MISSERIYA TRIBAL LEADER TELLS CDA "DON'T IGNORE US!"

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001031 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF A/S FRAZER, SE WILLIAMSON, AF/SPG DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PREF EAID SOCI KPKO SU SUBJECT: MISSERIYA TRIBAL LEADER TELLS CDA "DON'T IGNORE US!" REFS: A. KHARTOUM 939 ¶B. KHARTOUM 1012 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: CDA Fernandez warned traditional Misseriya leader Sidiq Babo Nimer that the Misseriya risk being branded as aggressors if they resort to violence in Abyei and he urged that they argue their case carefully and reasonably. Sidiq praised Embassy efforts to engage the Misseriya, and listed the tribe's assistance needs in Muglad. A prominent member of the Umma party, he indicated that the various Umma-party factions are making little progress in reuniting, while denying that Umma is allowing itself to become a tool of the NCP. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) On July 8, Misseriya-tribal elder and National Umma Party official Sidiq Babo Nimer called on CDA Fernandez, saying that he is anxious to continue the Misseriya dialogue with the Embassy that began with the CDA's meetings with Misseriya leaders on June 23-24 (ref. A). Sidiq said that the best part of that meeting had been the discussion of U.S.-Sudan bilateral relations. He said that this discussion had opened the eyes of the Misseriya elders, making them realize "the Americans are not so bad!" Sidiq is the brother of Misseriya Awlad Kamel clan chief Mukhtar Babo Nimr. The Charge agreed that it would be very useful for the dialogue to continue, commenting, "We need to be creative" to find solutions to the problems in Abyei. ¶3. (SBU) The Misseriya elders had complained that the U.S. was ignoring their needs, while lavishing aid on the south. The CDA provided Sidiq with a USAID Fact Sheet detailing U.S. assistance to the Misseriya heartland region around Muglad and a map showing the location of USAID-constructed water yards and a community development center. But the Charge agreed that "it is not enough. We need to do more." Misseriya Are the Real Victims in Abyei - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (SBU) Turning to developments in Abyei and the recent NCP-SPLM Roadmap agreement, Sidiq said that the Misseriya will never accept the ABC boundary determination and "will invade" Abyei if the arbitration panel confirms the ABC line as the correct border. CDA Fernandez responded that this would be a big mistake. He agreed that the SPLM was far from perfect in its handling of the Abyei dispute, but were the Misseriya to resort to force, they would be blamed as the aggressor. The Misseriya have a case to make, but they must make it carefully and reasonably if they want it to be heard. ¶5. (SBU) Sidiq replied that he does not want war, but he described the Misseriya as only a "primitive tribe," whose way of life depends on their access to the Bahr al Ghazal grasslands south of Abyei. "We are like your red Indians," he noted. There is a real danger that frustration could reach a point that traditional leaders could lose control of their people. As have others, he asserted that the Misseriya have no problem with the Dinka and blamed the SPLA for provoking the conflict. CDA Fernandez replied that the U.S. will continue to deliver the message to "rein everyone in." The SPLM also has its extremists spewing "racist language," he agreed. He told Sidiq that in their meeting the previous day (ref. B),he had warned GoSS Presidential Affairs Minister Luka Biong Deng that "we don't want this from Muglad and we don't want it from Agok either." ¶6. (SBU) Charge Fernandez continued that the U.S. is justifiably suspicious of the NCP, and that if the Misseriya allow themselves to be "politically contaminated" and linked too closely with the party, Americans will tend to identify them as NCP surrogates. Do not allow yourselves to be used by the NCP, he warned. Sidiq agreed, saying that the Misseriya now feel more bitterness toward the NCP than they do toward the SPLM, believing that the NCP used them, then let them down. The CDA agreed, saying that "the NCP will use you until they no longer need you." Misseriya Assistance Needs - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶7. (SBU) Sidiq suggested that a limited amount of assistance to the Misseriya in Muglad would go a long way toward improving the U.S.' image. He listed their priorities as first, access to water, second, medical services, and third repairs and support to Muglad primary schools. Siddiq said that the school where he studied as a child currently lacks a roof and school has to be dismissed whenever it rains. CDA Fernandez noted that the U.S. has encouraged the UN to open a Muglad office to assist the 5,000 IDPs who fled there from Abyei. ¶8. (SBU) The Charge asked whether it would be worthwhile to make a trip specifically to Muglad and Siddiq agreed it would be a good idea. CDA Fernandez noted that he had visited Muglad briefly in KHARTOUM 00001031 002 OF 002 April in conjunction with Abyei. Muglad usually is an add-on to a trip somewhere else, he commented, but it takes time to see things and to talk to people. Umma - NCP - SPLM Dynamics - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶9. (SBU) Charge asked Sidiq, a member of the National Umma Party Political Bureau, about the Party's progress in uniting in the run-up to the national elections. Sidiq laughed and indicated that little progress is being made. He noted that Umma-defector Mubarak al Fadel is charging that there is an Umma-NCP alliance against Mubarak's Umma (Reform and Renewal) faction, which Sidiq denied. He ridiculed the chances of Al-Fadel-SPLM alliance against Umma-NCP (Note: Recently, Mubarak has charged that the recent NCP-Umma agreement includes a "hidden agenda." End note). Including Mubarak's group, there are now five Umma factions, he said. The CDA remarked that Mubarak's having suffered at the hands of the NCP tends to give his statements credibility in the eyes of Americans. Sidiq also complained that Northern SPLMers Mansur Khalid and Yasser Arman are trying to establish a veto over Umma-SPLM relations, criticizing Umma for dealing with the NCP while the SPLM does the same. The Charge again warned that given deep U.S. suspicions of the NCP, Umma risks being seen as the same as the NCP, if the two become too close. Comment - - - - ¶10. (SBU) Courtly and articulate, Sidiq Babu Nimer portrayed the Misseriya as poor people who only want to live in peace with their Dinka neighbors, victimized by both the NCP and the SPLM, more sinned against than sinning. The truth is more complex. While Misseriya are hardly without fault in the current conflict (and prior to the CPA conducted violent raids into the South as part of the northern PDF forces) they are indeed among Sudan's marginalized populations, who have been manipulated by others when they were not simply ignored. Embassy's recent outreach to them has shown how eager they are to tell their side of the story. Additional attention and targeted assistance could pay off in helping to calm the volatile Abyei-Muglad conflict zone. FERNANDEZ