NEW SUDAN DCM ON CHAD-SUDAN RELATIONS: "DIPLOMACY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NDJAMENA 000350

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/C, S/USSES
NSC FOR GAVIN
LONDON FOR POL - LORD
PARIS FOR POL - KANEDA
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR AU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/19/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PREF MOPS SU LY QA PINR CD
SUBJECT: NEW SUDAN DCM ON CHAD-SUDAN RELATIONS: "DIPLOMACY
NOT VIOLENCE WILL RESOLVE CHAD-SUDAN ISSUES."

REF: NDJAMENA 343

Classified By: P/E Andrea Tomaszewicz for reasons 1.4(b) and 1.4(d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) Sudanese DCM gave POLOFF August 18 an overview of
Chad-Sudan issues, stressing that the GOS sought
international pressure on JEM to return to Doha, and that the
GOS itself was pressuring Chadian rebels to return to Chad.
DCM expressed his desire to have Chad-Sudan relations
"normalize" and wished for Sudanese refugees to return home
now. Along the same lines, he wanted to improve Sudan's
reputation in the international community and media and
expressed his personal view that the removal of NISS DG Ghosh
would help that cause. He provided more background on the
shuttered Sudanese school in N'Djamena, but had no answers
about its future. DCM is the most accessible and voluble
Sudanese interlocutor we have had here in the past two years.
He may well be a better source for local GOS perspective on
Chad-Sudan issues than his amiable but normally taciturn and
relatively inaccessible Ambassador. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) Sudanese Deputy Chief of Mission Elzein Ibrahim
Hussein met poloff August 18 for a courtesy call that turned
into an exposition on a variety of Sudan and Chad related
topics. Ibrahim, who arrived two months ago, is one of three
diplomats at the Sudanese mission in N'Djamena. See bio in
para 11.

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PRESSURE JEM TO RETURN TO DOHA
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3. (C) Ibrahim wanted the international community,
especially the USG, to put pressure on JEM leader Khalil
Ibrahim to return to negotiations in Doha. Ibrahim stated
that the GOS was ready and willing to actively negotiate with
Khalil and JEM. At the same time, Ibrahim ranted about the
GOC support to the JEM, claiming that JEM was throughout
N'Djamena. "I pass them and know who they are," Ibrahim
said, "but I have no mandate to speak with them." He was
aware of recent rebel discussions, including JEM, in Tripoli
but said that he did not have any information on the talks'
progress.


4. (C) Ibrahim also claimed that the GOS was not conducting
any "operations" in Darfur, only reacting to rebel activity.
"When JEM brings its guns across the border, we have to
defend ourselves," he stated.

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GOS WANTS CHADIAN REBELS OUT
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5. (SBU) Ibrahim said that Sudan supported that Chadian
rebel groups, but that the GOS wanted them to return to Chad.
He said that the GOS felt that the return of the rebels to
Chad would create stability in Chad, which the GOS felt was a
precursor to peace in Darfur.

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CHAD-SUDAN RELATIONS
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6. (C) Ibrahim expressed his personal view that the removal
of Salah Ghosh as NISS chief was a good move by his
government. He noted that there was a terrible view of Sudan
in the international community and media and felt that
Ghosh's removal would improve Sudan's image. He said that he
had heard Chadians react positively to the news. Despite the
positive Chadian reaction, Ibrahim said that he felt tense
about being a Sudanese in Chad and expressed concern about
the gendarmerie, who are responsible for protecting
diplomatic premises. He noted that there were only two
diplomats at the Mission in addition to the Ambassador and
that none would bring families until relations "normalized."


7. (SBU) Referring to the August 31 AU special session in
Tripoli (Ref A),Ibrahim believed that President Bashir would

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go for the September 1 Revolution Day. He acknowledged
Tripoli's efforts to bring about "normalized relations"
between Chad and Sudan but only hinted that something might
emerge from the Tripoli visit.


