GOC SHOULD BUILD ON MOMENTUM TOWARD NORMAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NDJAMENA 000311 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR AF/C AND S/USSES NSC FOR GAVIN LONDON FOR POL - LORD PARIS FOR POL - KANEDA ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR AU E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PREF SU LY QA CD SUBJECT: GOC SHOULD BUILD ON MOMENTUM TOWARD NORMAL RELATIONS WITH SUDAN AND RECONCILIATION WITH CHAD REBELS, AMB TELLS FORMIN FAKI, FRESH FROM DC REF: A. NDJAMENA 306 ¶B. NDJAMENA 283 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Ambassador Nigro told FORMIN Faki July 24 that GOC should build on the momentum created by his successful visit to Washington and productive talks with senior USG policy makers to move forward on normalization of Chad-Sudan relations by ending the "proxy war" between the two countries' surrogates. He recommended that the GOC keep up the pressure applied in President Deby's interview with JEM's Khalil Ibrahim two weeks ago and which apparently led to JEM's unilateral release of prisoners last week, and said that SE Gration sought an end-state in which Sudanese civilians in Chad were and acted as "refugees," not potential combatants or political activists, and in which Sudanese in Darfur were and acted as political activists and members of civil society, not combatants or rebels. Ambassador added that the GOC should be thinking of how to match Khartoum's offer to verify steps it took vis-a-vis Chad rebels on its territory with a concrete mechanism to permit, indeed, to encourage independent verification of steps it had or will take vis-a-vis Sudanese rebels on its territory: e.g., "closing its border to rebels." ¶2. (SBU) Faki responded that the GOC would continue to cooperate seriously with SE Gration's efforts, as well as those of the Dakar Accord Contact Group to normalize Chad-Sudan relations, as a way of promoting/facilitating peace in Darfur, but warned that the GOC could not trust the GOS to live up to its promises and reiterated Chad's insistence that only the USG had sufficient influence with the GOS to ensure or "guarantee" that Khartoum delivered on its promises. Faki said that the GOC had kept its commitment to seek reconciliation with Chad rebels tired of Sudanese sponsorship, both on an individual basis (citing the more than 1,500 ex-rebels who had returned to Chad since mid-May) and as movements (he predicted imminent agreement in Tripoli between the GOC and Ahmat Soubiane, leader of the FSR rebel group). Faki repeated that Chad did not host JEM or any other armed Sudanese group "as an armed group" and revealed that the GOC had offered Libya, also intent on bringing Chad and Sudan together by ending support to armed proxies, to send teams "anywhere in Chad, now and any other time" to verify Chadian commitment to prevent any "act of agression coming from Chadian soil." ¶3. (SBU) Faki was appropriately appreciative of his reception in Washington, especially his meetings with the Secretary and A/S Carson. Soubiane's return to Chad July 26 registered a major success for "intra-Chadian diplomacy," albeit with Libyan support, removing an important "historic" figure from the rebellion. Faki's declaration that the GOC was indeed open to on-site verification of its commitment to break militarily with JEM is good news. END SUMMARY. -------------- FAKI RAVES ABOUT USG RECEPTION IN DC -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The FORMIN was very appreciative of the reception he received during his visit with USG officials in Washington. He was especially pleased at The ecretary's willingness to meet with him and was impressed with her regard for Chad's role in regional issues. Faki told us that he personally felt that his meeting with The Secretary had helped further the USG-GOC bilateral relationship. The FORMIN added that his meeting with A/S Carson was highly informative and frank, appreciating the variety of issues and political dynamics that the A/S discussed. Faki said that his meeting with SE Gration's team only served to strengthen the GOC's support of SE Gration's efforts and further commit Chad to being a positive actor pursuing peace in Darfur. The FORMIN expressed to us his thanks that all his meetings with USG interlocutors, including those at NSC and DOD, demonstrated the USG's commitment to Chad and willingness to help. NDJAMENA 00000311 002 OF 003 -------------- GOC APPRECIATES USG SUPPORT -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The FORMIN enumerated that expressions of support he received during his trip. He specifically noted the USG's support in re-establishing Chad's relationship with the IFIs, pointing to Chad's recent agreement with the IMF. He said he was grateful for USG efforts to support the election process in Chad, a process that has also seen recent positive developments. The FORMIN said he understood USG concerns regarding trafficking issues, especially child soldiers and believed that, through working with the USG and UNICEF, Chad could implement effective measures to address these concerns. -------------- GOC NEEDS TO SHOW PROOF OF COMMITMENT -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Ambassador Nigro told Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat July 24 that the GOC should build on momentum created by his successful visit to Washington and productive talks with senior USG policy makers to move forward on normalization of Chad-Sudan relations by ending the "proxy war" between the two countries' surrogates. ¶7. (SBU) Ambassador suggested that GOC keep up the pressure applied in Chadian President Deby's interview with JEM's Khalil Ibrahim two weeks ago and which apparently led to JEM's unilateral release of prisoners last week. Ambassador said that SE Gration sought an end-state in which Sudanese civilians in Chad were and acted as "refugees," not potential combatants or political activists, and that Sudanese in Darfur were and acted as political activists and members of civil society, but not combatants or rebels. Ambassador added that the GOC should be thinking of how to match Khartoum's offer to verify steps it took vis-a-vis Chad rebels on its territory with concrete mechanisms to permit, indeed, to encourage independent verification of steps it had or will take vis-a-vis Sudanese rebels on its territory: e.g., "closing its border to rebels." -------------- GOC COMMITMENT TO POSITIVE RELATIONS -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Faki responded that the GOC would continue to cooperate seriously with SE Gration's efforts, as well as those of the Dakar Accord Contact Group to normalize Chad-Sudan relations, as a way of promoting and facilitating peace in Darfur. Faki warned, however, that the GOC could not trust the GOS to live up to its promises and reiterated Chad's insistence that only the USG had sufficient influence with the GOS to ensure or "guarantee" that Khartoum delivered on its promises. Faki said that the GOC had kept its commitment to seek reconciliation with Chad rebels tired of Sudanese sponsorship, both on an individual basis (he repeated that more than a thousand/1800 rebels had crossed the border peacefully since mid-May) and as movements (he cited continuing Libyan-sponsored talks in Tripoli between the GOC and Ahmat Soubiane, leader of the FSR rebel group, and predicted an agreement according to Sirte Accord rules imminently.) -------------- GOC OFFERS LIBYA VERIFICATION -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Faki repeated that Chad did not host JEM or any other armed Sudanese group "as an armed group" and revealed that the GOC had offered Libya --also intent on bringing Chad and Sudan together by ending support to armed proxies -- to send teams "anywhere in Chad, now and any other time" to verify Chadian denial of such support and sponsorship of Sudanese rebels on Chad soil. He added that the GOC supported SE Gration's position of JEM committing to a ceasefire before achieving a final resolution on Darfur. -------------- NDJAMENA 00000311 003 OF 003 COMMENT -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Faki was correct about Soubiane's agreement to end his armed rebellion, which removes one prestigious "historic" figure from the rebel leadership. Faki's declaration that the GOC was indeed open to on-site verification of its commitment to break militarily with JEM is good news. Faki returned very impressed with the reception he received in the Department, DOD, NSC and elsewhere in Washington. We have long been recommending that more senior GOC figures travel to friendly capitals, Washington and Paris as well as New York, to "tell Chad's story" to senior policymakers. ¶11. (U) Minimize considered. NIGRO