AMBASSADOR RICE URGES UGANDAN PRESIDENT TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000269

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO SU AF
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR RICE URGES UGANDAN PRESIDENT TO
PRESSURE BASHIR ON NGO EXPULSIONS

Classified By: Ambassador Susan E. Rice for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: On March 16, Ambassador Rice spoke by phone
with Ugandan President Museveni to urge him to speak with
Sudanese President Bashir concerning the recent expulsion of
13 NGOs from Darfur. Rice said that, even if Uganda's
position on the ICC indictment of Bashir differed from the
U.S. position, at a minimum, we could agree that expulsion of
humanitarian NGOs is a decision that should not be tolerated.
Museveni agreed to speak with Bashir, indicating that he
would inform Rice about his conversation and that Uganda
would publicly state that interference with relief efforts in
Sudan is not acceptable. End Summary.


2. (C) Ambassador Rice called President Museveni primarily
to discuss Sudan, but began the March 16 conversation by
expressing condolences for the March 9 plane crash into
Uganda's Lake Victoria which was carrying both equipment and
peacekeepers to the African Union Mission in Somalia
(AMISOM). Rice thanked Museveni for Ugandan's contribution
to AMISOM. Regarding Sudan, Rice noted that even though the
U.S. and Uganda have taken ostensibly different positions
regarding the ICC arrest warrant against Bashir, we have
common goals for our policy in Sudan. Rice said that the ICC
decision should not impede progress on implementation of the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the conflict
between northern and southern Sudan, nor should it slow down
deployment of the joint AU/UN Hybrid Mission in Darfur
(UNAMID).


3. (C) Turning to Bashir's decision to expel humanitarian
NGOs, Ambassador Rice said the United States is deeply
concerned that lifesaving assistance for more than fifty
percent of the population in Darfur would be affected. She
stated that this is a concern shared at the highest level of
U.S. government -- by President Obama and Secretary Clinton.
She noted that the UN estimates 1.5 million people could be
at risk of losing their lives. Rice also said that these
expulsions -- if they do result in the loss of lives -- could
become the basis for additional charges of genocide and war
crimes against Bashir. She asked Museveni to speak with
Bashir and to convey that it is not acceptable to use the
lives of his people as a weapon in his fight against the ICC.


4. (C) Museveni agreed that the expulsion of NGOs from
Darfur was not acceptable and said he would speak with
Bashir. Museveni said that he would convey Uganda's
willingness to take a public position on the expulsions
should Bashir not reverse his decision. Ambassador Rice
responded that there should be AU solidarity on the issue of
expulsions and that the AU should not stand by and allow 1.5
million people in Darfur to die. She offered to speak to any
of Museveni's colleagues, if that would be helpful. Museveni
said that Uganda would help to build a coalition on the issue
of the expulsions.


5. (C) Ambassador Rice also conveyed to Museveni that the
United States' strong preference was not to escalate tensions
with Sudan and not to adopt a confrontational approach. The
United States would prefer to work together, with the
Government of Sudan, to implement the CPA and to peacefully
resolve the conflict in Darfur. However, Rice said that if
the GOS persists in violence against its own people, the
United States would be forced to examine other forms of
pressure that could be applied against the GOS.
Rice