MEETING WITH S/E NATSIOS, FUR LEADERS ENDORSE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 05 KHARTOUM 001540

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

DEPARTMENT FOR AF A/S FRAZER, AF/SPG, AND AF/SE
NSC FOR PITTMAN AND HUDSON
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/02/2012
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPKO UN AU SU
SUBJECT: MEETING WITH S/E NATSIOS, FUR LEADERS ENDORSE
ABDULWAHID, SET PRE-CONDITIONS FOR TALKS


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Classified By: CDA Alberto Fernandez, Reason: Sections 1.4 (b) and (d)

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Summary
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1. (SBU) From the Fur stronghold in West Darfur, influential
Fur leaders told S/E Natsios that Abdulwahid Al Nur remains
their sole legitimate representative and that six maximalist
conditions affecting security, compensation, and land must be
met before they can participate in peace negotiations with
the Sudanese Government. They denied that the CPA was
relevant to Darfur and, while expressing gratitude for the
U.S.' attention to the Darfur crisis, said that Darfurians
could not trust that a new agreement before the deployment of
UNAMID would protect them given the failure of the DPA. S/E
Natsios explained that the purpose of the negotiations is to
address the issues of security and marginalization that have
plagued Darfur and that the experience of previous UN
peace-keeping operations has shown that they are most
successful when enforcing a viable agreement. "If both sides
have pre-conditions, there will never be negotiations, there
will never be peace, and the people will stay in the camps
forever," he said. Urging the Fur to participate in the
UN/AU-led peace process, S/E Natsios told the Fur that "it's
your job to negotiate. It's not our job, and we can't do it
for you." Please see paras. 10 and 11 for two petitions the
Fur representatives presented to S/E Natsios. End summary.

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Abdulwahid, Six Pre-Conditions for Talks
--------------


2. (SBU) Meeting with S/E Natsios and CDA Fernandez in
Zalingei, West Darfur on October 30, 30 Fur internally
displaced person (IDP) leaders and civil society activists
emphasized that they had designated Sudan Liberation Movement
(SLM) leader Abdulwahid Al Nur as their only representative
for Darfur peace negotiations and laid out six sweeping
pre-conditions for Fur participation in the political
process: 1) full deployment of the UN-AU Mission in Darfur
(UNAMID),2) disarmament of the Arab militias, 3) individual
compensation for the victims of the Darfur conflict, 4)
prosecution of the perpetrators of violence by the
International Criminal Court, 5) rehabilitation and
reconstruction of Fur lands, and 6) a return to the
traditional land allocation system. "We will not attend
talks unless these demands are met," one IDP representative
stated. "Abdulwahid is the only real representative," said
another IDP. "He talks not on behalf of himself but on
behalf of Darfur." A civil society leader further explained
that Abdulwahid's demands were at "our request."


3. (SBU) One IDP criticized the international community for
"not taking what we're saying. We have one representative,
Abdulwahid, and he has a strategy for Darfur." According to
their leaders, the Fur could not participate in political
negotiations with the Sudanese Government until security is
assured through deployment of an international force. They
predicted that the upcoming peace talks scheduled to begin in
Libya at the end of October would fail "because we will not
be represented." A woman recalled that she had fled attacks
by Arab militias, leaving her children behind. "How can we
start talks without any conditions, without security?" she
asked. An older sheikh added that Abdulwahid "demands
protection for his people and then he can enter into talks.
In the past, when he's in negotiations, the Government bombs
people." A civil society leader called for the UN and AU to
move the negotiations to a "neutral country...you can't force
people to go somewhere that threatens them."

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CPA, DPA Not for Darfur
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4. (SBU) Claiming to represent the Fur in 151 IDP camps, the
Fur leaders explained that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
(CPA) was not applicable to Darfur. Echoing comments from
the early stages of the rebellion in 2003 and 2004, the
representatives underscored that "we will not accept the
agreement that resulted from Naivasha...and pay the price for
the CPA." Previous negotiations that had resulted in both
the CPA and the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) had been

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impartial because they had excluded "the people of Darfur,"
said one IDP. While expressing their gratitude to the U.S.
for its effort to defuse the Darfur crisis, the
representatives said that "we respect U.S. policy but don't
want the U.S. to endorse anything we don't like." A civil
society leader said that the disarmament provisions in the
DPA had proven ineffective and questioned how Darfurians
could trust that a new agreement would be implemented.

