MEDIA REACTION TO U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO SUDAN EAST-WEST

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000701

DEPT FOR SE GRATION, S/USSES, AF A A/S CARTER, AF/C, AF/PDPA,
IIP/G/AF, PA/PRS, RRU-AF
NSC FOR MGAVIN
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO SOCI ASEC AU UNSC KPAO OIIP SU
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION TO U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO SUDAN EAST-WEST
TOUR


1. (U) SUMMARY: The current East-West tour to China, Qatar, United
Kingdom and France by U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan General Scott
Gration has dominated most of the local news in Sudan. While a
handful of pro-government newspapers remain optimistic and describe
the visits as "encouraging" and "a serious attempt demonstrated by
the U.S. Administration towards solving the crisis in Darfur," two
influential pro-government dailies remain wary and point out the
"uncertainty" with regard to the true value of the tour. END
SUMMARY.


2. (U) Pro-government "Al-Ahdath" ran a feature analysis supportive
of General Gration's multi-faceted approach to finding a solution to
existing conflicts in Sudan. Even hardline, pro-government daily
"Al-Intibaha," which typically takes an adversarial stance towards
the U.S., quoted the Government of Sudan (GoS) as saying it welcomes
the tour and considers it a "positive move." The paper quotes
Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) officials as saying that
the tour goes hand in hand with the Special Envoy's initiative to
declare a 90-day ceasefire in order to establish an environment
conducive to peace talks between the GoS and armed movements in
Darfur. In a quote from MFA Acting Undersecretary Ambassador Ali
Yousif, the paper describes General Gration as "keen on identifying
common ground between all parties involved in the Darfur peace
process."


3. (U) "Sudantribune.com," an independent online publication based
in Paris, published an article on May 24 entitled "U.S. Envoy to
Begin Diplomacy Blitz." "After working quietly to improve bilateral
channels with the Government of Sudan and to persuade rebel leaders
to come to peace talks on the Darfur conflict, U.S. Special Envoy to
Sudan Scott Gration is now undertaking a multilateral diplomacy
blitz to widen the international scope and intensity of his
diplomatic strategy." The article comments that this intense level
of diplomatic activity has not been seen since the period of
negotiations for the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).


4. (U) Another news analysis report, published in the May 24 edition
of pro-government daily "Al-Rai-Al-Aam," applauds the U.S.
Administration's "seriousness" in basing its decisions upon
first-hand collection of facts rather than pre-digested, second-hand
information. The political reporter acknowledges that General
Gration's East-to-West tour "is not an easy task" but rather one
full of "contradicting viewpoints." The reporter warns that the
Special Envoy's tour will amount to little unless, contrary to what
General Gration's predecessors have done, he fills his travel bag
with solutions and "deals with the issues in a meaningful way." An
editorial published on May 27 in the same paper by Assistant
Editor-in-Chief Ismail Adam is entitled "The Darfur Demons." Adam
points out that "while the Darfur demons [the Justice and Equality
Movement delegation] head for Doha today, six international Special
Envoys are holding a noteworthy meeting in Doha in preparation for
the next round of talks on Darfur. It appears that today's meeting
... brings together all the foreign forces fuelling the conflict in
Darfur." Adam holds that the success of the current tour by the
U.S. Special Envoy will be measured by his ability to bring to the
negotiation table the Sudanese government alongside the armed
movements in Darfur. Adam cautions, however, that the public must
"differentiate between all the armed movements, some of whom are
gangsters, psychopaths or armed robbers in disguise." Mostly, he
warns, the public must beware, as "one of these demons might enter
the arena under the guise of a Special Envoy!"


5. (U) Another pro-government paper, "Akhbar Al-Youm," ran a
circumspect editorial in which the columnist calls into question a
remark by U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Gration, who is alleged by the
paper to have said that solving the Darfur issue requires "a
friendly relationship between Sudan and America." The columnist
says he is wary of such "diplomatic moves," given that America has
always looked at Sudan "with suspicion" based on Sudan's "Islamic
allegiances and adherence to Sharia Law." The editorial concludes
with typical rhetorical skepticism, asking, "If the United States
pursues a friendly relationship with Sudan, will Israel stand by and
watch silently with its arms crossed?"

ASQUINO