STRENGTHENING EASTERN SUDAN CIVIL SOCIETY

UNCLAS ASMARA 000126 SIPDIS LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS DEPT FOR AF/E AND AF/SPG USAID FOR GOERGIANNA PLATT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KDEM SOCI EAID SU ER SUBJECT: STRENGTHENING EASTERN SUDAN CIVIL SOCIETY Ref: 08 ASMARA 361 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The Peacebuilding Center for the Horn of Africa (PCHA) is concluding its fifth USG-funded workshop for eastern Sudanese NGO leaders. The week long workshop invited 29 participants from the four previous workshops to attend a final session on "training the trainers." Embassy officers visited the workshop, lecturing on the importance of strengthening grassroots efforts. End Summary. ENTHUSIASTIC AND READY -------------- ¶2. (U) Participants greeted visiting EmbOffs with energetic chants of "abune ta-eez, Obama ra-eez," which roughly translates to "without discrimination, Obama is President." The 29 participants, attendees from the four previous workshops, volunteered to attend a fifth workshop on educating fellow community members on the mechanics of peacebuilding. Participants represented a range of political parties such as the SPLM, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP),the Sudan Communist Party (SCP),and the Eastern Sudan Front (ESF). Participants were also members of a variety of civic society organizations, including adult education centers, youth movements, women's movements, legal activists, and so forth. ¶3. (U) The PCHA facilitated this "training the trainers" method by producing a 100-page instruction manual in Arabic outlining the PCHA's approach to community building in eastern Sudan. The workshop also invited guest lecturers on topics such as energizing community organizations in eastern Sudan. GRASSROOTS VS. TREE ROOTS -------------- ¶4. (U) In much of eastern Sudan the local perspective is that the most powerful politician runs the community and is the person with whom to align, according to the impromptu survey PolOff conducted among the participants. PolOff guest lectured the group on the importance of sustaining and strengthening grassroots movements instead of seeking powerful "tree roots" (such as a single influential governor) to cluster around. The participants, enthused by the concept, requested Arabic translations of the presentation and volleyed dozens of questions afterwards on different ways to promote grassroots movements in eastern Sudan. Participants particularly liked the idea of door-to-door canvassing. ¶5. (U) The implementation of the 5th workshop concludes the USG-funded five workshop series on peacebuilding in eastern Sudan. The first four workshops were funded by an ESF grant, while the Sudan Programs Group (AF/SPG) funded a 5th workshop extension. Thus far, all of the workshops have been well attended (reftel) and have received accolades from several diplomatic missions and high-ranking officials in the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), Eritrea's sole political party. ¶6. (U) COMMENT: Peace efforts in eastern Sudan are one of the few areas of political commonality shared between the USG, the Eritrean government, and the Government of Sudan. The five workshops, though occasionally delayed due to scheduling difficulties, were a success and demonstrated the enthusiasm of community leaders from eastern Sudan in strengthening civil society in their region. MCMULLEN