JEM REPOSITIONS ITS FORCES, BUT IS READY FOR PEACE

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001057 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/SPG, S/CRS ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU NSC FOR PITTMAN AND SHORTLEY SENSITIVE, SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV KPKO AU CD SU SUBJECT: JEM REPOSITIONS ITS FORCES, BUT IS READY FOR PEACE Reftel: Khartoum 01053 ¶1. (SBU) According to African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) and Sudanese Government sources, Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) forces are moving southward from Um Kedada to reclaim land held by the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM)/Minawi. Cease-fire Commission JEM representative General Mohamed Bashir confirmed the movement of his forces on July 6, stressing to S/CRS Poloff that the land was not the SLM's. He said that JEM would not provoke a fight with the SLM or the Government but "expects anything." ¶2. (SBU) Bashir did not specify the size of his forces but did note that Government troops had been sent toward JEM territory from al-Tuweisha (reftel) and El Fasher. He said JEM knew of thirty-four heavily-armed vehicles that had headed south from El Fasher in the last two days. (Note: Government forces from El Fasher may have also been sent to deal with former National Redemption Front (NRF) forces led by Ali Karbino, which according to AMIS reporting has wrested control of Dar el-Salaam from SLA-Minawi. End note.) ¶3. (SBU) Bashir said that while JEM coordinated its movements with other non-signatories--he considered them "all SLA"--only JEM had a unified negotiating agenda. He expressed hope that the non-signatories would rally under SLM/Abdulwahid, but stressed that he meant the group rather than Abdulwahid al-Nur himself. He said that Abdulwahid had changed after Abuja and no longer represented the people. ¶4. (U) JEM was aware of the UN/AU roadmap, according to Bashir, but stressed that there was still "nothing on the ground" to show for it. He said that the lack of a peace dividend had caused many rebels to defect from their movements. Bashir said that he had heard there would be a UN-sponsored meeting in August but said that the rainy season would make it difficult for some to attend it. He wondered whether the international community intended to delay the peace process. ¶5. (SBU) Bashir attested that the Sudanese Government was acting in bad faith with regard to the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) and would likely do so in future peace negotiations. It was clear to him that the Government had done little under the DPA rubric to provide incentives for peace. However, in anticipation of a peace conference, he stressed the importance of the international community demonstrating that there is "hope on the horizon." "It is very difficult for our fighters to stay somewhere between peace and war," said Bashir. FERNANDEZ