alliance with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).


3. (C) When asked about recent media reports that the Beja
Congress had split from the Eastern Front, Dr. Dirar refuted
the reports. What has happened, she said, is that certain
Beja members who were unhappy with the distribution of posts
have begun creating their own entities; however, these exist
only in name. These splinter groups are being encouraged by
Sudan's National Congress Party (NCP) to challenge her
leadership of the Beja. She also passed on the rumor that
Musa Mohammed Ahmed, Chairman of the Eastern Front and Beja
Congress, will join the NCP. Dr. Dirar firmly believes that
the NCP is engaged in a strategy aimed at breaking up the
Eastern Front.

4 (C) With regards to the integration of the rebel militia
with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF),Dr. Dirar stated that
all Eastern Front soldiers are now in SAF camps. Within the
next few weeks, these soldiers will be classified either for
duty in the SAF or for demobilization. Of the 5000 Eastern
Front troops, less than twenty percent wish to be
demobilized. Those chosen for the SAF will be given an
appropriate rank and additional training. For those who are
demobilized, Dr. Dirar plans to advocate for special programs
to help individuals transition to civilian life and to seek
payouts which will allow them to initiate new careers by
assisting with purchasing land, vehicles or supplies to start
businesses.


5. (C) The planning for the development fund continues. Dr.
Dirar anticipates that international non-governmental
organizations (INGOs) will play a critical role. When asked
about how the INGOs will be able to operate in Eastern Sudan
when the Government of Sudan has a history of restricting
their operations, she replied, "there is no war in the East
now, the Government of Sudan cannot limit their activities
anymore." She acknowledged the Eastern Front will be unable
to effectively implement development programs by itself and
will need the support and expertise of others.

ASMARA 00000703 002 OF 002



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GSE COMMENTS ON PROSPECTS FOR THE EF
--------------


6. (C) In a meeting with Poloff on August 13, Yemane
Ghebreab, Head of Political Affairs for the People's Front
for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) and the GSE's primary
interlocutor on Sudan, described the Eastern Front as "very
weak, not united, and with no strong leadership." While he
believes that there is still a constituency supporting the
idea of the Eastern Front as a unified political party,
Ghebreab expressed uncertainty about whether the current
leadership could make this a reality. He noted, as a
comparison, that even with stronger leadership in the SPLM,
the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)
faces difficulties and uncertainties.


7. (C) As for the development fund, Ghebreab said he believes
the Government of Sudan will honor its commitments to
implement the development fund and has established the
structure to do so. However, he anticipates that the NCP
will try to use the fund to its own political advantage, in
order to gain Eastern votes during the planned 2009 elections.
MCINTYRE