ESTABLISHMENT OF SUDANESE-AMERICAN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION IN

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000433

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (GARBLED TEXT)

DEPT FOR AF/SPG, AF/E, AF/PDPA, ECA/PE/V/R/N
PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPAO SCUL SOCI OEXC KMDR KPKO ASEC SU
SUBJECT: ESTABLISHMENT OF SUDANESE-AMERICAN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION IN
KHARTOUM


1. SUMMARY: For a number of years, Sudanese alumni of USG grant
programs tried, but never quite succeeded, in forming an alumni
association. This has now changed. In late February, the
semi-governmental Council for International People's Friendship
approved the 27-member Sudanese American Alumni Association steering
committee's draft charter. Less than a month later, the alumni
association's executive board has infused new impetus into the
Sudanese American Friendship Association (SAFA) by insisting on
identifying "areas of cooperation" between the two entities. END
SUMMARY


2. A principal goal of the new alumni association, as articulated by
the Association's Secretary General, "Al-Sudani" daily columnist
Sulaiman Alamin Abbas Ali, is "changing the stereotypes about
America in Sudan and those of Sudan prevalent in America." From the
outset, the Alumni Association has had to battle efforts by the
Council for International People's Friendship not to become absorbed
by the heavily business-centered Sudanese American Friendship
Association. At the earliest stage of negotiations, the Council
informed the Public Affairs Officer (PAO) that coming under the
Friendship Association's aegis would be a precondition for the
Alumni Association to have recognition by the Council. An
additional stipulation was that the Alumni Association include as
members graduates of any U.S. university, whatever the funding
source. These preconditions were likely due to the existing
association's inability to draw outside participation for its
activities. The PAO and alumni alike went to great lengths to
explain the uniqueness of the USG grantee alumni community and how
certain benefits, such as grant opportunities, were only available
to those who were part of the State Department global alumni
network. The Council finally agreed to these caveats in admitting
the Alumni Association fell under its umbrella.


3. When members of the Sudanese American Friendship Association saw
positive media coverage of the Association's founding, its
Friendship group's executive board contacted their alumni
counterparts to seek a stake in the renewed momentum, if not a claim
to the territory of bilateral friendship. Alumni Association
president, Ahfad University for Women Professor Dr. Abdelmoniem
Badri, artfully avoided the potential turf war by telling the press:
"We need the United States and the United States needs us." He
traced the exchange process back to Sudan's pre-independence period,
and called the ties with the U.S. "no less than the table tennis
tournaments that brought the U.S. and China together. As an
educator, bringing back English-language programs is a top priority
and should be one of the roles of the Alumni Association."


4. Professor Ahmed El-Amin Al-Bashir, Chairman of the American and
European Department of the Council for International People's
Friendship, qualified his relationship with the United States as
"wide" and "deep": "First, in 1967 I was appointed as Third
*Secretary* to the Embassy of Sudan in the United States. The second
aspect of my relationship with the U.S. is that my wife is American,
and my son works for The Washington Post ..." He referred to the
"large number of Sudanese living in the U.S. -- more than quarter of
a million -- so we are working on very solid ground."


5. On March 18 the SAFA Board invited CDA Fernandez to a dinner at
SAFA Chair's Amin al-Nefeidi's palatial estate to explain the latest
on U.S. foreign policy in Sudan. On March 24 the Friendship
Association Chairman and selected executive members invited the PAO
(as "facilitator of the dialogue,") and four members of the Alumni
Association executive committee to discuss how they might explore
"overlapping objectives." According to the Alumni Association
charter, areas in which common goals meet include "development and
consolidation of friendly relations, cooperation, and ...
understanding between Sudanese and Americans," contributing to
"cooperation and exchanges in all fields," and seeking a meeting
point between Sudanese and American peoples "in terms of their
cultures, arts and contribution to civilization and human
heritage."

COMMENT: The formation of the Sudanese American Alumni Association
during a period of mounting anti-U.S. rhetoric in the lead-up to the
International Criminal Court's March 4 issuance of an arrest warrant
against Sudanese President Bashir is both a significant and
encouraging sign. Positive media coverage of the Association's
formation also indicates receptivity to strengthening bilateral
educational ties during a time of heightened political tension
following the ICC warrant and the expulsion by the Government of
Sudan of 13 international NGOs doing vital humanitarian work in
Darfur. With the support of the Public Affairs Section (PAS),the
Association is seeking to locate the appx. 600-700 alumni who have
been on USG exchange programs from Sudan. The Mission will
collaborate with the alumni organization in co-sponsoring seminars,
lectures, commemorative events, cultural/ artistic and other
activities.
KHARTOUM

FERNANDEZ