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Rebel Disunity Complicates Peace
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5. (SBU) The civil society leaders said that disunity among
Darfur's rebel groups had complicated peace efforts, and they
called on the U.S. to address this issue. "We don't believe
in the rebel groups from Arusha," said one man. "Except for
JEM, they were created by the Government." Others noted that
the UN/AU-sponsored talks in Arusha in early August did not
represent the people of Darfur. Darfurians must negotiate
from a position of strength, according to one activist. "You
cannot put the executioner and the victim on the same level,"
he said.

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PKO Success Demands Political Agreement
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6. (SBU) S/E Natsios explained that the purpose of the
negotiations is to address the issues of security and
marginalization that have plagued Darfur. The experience of
previous UN peace-keeping operations has shown that they are
most successful when enforcing a viable agreement, but "if
you don't have an agreement, you can't hold the Government
accountable." Many countries were reticent to contribute
forces to UNAMID without a final political settlement in
place, according to S/E Natsios, and while the UN/AU and the
international community would demand a cessation of
hostilities among the parties to the talks prior to the start
of negotiations, other preconditions were "ridiculous."
Responding to a request to delay the start of negotiations
until the deployment of UNAMID, S/E Natsios said that it will
take several months to deploy the 24,000-man force "and the
longer we wait for negotiations, the worse it will be for the
Fur people."

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No Peace Without Negotiations
--------------


7. (SBU) "If both sides have pre-conditions, there will never
be negotiations, there will never be peace, and the people
will stay in the camps forever," S/E Natsios said.
Underscoring that the CPA was for "the whole country" and
represented the best opportunity to change the political
dynamic in Sudan, S/E Natsios said that Darfurians had to
negotiate an equitable agreement that would allow them to
leave the IDP camps, return to their land, and participate in
elections in 2009. If they refuse to join the peace process,
however, they would exclude themselves from the opportunity
that the CPA timeline offered. "It's your country," he said.
"It's your job to negotiate. It's not our job, and we can't
do it for you."


8. (SBU) CDA Fernandez noted that participation in the talks
did not mean that the Fur needed to accept the Sudanese
Government's proposals. "You can't achieve security and
disarmament without the talks," he said, noting that
disarmament of the Arab militias was not included in the
mandate of UN Security Council Resolution 1769 and required
negotiation. That UNSCR 1769 does not mandate this
disarmament seemed to come as a surprise to the Fur. S/E
Natsios added that the Government continued to delay
disarmament of the Arab militias on the grounds that only one
rebel group had signed the DPA. CDA Fernandez warned that
the Government would shift the blame for the Darfur crisis
onto Darfurians if they did not attend the talks.

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Note
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9. (S) While Abdulwahid's power stems from his tremendous

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popularity among the Fur, rather than military strength on
the ground, UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) officials in Nyala
report a dramatic increase in the capacity of his forces in
the last month. As a result of this surge in arms,
Abdulwahid's fighters have forced rival SLM faction leader
Ahmed Abdulshafie's troops out of Jebel Marra and seized
control of the entire area, according to the UNMIS officials.
The source of the arms is unknown but speculation points to
Eritrea, given its opposition to the selection of Libya as
the venue of the UN/AU-sponsored peace talks. End note.

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Comment
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10. (SBU) The anger, rote support for Abdulwahid, and extreme
demands of the Fur leaders underscore the polarization
occurring in Darfur today--a reality that makes the way
forward on UNSCR 1769 and the Tripoli talks quite
challenging. These traumatized and brutalized people seemed
more interested in revenge and power than in peace. End
comment.

