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