DR. GHAZI SALAHEDDIN ON TROUSER CASE, DARFUR

C O N F I D E N T I A L KHARTOUM 001020 SIPDIS NSC FOR MGAVIN DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2019 TAGS: ASEC PGOV PHUM PREL SOCI SU SUBJECT: DR. GHAZI SALAHEDDIN ON TROUSER CASE, DARFUR KIDNAPPINGS REF: A. A) KHARTOUM 905 ¶B. B) KHARTOUM 994 Classified By: CDA Robert E. Whitehead, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On the margins of a September 3 meeting on the upcoming visit of SE Gration, Presidential Advisor Dr. Ghazi Salaheddin told CDA Whitehead that the September 7 trial of Ms. Lubna Hussein, the Sudanese journalist arrested in Khartoum for wearing trousers on July 3, could result in a fine but not flogging. He also expressed concern about the rash of kidnappings in Sudan's Darfur region, noting that the Government of Sudan (GOS) was seeking to counter the trend by refusing to pay ransoms and refraining from risky rescue operations. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Dr. Ghazi said that he was dismayed that the case of Ms. Hussein, who was arrested in Khartoum on July 3 and charged with "indecent dress" for wearing trousers in public (Ref A),was continuing to attract unwanted attention. He added that "thousands of women on the streets of Khartoum wear trousers without managing to be arrested." Ghazi stated that he had spoken with Minister of Justice Abdelbasit Sabdarat, who assured him that if Ms. Hussein were found guilty, she would not be flogged. However, if found guilty would likely be required to pay a fine. ¶3. (C) Dr. Ghazi expressed concern about the proliferation of kidnappings in Darfur, most recently the abduction of two UN staff in Zalingei in West Darfur (Ref B) and the long-running hostage saga involving staff of the Irish NGO GOAL near Kutum. With regard to the latter case, the Wali (Governor) of North Darfur has been in frequent contact with the kidnappers, said Ghazi. The Wali was "at one point about to make a deal" to buy the kidnappers off with payment of ransom, a ploy that Ghazi vetoed for fear that it would provoke a rash of copycat attempts. He had informed the kidnappers through the Wali that the maximum the GOS could promise the kidnappers (in exchange for release of the hostages) was freedom from prosecution. Ghazi said that a rescue operation with the use of force is also off the table for now because of the inherent risks to the hostages, and he characterized the current situation as "a battle of attrition." He said that the GOS had identified the perpetrators as "unruly elements" from an Arab tribe. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: The Hussein incident remains an embarrassment that the GOS hopes will go away after the trial. The implications posed by the kidnappings are sobering, since they limit the ability and willingness of NGOs to work outside of the larger towns to deliver humanitarian aid, to assist with voluntary returns of Darfurian IDPs, or to undertake the development and recovery work that will be required to address many of the underlying causes of the Darfur conflict. WHITEHEAD