ACTING FM KARTI ON GUANTANAMO, DARFUR, AND CPA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001690

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AS A/S FRAZER, AF S/E NATSIOS, AND AF/SPG
NSC FOR PITTMAN AND HUDSON
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/30/2017
TAGS: PREL KPKO MARR AU UN SU
SUBJECT: ACTING FM KARTI ON GUANTANAMO, DARFUR, AND CPA

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


1. (C) Summary: Charge Fernandez and Pol Chief met October 27
with acting Foreign Minister Ali Karti. Regarding the
Sudanese detainees in Guantanamo, the Charge encouraged the
Minister to accept the text of the certification in order to
expedite their return to Sudan as soon as possible. On
Darfur, the Charge thanked Karti for approving the US Air
Force flights into Darfur for the deployment of the Rwandan
AMIS battalions and encouraged the Sudanese to quantify what
actions they have taken to facilitate the deployment of
peacekeepers. Regarding the CPA, the Minister accused the US
of playing favorites. He characterized the meetings of the
GNU Finance Minister in Washington as "very negative."
Recent hostile statements against the US by President
Al-Bashir in the media suggest a temporary downturn
Sudanese-US relations following the visit. End summary.

Guantanamo
--------------


2. (C) Charge Fernandez encouraged acting Foreign Minister
Karti to accept the document stating conditions for the
return of Sudanese detainees at Guantanamo without any
changes. Karti stated that there are several legal problems
with the document, given Sudanese law, but that he was
confident we would be able to reach an agreement on the
language. The Charge pointed out that every other country
had accepted the language verbatim, and said the chances of
getting the Sudanese out of Guantanamo quickly would improve
by simply accepting the language. Karti repeated his
objection, but following the meeting the Charge reiterated
his points to MFA Americas Division Director Bassat al
Sanusi, who seemed to take our point without making any
commitments. The often caustic Karti noted that "what you
are telling us is take it or leave it, which is what the US
always says to us."

Darfur
--------------


3. (C) The Charge thanked Karti for Sudanese cooperation on
flight approvals for the US Air Force C-17s that delivered
the Heavy Support Package Rwandan force protection battalion
into Darfur beginning October 20. The Charge noted we would
also transmit our public thanks to the Defense Ministry.
Given the recent reports from the UN stating that the GOS is
obstructing the deployment of UNAMID, the Charge encouraged
Karti to quantify the assistance that Sudan has provided for
UNAMID deployment in terms of visas issued, customs
clearances, and troop deployments. Charge Fernandez warned
that the UN could very easily begin to blame the GOS for
delays that are related to its own operational shortcomings,
and again encouraged the Sudanese to quantify all that it has
done to ensure the rapid deployment of UNAMID and to be as
transparent as possible.

CPA Implementation
--------------


4. (C) The Charge said the US is very concerned about the
implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and
the apparent break-down of the Assessment and Evaluation
Commissions (AEC). Minister Karti claimed this is the first
time the NCP and the SPLM are intensively talking about
mechanisms of implementation and solving problems. "The
agreement is self-sufficient," he said. The charge pointed
out that the AEC had deteriorated, noting that the SPLM says
everything is bad while the SPLM says everything is perfect
and the international community sees things at an impasse.
Karti responded that the President had agreed to the schedule
outlined in the CPA. He added that the NCP accepts the
SPLM's right to change its ministers. (Note: As recently as
September, Karti's counterpart, Minister of State for Foreign
Affairs Al-Samani Al-Wasila, and other officials, insisted
that the SPLM could not change its own ministers without
President Al-Bashir's permission. This permission was not
forthcoming - until this crisis - in the case of Lam Akol, an
SPLM renegade.)


5. (C) Regarding the charge that the government was blocking
the cabinet reshuffle, Karti claimed that President Al-Bashir
had been waiting for the SPLM to produce an approved list of
Ministers. He blamed the problem on internal SPLA struggles
between "those who want separation and those who want unity."

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Karti said First Vice President Kiir should be in Khartoum
to implement the CPA instead of spending so much time in
Juba. In a huff, he noted that Kiir had spent an entire
month in Juba "even though he is VP of the entire country."
Going to IGAD and the UN is not working, said Karti. CPA
issues need to be solved between the parties. The Charge
responded that if one party comes to us saying the agreement
is blocked, we become concerned. While the impasse is best
resolved by the parties themselves, if it cannot be resolved
the international community will focus on it.


6. (C) The Charge reminded the Minister that Abyei continues
to be a serious issue. The US is concerned that a clash
could result from a misunderstanding and the soldiers in the
area will start killing each other. All the US wants from
this process is an agreement that both parties are
comfortable with, said the Charge. At this point Karti
became angry and accused the US of playing favorites.
Predictably, Karti shifted focus and pointed out that the
SPLM is creating a mess with the oil money and cannot account
for it properly, while the Sudanese government has an auditor
general. "You should visit our auditor and see how
professional the operation is," suggested Karti. CDA
countered that it is our view that there is fiscal corruption
in both North and South.

Negative Feedback on US Visit
--------------


7. (C) Charge concluded by suggesting that there is a real,
although narrow, possibility of improving relations with
possible forward movement on the Guantanamo detainees, the
terrorist list, and maybe even some sanctions, given the
right conditions. The Charge pointed out that Assistant
*Secretary Frazer had spoken out against the Darfur Divestment
Act in Congress given recent positive steps by the Sudanese
in the Darfur peace process. The Minister expressed doubt
about the prospects for improved relations, given the recent
visit of the Sudanese Finance Minister to the US, who came
back with a very negative impression following frank
discussion of the sanctions regime with officials in
Washington. He said, "you (the USG) are not able to improve
relations, even if you wanted to, because there are powerful
forces that will not allow you to do so."


8. (C) Comment: An NCP hardline insider, Karti's inflexible
views on the CPA and the AEC are not surprising. More
notable is the negative feedback on the GOS Finance
Minister's recent visit to Washington. The NCP clearly has
the view that the meetings were not productive from their
point of view, and as a result may have recently assumed a
more hostile attitude than usual toward the US. (Although
other officials, like Presidential advisor Mustafa Othman
Ismail, have advised us to discount regime rhetoric as "for
internal consumption only.") President Al-Bashir has gone
out of his way to bash the US in public in recent days,
stating that "Sudan doesn't need the US or the World Bank for
subsistence" at the opening of a bridge in Khartoum on
October 28, and accusing the West of "lacking ethics and
morals."
FERNANDEZ