SUDAN'S INTERIOR MINISTRY WANTS CLOSER COOPERATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L KHARTOUM 000079 SIPDIS SIPDIS AF/SPG, INL E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/21/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER SU SUBJECT: SUDAN'S INTERIOR MINISTRY WANTS CLOSER COOPERATION WITH US, MAYBE REF: 07 KHARTOUM 1864 Classified By: CDA Alberto M. Fernandez, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Sudan's new Minister of State for Interior, Abbas Jumaa, seeks closer cooperation with the United States in law enforcement, anti-terrorism and anti-drug efforts. A native of Blue Nile State, Jumaa strongly urged greater U.S. engagement, of every sort, in Sudan's marginalized border areas of Blue Nile, Nuba Mountains and Abyei. End summary. ¶2. (C) CDA Fernandez called on newly appointed Minister of State for Interior, Abbas Jumaa, on January 21. Jumaa, an SPLM regular formerly in charge of the party's relationship with state chapters, was brought into government when the SPLM ended its boycott of the Government of National Unity (GNU) on December 27. A party loyalist, he replaces a corrupt and ineffective SPLM turncoat, Aleu Aynieny Aleu Adod, who succumbed to regime blandishments, in this key position. Adod has been severely ill for much of the past year so the SPLM has never had a trustworthy person in the Interior Ministry since the CPA was signed in January 2005. Jumaa was a NCO in the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) before joining the SPLA rebel movement in 1986 and mostly fought in his home state of Blue Nile. Although not one of the top leaders of the movement, he is seen as a trusted, strong willed character. ¶3. (C) CDA began by congratulating the minister on his appointment and thanking him for the continuing support of the Interior Ministry and police in investigating the January 1 murder of two embassy employees from USAID. Jumaa said that the Sudanese wanted even closer ties, especially in the field of law enforcement and counter-terrorism. Combating narcotics (mostly hashish and opium in Sudan) was also a concern. CDA noted that upcoming teams that could visit Sudan to provide specialized training in security issues could be of interest to the Ministry and that we would certainly remain in contact. He also noted the possibility of an INL office being established in the Embassy within the next few years and this also could be a point of contact for the Ministry although that office's focus may be South Sudan. Jumaa said that he was establishing a coordination office for police in North and South Sudan "with a professional rather than a political focus" so any help possible would be welcomed. ¶4. (C) Jumaa noted that the Ministry was finally making progress in bringing on a more diverse police force, with more cadets from Sudan's marginalized areas. 2008 was the first year that there had actually been any progress in doing so. Since he came from one of those marginalized areas, he wanted to encourage the "friends from the U.S., who have always helped us" to increase their development assistance to the "three areas" described in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA): Abyei, Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains (South Kordofan). CDA noted that USAID was very interested in doing just that and that the martyred USAID official John Granville had led a team to Blue Nile recently for that very reason. Jumaa said that the Saudis had given Sudan a major grant to pave the 130 km road from the Blue Nile capital of Damazin to Kurmuk in the southern part of the state. He also welcomed greater American political engagement in solving the Abyei conflict. ¶5. (C) Comment: Minister of State Jumaa is an engaging, pro-American, breath of fresh air in a key Sudanese ministry which has often been out of bounds to official Americans. While the SPLM official's interest in greater engagement is to be encouraged, the fact remains that Jumaa's superior, Interior Minister Al-Zubair Bashir Taha, is an outspoken, buffoonishly anti-American figure who called President Bush and Secretary Rice "devils" (reftel),accused Washington of arms-smuggling into Darfur and blamed the Jews for causing the conflict in the troubled region. So like so many others in the SPLM, Jumaa has his work cut out for him. End comment. FERNANDEZ