CHAD COMMITTED TO NEGOTIATED PEACE WITH SUDAN BUT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NDJAMENA 000213 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR AF/C AND S/USSES - SE GRATION NSC FOR GAVIN LONDON FOR POL - LORD PARIS FOR POL - D'ELIA AND KANEDA ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR AU E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PREF MOPS SU LY QA CD SUBJECT: CHAD COMMITTED TO NEGOTIATED PEACE WITH SUDAN BUT FINDS AU MEDIATION USELESS REF: NDJAMENA 208 -------------- KEY POINTS -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Key Points are: -- FORMIN Faki was effusive in his praise for President Obama's Cairo speech, saying it effectively rebutted extremist and Islamist propaganda; -- President Deby welcomes the opportunity to meet with A/S Carson and SE Gration at AU Tripoli Summit; -- Deby had successfully corrected in Tripoli misinterpretations of Chad's position on Sudan, but judges the AU an ineffective and unwanted mediator; -- FORMIN will come to DC to meet The Secretary on any date of her choosing except for June 26-July 3 and July 15-17; -- China's visiting Darfur Special Envoy giving GOC impression that Beijing will be a bit tougher with Sudan; -- USG-GOC preparations for the return of Chad Guantanamo detainee are on track; and -- The GOC will hand over rebel child soldiers to UNICEF soon. ¶2. (SBU) Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat was effusive in his praise for President Obama's Cairo speech, saying that it effectively rebutted extremist and Islamist propaganda; shared with Ambassador June 5 current GOC views of the Chad-Sudan situation, continued GOC outreach to dissaffected Chad rebels, travel plans for Chadian President Deby and himself, confirmed the planning for the return of Guantanamo detainee, and pending release of child prisoners to UNICEF. ¶3. (SBU) Ambassador congratulated Faki on GOC's measured response to the attack (and defeat by Chad forces) of Chadian rebels based in Sudan, including refraining from breaking relations with Sudan; remaining committed to mediation efforts; confining its mopping up of rebels to limited military targets inside Sudan; working closely with UNICEF on rebel child soldiers; and continuing to reach out to perhaps disaffected Chad rebels. Ambassador noted that Chad had sent some 225 ex-rebels to its "transition camp" at Moussoro before releasing them back to their communities and Faki added that some 120 more rebels had voluntarily returned across the border yesterday. (NOTE: We think that most of the aforementioned 225 were in fact rebel prisoners taken last month, with a few voluntary returnees mixed in; that 120 new voluntary returnees repatriated themselves is a significant development, confirming recent trends. END NOTE.) ¶4. (SBU) The FORMIN said that President Deby had successfully corrected negative interpretations of Chad's point of view vis-a-vis the situation with Sudan during his May 29-30 trip to Libya to participate in the regional Sahel-Sahara African States meeting. Faki said that the President underscored to the Libyans Chad's intent to remain engaged with the African Union and other regional bodies but noted Chad's unhappiness with the AU's actions in the wake of the May Chadian rebel incursion. Faki told Ambassador that the GOC blames the AU's ineffectiveness for the current state of relations between Chad and Sudan, in which Sudan claims that Chad must take the first steps to ameliorate the political and security situation between the two countries. Faki said that the AU fails to follow through on its efforts, noting that an AU delegation of former African leaders had visited Chad and Sudan in November 2008 to evaluate the current climate and had yet to issue a report on its findings and conclusions. Faki felt that if the AU could not be effective in this instance, it should disengage from attempts to resolve the situation. ¶5. (SBU) Faki stated that China's Special Representative for Darfur Ambassador Liu Guijin is currently in Chad and had given the GOC the impression that Beijing will be a bit NDJAMENA 00000213 002 OF 002 tougher with Sudan. Faki said that he told Liu that Sudan had enough internal problems without adding Chad to its list of issues but believed the GOS to be insincere and not committed to resolving anything, causing Sudanese problems to spill over into Chad. Faki said that Liu told him that Sudan feared the West, which Faki thought was either Sudanese fantasy or Sudanese mendacity. ¶6. (SBU) Faki stated that the GOC, led by President Deby, would participate in the July 1-3 AU summit in Tripoli. Faki assured us that Deby would welcome the opportunity to meet with SE Gration and A/S Carson at that event. As for his own travel, Faki said that he is flexible on his dates for travel to the U.S. and wanted to be accommodating of the Secretary's schedule. Faki said he was available any date of the Secretary's choosing EXCEPT June 26-July 3 and July 15-17. ¶7. (SBU) Faki also noted that GOC preparations for the return of Guantanamo detainee Yousef Abkir Salih al-Qarani were on track. Faki underscored his support for Chadian Ambassador to the U.S. Mahmoud Adam Bechir's stewardship of Al-Qarani's return. Faki stated that the agreements were in place for the children to be handed over to UNICEF with the goal to return the children to their families in two to three month's time. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The GOC gets credit in our book for largely following our recommendations (REFTELS) to "take the high road" with Sudan (both militarily and diplomatically) and mediators and Chad rebels following its repulse of the rebel attack last month, although we were not the only ones suggesting restraint, prudence, and patience to the GOC. We agree that the AU has been ineffective in bringing two member states to a better way of dealing with their problems. Fortunately, there are other mediators to choose from, including efforts by SE Gration. END COMMENT. ¶9. (U) Minimize considered. NIGRO