SUDAN'S NORTHERN STATE: WHERE PARANOIA REIGNS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 KHARTOUM 001618 C O R R E C T E D C O P Y - GARBLED TEXT SIPDIS DEPT FOR A/S FRAZER, SE WILLIAMSON, AF/SPG, DRL NSC FOR PITTMAN AND HUDSON DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/04/2018 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL SOCI ASEC KDEM SU SUBJECT: SUDAN'S NORTHERN STATE: WHERE PARANOIA REIGNS REF: A. KHARTOUM 1594 ¶B. KHARTOUM 086 KHARTOUM 00001618 001.2 OF 004 Classified By: CDA Alberto M. Fernandez, reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. On a rare visit to Sudan's Northern State on October 20-22, Emboffs faced significant intimidation and harassment by Northern State local government and intelligence authorities who denied them permission to meet with opposition parties and genuine civil society members, followed them hawkishly, and forced upon them a meaningless NCP-rigged schedule designed to portray a more-than-rosy picture of life in the Northern State and waste Emboffs' time. While it comes as no surprise that the Northern State is an NCP stronghold, it is startling how much of a police state it is. Northern State Governor Adil Al-Awat Salman, a former National Islamic Front (now NCP) hardliner who is closely connected to the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) has used the intelligence service to lay a heavy hand over society so that there is no discussion of problems or concerns in the Northern State with outsiders (ref B). Emboffs managed to hold one key meeting with members of the SPLM in Dongola before their visit was hijacked by Governor's Salman's henchman. SPLM members noted that the most acute problem in Northern State is displacement created by the construction of the Chinese-built Merowe Dam and the GoS' lack of providing the displaced with adequate compensation. The situation has caused citizens living in Dal and Kajbar to resist dam construction in their areas, which has led to violent clashes among GoS military and police forces and civilians. The SPLM members also said that poverty, lack of adequate health services, and intimidation and harassment of opposition forces by state government NISS henchmen were major problems for state stability. End summary. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - POLICE HARASSMENT AT THE MOSQUE AT OLD DONGOLA - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (C) Emboffs departed Khartoum on 20 October and drove to Old Dongola (approximately 70 miles south of Dongola, the capital of Northern State) to visit the Mosque at Old Dongola, an ancient historical and archeological site famous in Sudan. The USG will provide the Sudanese Ministry of Antiquities with a grant of approximately USD 33,000 from the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation to refurbish the site. Even though Emboffs were in possession of all required permits to visit the Old Mosque and photograph the site, Sudanese police (after accompanying the Emboffs to the site and touring it with them) held the Embassy team for an hour and a half, claiming that the team had illegally video-taped the site. After a long debate, Embassy LES and local historical scholar and Old Dongola resident who is extremely knowledgeable about the Mosque's history (as well as the USG grant) convinced the police that no video equipment had been used. LES told Emboffs that the police were only looking to extract a bribe from the travelers. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SPLM EAGER TO TALK ABOUT THE BEHAVIOR OF THE RUTHLESS NORTHERN STATE REGIME - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (C) On the evening of 20 October, Emboffs arrived in Dongola to undertake a two-fold mission: meet with local government officials, opposition figures, traditional leaders, and civil society to understand the status of the state and its preparedness for upcoming elections, as well as visit universities and libraries in order to speak with students and donate English-language material as a means of public diplomacy outreach. Prior to the visit (on 19 October),the State Governor's Office informed Emboffs that the Governor as well as his government staff, would be "too busy" to meet with the team upon arrival due to the "start of the agricultural season" in Northern State. Upon arrival, Emboffs met with the State Minister for Local Governance Izdihar Gumaa (SPLM) and a group of her colleagues including the SPLM State Secretary. The SPLM eagerly spoke about the issues plaguing the Northern State and focused in particular on the highly-sensitive issue of the displacement of residents due to dam construction at Merowe and local opposition to dam construction at Kajbar and Dal. (Note: When Emboffs received travel permits to visit the Northern State in May, the Governor's Office turned off the visit by informing Emboffs that the Governor would not be in town KHARTOUM 00001618 002.2 OF 004 during their visit and threatened that if the team traveled to Dongola, his intelligence forces would turn them around at the state border. End Note.) ¶4. (C) State Minister Gumaa stated that CPA implementation in Northern State is extremely difficult because of the NCP's refusal to recognize opposing points of view and its mistrust of and disrespect for the SPLM. Furthermore, the NCP uses its National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) to brutally harass and intimidate the SPLM and other opposition forces in the Northern State. Members of the state assembly have tried to "islamicize all of the rules and laws" pertaining to the state, ignoring the local traditions and heritage of those living in Northern State, said Gumaa. Because they (the NCP) have a mechanical majority in the state legislature, everything that is submitted for a vote is pushed through. According to the State Minister, the