8. (SBU) Ibrahim attended, along with Acting PAO and
members of the dipcorps, some the GOC's August 11 National
Day "dinner-dance," hosted by President Deby, that featured
anti-Sudanese "patriotic songs," anti-Sudanese stand-up
comedian remarks and other anti-Sudan elements. According to
Acting PAO, Ibrahim seemed to take the event in stride and
observed that "Chadians were not very civilized when it came
to manners."

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REFUGEES SHOULD RETURN TO SUDAN NOW
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9. (C) Ibrahim believed that the refugees in eastern Chad
were being kept there by JEM, whose troops patrolled along
the Chadian side of the border to keep the refugees from
returning to Sudan. He thought that the refugees should
return to Sudan now. "We have IDP camps and UNAMID. They
can come back to one of the IDP camps." He was concerned,
however, by the USG refugee resettlement program and felt
that it wasn't necessary for a "short war" like Darfur, but
only appropriate in situations with longer conflicts. He
believed that the Chadian government was involved in choosing
the refugees. He claimed that all the Darfuri refugees who
had been resettled by the USG were all Zaghawa, because of
their affiliation to the tribe of Chadian President Deby and
JEM's Khalil Ibrahim. Only here for two months, Ibrahim said
that he wanted to go to eastern Chad and visit the refugee
camps, but only with MINURCAT's protection, as he didn't want
hostile refugees turning on the Sudanese government's
representative. He promised to share his reactions with
poloff.

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UNCERTAIN FUTURE FOR SHUTTERED SUDANESE SCHOOL
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10. (SBU) Ibrahim felt that the closure of the Sudanese
school in N'Djamena was a result of Ministry of Interior
(MOI) officials taking personal action as a result of
President Deby's public tirade against Sudan in the wake of
the May 2009 rebel attacks. Ibrahim said that the closure
came from a MOI directive to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(MFA),which limited the MFA's ability to take action.
Ibrahim complained that the closure of the school -- grades
kindergarten through high school level -- had left more than
1,000 Chadian students without access to education, since the
language of instruction had been Arabic and these students
were unable to integrate into the Chadian French-language
schools. He said that the GOS had helped more than 20
students graduating with a baccalaureate to go to Khartoum to
continue their studies. He added that the government's
political party, MPS, would probably want to see the
situation resolved soon so that out-of-school children did
not turn into a lost vote for the party during elections.

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BIO: ELZEIN IBRAHIM HUSSEIN
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11. (SBU) Elzein Ibrahim Hussein is not new to the Sudanese
foreign service and looks to be in his mid-thirties. Having
studied French at the University of Khartoum and in France,
he claimed to be known as one of the francophones within his
ministry. He stated that he served in Sudanese missions in
Algiers and Paris before returning to Khartoum last year. He
said that while most Sudanese diplomats like to go to Europe,
"Mutriff" (referring to MFA U/S Mutriff Siddiq who had been
discussed earlier in the conversation) had told him that he
was a "strong one," needing Ibrahim to go to Chad. The
conversation was in both French and English and, although
Ibrahim claimed to have only studied "classical, not
American" English in Sudanese schools, his levels of
conversation and comprehension were quite high. He made a
point of saying he used to watch Oprah and other American TV
programs. He is from South Kordofan, is married and has
children. His family lives in Sudan.

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COMMENT
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12. (C) Ibrahim was eager to meet and seemed unable to keep
from sharing his view points during the discussion. He
apologized for bringing up such subjects during what he
termed "a courtesy call." He repeatedly underscored that he
and poloff were "the diplomats" and therefore were meant to
work together, solving problems caused by "those gun-toters."
He seemed a bit arrogant in general and condescending
towards Chad in particular, but managed to concede that "at
least it is better here than Somalia." DCM is the most
accessible and voluble Sudanese interlocutor we have had here
in the past two years. He may well be a better source for
local GOS perspective on Chad-Sudan issues than his amiable
but normally taciturn and relatively inaccessible Ambassador.
END COMMENT.


13. (U) Minimize considered.
NIGRO