CHADIAN REBELS REACT TO JANUARY 15 NDJAMENA ACCORD;

C O N F I D E N T I A L KHARTOUM 000077

SENSITIVE
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NSC FOR MGAVIN, LETIM
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/01/28
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR CD SU
SUBJECT: CHADIAN REBELS REACT TO JANUARY 15 NDJAMENA ACCORD;
REITERATE CALLS FOR TALKS WITH GOC

CLASSIFIED BY: Robert E. Whitehead, Charge d'Affaires; REASON: 1.4B,
D


1. (C) Summary: On January 27,CDA met with a glum Union des Forces
de la Resistance (UFR) President Timan Erdimi, Second Vice
President Abdulwahid Aboud Makaye, and Secretary General Abakar
Tollimi. Appearing only vaguely aware of the January 15 Ndjamena
Accord (reftel),they asserted it was doomed to fail because
Chadian President Idris Deby was acting in bad faith. They praised
the GOS for its outreach to Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)
Chairman Khalil Ibrahim and urged that President Deby do the same,
noting they are eager for reconciliation. End Summary.


2. (C) CDA asked the Chadian rebel leadership for their thoughts on
the January 15 Njdamena Accord, and its impact on their plans.
Erdimi noted that he had not received a copy of the agreement, nor
was he familiar with its contents. But he wryly noted it was not
the first agreement signed to normalize Chad-Sudan relations, and
he expected it to fail like the others. Makaye added that President
Deby was untrustworthy, with a history of acting in bad faith.
Anything Deby signs is worthless, he said.


3. (C) The rebel leadership slammed Deby for continuing to deny
their existence and refusing calls for reconciliation, with Tollimi
noting the EU-led initiative to facilitate talks with the GOC
remains at a standstill. UFR has received no response to its
roadmap document, he said. On the contrary, said Makaye, the GOS
was acting in good faith by reaching out to JEM's Khalil Ibrahim
despite his refusal to travel to Doha himself for peace talks and
JEM's continued incursions into North Darfur from the Chad-Sudan
border region. (Note: In mid-2009, Chadian rebel forces were
cantoned over 100 km away from the Chadian border as a sign of good
faith. End Note.)


4. (C) On the subject of elections, Tollimi noted that at this
moment transparent and credible elections in Chad were an
impossibility, given that that President Deby had co-opted domestic
opposition. He remarked that in comparison elections in Sudan
appear credible, with serious opposition candidates such as the
SPLM's Yassir Arman and Umma's Sadiq al Mahdi. In Sudan political
parties remain financially autonomous, he said, noting that in Chad
that is not the case.


5. (C) Asked if they had any messages for the USG, the UFR
leadership reiterated their desire to begin talks with the GOC and
urged increased political pressure on President Deby to submit to
talks. "If Deby continues to refuse a dialogue, what options do we
have?" asked Makaye.


6. (C) Comment: It appears that the GOS has shared little detail of
the January 15 Ndjamena Accord with UFR, but remains keen to
dialogue with JEM. Deby's continued failure to reach out to Chad's
armed opposition leaves them little choice other than to cool their
heels in Sudan and hope that the GOS does not disarm and canton
them as de facto refugees.
WHITEHEAD