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Petitions Given to S/E Natsios
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11. (SBU) The following is the text of a handwritten petition
given to S/E Natsios by Fur representatives of the IDP camps:

(Begin Petition)

To: The American Administration

Denouncing what is going on in the political arena these days
regarding the Darfur problem and the multiplicity of forums
for the solution of the political problems of Darfur. We are
here now to slander and denounce whatever regarding the
so-called talks and its preparatory meetings that took place
in Arusha, Tanzania. The same scenario will be repeated in
Tripoli where by the attendees would claim that they are
representing the grieved and helpless Darfur people! We are
sending this message to express our true will. We the
displaced in Zalingei in particular and the displaced people
and refugees of Darfur in general that we are against what is
going on in Libya, and we would like to say to the attendees
the following:

1) We are fully behind the political ideas submitted by
Abdulwahid.
2) We condemn those who claim and present themselves as
legitimate representatives of the people of Darfur.
3) We denounce the repeating and weak positions of the United
Nations toward the problem of Darfur.
4) We decry the UN supervision to the talks to be held in
Tripoli because it doesn't consolidate the opinion of the
displaced and the refugees, who are completely rejecting the
Arusha meeting and expected Libya talks unless their
legitimate representative Abdulwahid Al Nur participates.
5) We dismiss the DPA be the reference to any coming talks.
6) We call on the UN to maintain credibility and transparency
in solving the Darfur problem.
7) We do support Abdulwahid Al Nur and consolidate his
constructive ideas in solving the Darfur problem by the
following:

1) We call for the immediate deployment of international
forces to protect the innocent displaced and refugees in
Darfur and to halt killing, raping and plundering.

2) We call on the international community to be more serious
and find final and root solution to the tribes that have
emigrated from Niger and now occupy the territories of the
Darfur displaced and refugees.

3) We maintain our demands for individual and group
compensation, reconstruction of destroyed villages and
provision of basic services so that we may be able to return
to our places.

4) We are for citizenship and secular state.

5) We demand our right for self-determination.

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6) The disarmament of the Janjaweed, through most of them
have already been integrated into the regular forces.

7) Trial of war criminals.

8) We demand one region with the 1956 border.

9) The issue of land tenure and hawakir is a red line that
cannot be surpassed.

10) We call for the equitable distribution of wealth and the
effective participation in the Presidency.

11) Call on releasing all of the political detainees.

12) We call upon the American Administration not to support
any work that might contradict with the demands of Darfur
people.

Issued in Zalingei IDP camps
Signed by:
Representatives of the elders
Representatives of the youth
Representatives of the women

(End text)


12. (SBU) The following is a handwritten petition given to
S/E Natsios by representatives of the Khamsa Dagaig IDP camp
near Zalingei, West Darfur:

(Begin text)

To the American Envoy

We welcome you in the scorch land of Darfur, which is
neglected by the international community and even by America.
We are writing you this brief letter to say:

1) We decry the so-far weak positions of your country toward
the problem of Darfur.

2) We call on the immediate disarmament of the Janjaweed and
to stop the attack, the on-going killings, raping, and
violations of human rights.

3) We call for and will keep calling for the removal of the
Arab tribes emigrated from Niger and Mali and now occupying
our territories while we are in the camps.

4) Our rights on individual and group compensations.

5) Movements created by the Government should not go to
represent the displaced and refugees in the Tripoli talks.

6) We would like to affirm to your country that our only
legitimate representative is the popular black lion, who
studied law and practiced as a lawyer, the hero Abdulwahid
Mohammed Ahmed Nur.

7) We decry the statements from your country putting
sanctions on historical leaders that are designated from the
people. This actually means putting sanctions on the
victims, the displaced, refugees, orphans, and all those
whose human rights were violated on the land of Darfur.

8) We decry your position in Abuja and now in Tripoli.

9) We decry your encouraging meetings and forums to attend
the so-called Tripoli talks.

10) We call for international protection with the real force
on the ground not in the media.

11) War criminal suspects should be tried by the ICC.

12) We call for a Darfur state where all people enjoy the
full rights of citizenship.

Mohammed Abdullah Haroun, Sheikh of the Sheikhs
Sidiq Mohammed Abdulla, Youth Union
Samira Isaq, Women's Union

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(End text)


13. (U) S/E Natsios cleared this message.


14. (U) Tripoli minimize considered.
FERNANDEZ