CAIRO GOSS CHIEF ON LOCAL SOUTH SUDANESE ISSUES

UNCLAS CAIRO 002961 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM EG SU SUBJECT: CAIRO GOSS CHIEF ON LOCAL SOUTH SUDANESE ISSUES REF: A. CAIRO 2953 ¶B. CAIRO 2937 Sensitive but unclassified, not for Internet distribution. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In a September 30 introductory meeting with poloffs, Government of South Sudan (GOSS) liaison office head Parmena Makuet Mangar sought USG support on a list of GOSS grievances, discussed his recent meeting with Darfur rebels in Cairo (ref A),and detailed the problems facing the South Sudanese community in Egypt. End summary. -------------- --- GOSS Requests USG Pressure on CPA Implementation -------------- --- ¶2. (SBU) On September 30, poloffs paid an introductory call on Government of South Sudan (GOSS) liaison office head Parmena Makuet Mangar. Mangar received poloffs warmly, emphasizing the "shared values" between the GOSS and the USG and thanking poloffs for the USG role in formulating the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). Mangar complained that the Sudanese government (GOS) is still not in compliance with the CPA regarding withdrawal of Sudanese Armed Forces, implementing the Abyei Protocols, north/south border demarcation, and wealth sharing. The GOSS is committed to a unified Sudan, Mangar said, but these issues "are driving the people towards separation" when they vote on Sudanese unity in 2011. Mangar asked for continued USG support on these issues; poloffs stressed that the USG is calling on all parties for full implementation of the CPA. Mangar also thanked the USG for "lifting sanctions on South Sudan," though poloffs corrected him, noting that U.S. sanctions on Sudan apply to the country as a whole, not just the north. -------------- -------------- South Sudanese Face Social, Repatriation Problems -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Mangar said that his office spends much of its time assisting the South Sudanese community in Egypt, which Mangar estimated at 300,000. Many South Sudanese are poor and cannot find jobs, good education or health care, and some are turning to street gangs. The Egyptian government does not have the resources to provide for them, Mangar said - "Egyptians are poor too." Mangar says his office is constantly trying to assist South Sudanese who would like to return home, but they are facing a prohibitively arduous and expensive journey (ref B). On education in particular, Mangar said that many South Sudanese, who are raised on English instruction, have problems with predominantly Arabic instruction in Egypt. Mangar suggested that the USG work with the American University in Cairo to establish scholarships for South Sudanese to study there. JONES