NCP has tried to strip her of every responsibility afforded to her in the Ministry of Local Governance. For example, she can no longer transfer state government personnel from one locality to another, a key power she used to wield. Furthermore, Gumaa claimed that Governor Salam has replaced many of her Ministry personnel with his own people so as to undermine her authority from within her own ministry. He also frequently overturns her decisions. "The NCP is destroying SPLM in this state by destroying the authority of the one SPLM minister in the state government," she said. Gumaa explained that other opposition parties have been weakened in the Northern State due to the NCP's tactics. This government avoids others bringing criticism upon it at all costs, she said. (Note: The SPLM holds ten percent of the leadership positions in Northern State, per the CPA, which works out to one minister (out of eight),five legislators in the state assembly (out of 48),and no state commissioners (out of seven). End Note.) ¶5. (C) Minister Gumaa stated that the most pressing issues facing those in the Northern State are: displacement caused by the construction of dams, poverty, lack of health services, and NCP intimidation. Gumaa said that the GoS has not fully honored its commitment with the people of Merowe to provide them with homes and basic services (health and education) since the building of Merowe Dam. "The majority of those displaced have only been given plots, not houses," said Gumaa. Furthermore, the GoS is re-locating the displaced to a location called New Amri, farther out than the displaced want to go. Many have rejected moving to this site and have set up camps on the outskirts of the dam-affected area of Old Amri. "A Darfur IDP camp is a 5-star hotel compared to these camps," claimed Gumaa, who visited many of the displaced with an SPLM team on October 17-18. The opening of the dam has flooded areas before homes are built. The displaced have set up temporary schools in tents, but the State Ministry of Education refuses to provide any books or material to these schools because it claims there are no students left in Old Amri. ¶6. (C) Unlike the construction of the Merowe Dam in which the affected people agreed to be recompensed by the GoS and move out of the immediate dam-affected area, the citizens of Kajbar and Dal are completely rejecting the construction of dams (and the GoS' offer to recompense them with new homes and services so they can resettle). In Kajbar (83 kilometers north of Dongola),people are concerned that dam flooding will destroy Nubian heritage sites. Furthermore, provision of power created by the dam will only benefit residents in Egypt, claimed Gumaa. In July of 2007, federal police killed four protesters in Kajbar for their resistance to the dam. The case still hasn't gone to court, said Gumaa. In the meantime, the state government has reinforced its police and military forces in the area. The people of Dal (even farther north than Kajbar) have the same attitude to dam construction as those of Kajbar. Gumaa described a recent visit to Kajbar she made with State Governor Salman during which the people shouted "we refuse" and protested dam construction. The SPLM Press Secretary took video footage of the visit which NISS later confiscated. The Press Secretary was later thrown in prison and is currently serving a three-month sentence. After that visit, the relationship between Gumaa and Governor Salman became even more tense. According to Gumaa, Salman has accused the SPLM of encouraging people to revolt. The Governor has also threatened to fire Gumaa. (Note: An SPLM-only team, including an SPLM medic, from Northern State visited Shiri town, in River Nile State, in mid-October to assess the damage caused by Merowe Dam flooding. They took photos and video footage of schools underwater, vaccinations rescued from hospitals that lie sitting out in the heat, and KHARTOUM 00001618 003.2 OF 004 they shared these with Emboffs. At times, the footage was taken from a boat that the group used to navigate the affected-area. The SPLM team was the first to visit the displaced and the footage clearly shows that the residents of the area warmly received the team and welcomed their medical assistance, in particular for a woman who was dying from a scorpion sting because there was no doctor to treat her. End Note.) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - THE NCP'S HENCHMEN COME KNOCKING - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶7. (C) As the Emboff team wrapped up the SPLM visit and made arrangements to visit the team again on 21 October to discuss the SPLM's electoral strategy and predictions for Northern State elections, and meet with other opposition party members which the SPLM offered to arrange in its office, NISS agents waited outside the SPLM Office to harass the team (and the SPLM officials). Using the cover of a State Ministry of Antiquities employee who had been assigned to the team to "facilitate" its visit to the Northern State, a NISS agent jumped in the vehicle with Emboffs and, in Arabic, warned an Embassy Locally Engaged Staff (LES) member that the team had veered from the agreed-upon plan to visit the only tourist sites in the state and was not authorized to hold such meetings. Later that evening, at the state government-run hotel (the only one in town),which requires guests to register with the state NISS office before they can check in, LES received a visit at approximately 2300 by two Ministry of Antiquities officials who claimed they were severing ties with the Embassy visitors because they "deviated from the agree-upon agenda." ¶8. (C) At 0700 the next morning, LES were awoken by three NISS agents claiming to be "consultants" to the state government. Emboffs met with the vaguely-identified gang of three, led by Sheik El Din Muhktar. After (not-so-warmly) welcoming the team to Dongola, Sheik El Din explained that the team had violated its agreement with the state government and claimed to act as the rescuer of the team's visit due to the Ministry of Antiquities' severance of ties with the team. El Din also claimed that he and his officials had come to "offer their support" of our visit and to make sure that the team was "secure", particularly in light of the January 2008 assassination of USAID Sudan officer John Granville and driver Abdel Rahman Abbas. "We want to draft your program and attend the meetings with you. It is our responsibility to do this (take care of you) as Sudanese," he said. Although there was no agreement made between Emboffs and state government about the trip agenda (and the government officials could provide nothing in writing signed by both parties which remotely resembled an agreed-upon schedule), the officials asked the team who they would to meet with and promised to facilitate it. The officials refused to allow the team to meet with the SPLM again, snidely commenting that it would be repetitive and a waste of Emboffs' time to have a second SPLM meeting. They did agree to set up meetings for the team with the elusive Governor Salman, state government ministers, civil society, and opposition parties. Before its arrival in Dongola the team set up a meeting with notable Umma Party member and the hereditary monarch of the kingdom of Dongola Abdalla Alzubair Almelik. At first, NISS was vehemently against the team visiting this local leader, but later in the day, officials agreed to allow the meeting to take place as long as a NISS official was present. ¶9. (C) On 21 October, Sheik El Din put together a less than useful program of meetings with NCP officials and a very engineered pro-regime civil society meeting. Emboffs first met with the Minister of Culture (also the Deputy Governor) who refused to speak politics or discuss his role as Deputy Governor of the State. Emboffs then met with the Minister of Social Affairs who had very little to say, refused to answer questions about the plight of dam-displaced persons or give a rate of unemployment for the state. Thirdly, Emboffs met with Governor Salman who sang the state's praises in terms of richness of culture (Nubian heritage) and provision of health and education services to its people. "We are number one in the country in the provision of health and education to our people." He described the state as "very, very stable." He claimed the census went "fine" and there were no problems. As for elections, Governor Salman said "for sure they will take place" (in the Northern State) and people are "free to choose their political affiliation." He also claimed that all opposition parties have "full freedom" to assemble and campaign. Later that day, Emboffs met with a rather hostile KHARTOUM 00001618 004.2 OF 004 group of "civil society members." The group consisted of about 20 men and one woman, most of whom where members of the National Sudanese Youth Union, a likely additional front for state NISS agents. The group repeatedly questioned the reason for the Embassy team's travel to the Northern State and stated over and over again that there are no problems in Northern State, all is stable, and made clear that the state is in no need of the USG's assistance. In the afternoon, the Embassy team traveled across the Nile to the home of Abdalla Alzubair Almaleik, NISS vehicles in tow. Almaleik, a very gracious host and a fountain of historical knowledge about the region, invited the Embassy team to dine with him while he told stories of the reign of his father, grandfather and great grandfather. Unfortunate for the team, Almelik could not talk openly about politics in the region (due to the presence) of NISS agents, but he did lean over to Emboff at one point to say, "These (former) National Islamic Front (NIF) people are very bad." He said that Umma Party once had a strong standing in the state, but that the NCP had succeeded in weakening its base significantly, as it had with other parties. ¶10. (C) Although promised, Sheik El Din did not set up a meeting for Emboffs with opposition parties. Furthermore, the Embassy team was banned from attending a dinner at State Minister Gumaa's (SPLM) home on the evening of 21 October. Emboffs were told by the SPLM medic, Dr. Ahmed Ali on 21 October, that state government agents had threatened to jail or even kill him if he were to speak with Embassy officials any further. He did manage to pass photos and footage of the Merowe dam flooding to the team on 21 October, before officials hurriedly sent him to the countryside on an official mission later that afternoon. ¶11. (C) Comment: While Emboffs were not able to meet with the desired array of opposition groups, traditional leaders and civil society in the Northern state as they had hoped, the harassment, intimidation, and constant stalking by NISS itself tells a story about the quality of life in the Northern State. The level of repression and paranoia exceeded anything we have seen in most of Sudan, including Darfur. It also highlights the NCP's paranoia of outsiders finding out "too much" about any problems in the region from which many senior NCP leaders hail. The state will be one to watch closely when construction of the Kajbar and Dal Dams begins in earnest against the will of many of the civilians in those areas. While admittedly the SPLM State Minister has a biased point of view, there appear to be significant human rights violations occurring in the state, including the forced removal of residents. The repressive "police state" environment experienced by emboffs will complicate not only USG programming, but more importantly the necessary political party outreach and civic and voter education required for free and fair Sudanese elections in the state in 2009. End Comment. FERNANDEZ