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C O N F I D E N T I A L ASMARA 000856 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/16/2016 
TAGS: PREL PINR PGOV ER SU
SUBJECT: EASTERN SUDAN PEACE AGREEMENT (ESPA) SIGNED 
 
REF: A. ASMARA 829 B.ASMARA 802 
 
Classified By: CDA K. Andrew Wroblewski, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  On October 14, 2006, the Eastern 
Sudan Peace Agreement (ESPA) was signed in Asmara, 
Eritrea.  Senior level officials from the region 
attended the signing ceremony which was presided 
over by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, Sudanese 
President Omar Hassan Ahmed Al-Bashir and Sudanese 
First Vice President Salva Kiir.  While the 
agreement has many shortcomings, the Eastern Front, 
Government of National Unity (GNU) and Eritrean 
mediator were all genuinely pleased with the 
outcome. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) On October 14, the Eastern Front and GNU 
signed the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement (ESPA) in 
Asmara, Eritrea.  While Afwerki, Al-Bashir and Kiir 
presided over the signing, a number of other senior 
officials were also present namely the President of 
Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelle; the Secretary General 
of the Arab League, Mr. Amr Mousa; Egyptian Foreign 
Minister, Mr. Ahmed Abulkheit; Yemeni Foreign 
Minister, Dr. Abubaker Al-Khurbi as well as the 
Kuwait Minister for Emirate Affairs, Sheik Nasser 
Asubah Al-Ahmed. 
 
¶3. (C) The chairmen of each of the delegations, 
Mussa Mohammed Ahmed for the Eastern Front and 
Mustafa Osman Ismail for the GNU briefly addressed 
the audience.  Each thanked the GSE for their role 
in bringing peace to Eastern Sudan and highlighted 
the benefit of not having the international 
community involved in the mediation. They further 
highlighted the need to now turn their attention to 
Darfur and seek a resolution of that crisis. 
President Al-Bashir also spoke, expressing his 
profound thanks to President Isaias and Eritrea for 
their constructive role in mediating the peace 
process in a timely way. 
 
¶4. (C)  After a break for Iftar and prayers, 
President Isaias addressed the audience (see septel 
for full text) stressing the importance of this 
agreement in the overall stability of Sudan.  He 
claimed the agreement "constitutes one of the 
building blocks of comprehensive peace in the 
Sudan."  While Isaias heaped much of the success of 
the ESPA process on the Eastern Front and GNU, 
particularly the leaders of the delegations and the 
GNU leadership, he could not let the opportunity 
slip to disparage the international community. 
First, he focused on the concept of "international 
community" claiming that the term "represents the 
interests of the only superpower and its ilk to the 
exclusion of all others."  Then Isaias went on to 
highlight some "cardinal issues," namely cautioning 
regional partners about the "paramount importance 
of withstanding external interference, as well as 
countering overt and covert meddling."  Much of 
President Isaias' speech was met with enthused 
outbursts from members of the National Congress 
Party (NCP) and other GNU delegates, however the 
Eastern Front remained very quiet throughout his 
speech. 
 
¶5. (U) Following the speeches, Mussa Mohammed Ahmed 
and Mustafa Osman Ismail signed the agreement.  The 
ESPA is composed of six parts: Political Issues; 
Economic, Social and Cultural Issues; Comprehensive 
Ceasefire and Security Arrangements; Consultative 
Conference on ESPA; Implementation Modalities and 
Timeline; and General Provisions.  (Note: The Full 
text of the agreement has been sent via email to 
SPG and Khartoum.  Many of the details are spelled 
out in ref A and B.  End Note). 
 
¶6. (U) The ESPA calls for the parties to hold a 
consultative conference within thirty days of 
signing the Agreement.  Per ref B, the consultative 
conference is expected to be held in Tesseney, 
Eritrea in early November.  The aim of the 
consultative conference will be publicizing and 
mobilizing support for the ESPA; building up 
momentum and providing a conducive atmosphere for 
the timely and effective implementation of the 
ESPA; and providing a forum for all stakeholders to 
present their observations and recommendations to 
the national and Eastern Sudan authorities. 
Similarly the ESPA calls for the creation of a 
Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) composed of 
representatives of the GNU and Eastern Front to 
monitor the implementation of the ESPA and to be 
set up within thirty days of the signing of the 
Agreement.  Vice President Kiir will chair the JIC 
and the to-be-named Assistant to the President from 
Eastern Sudan will be the vice-chair. 
 
¶7. (C) Comment:  Post was not surprised by the 
anti-international community rhetoric throughout 
the ceremony.  We believe that Isaias was using the 
opportunity to again show the Sudanese that he too 
can take a strong stance against the role of 
international community - specifically the U.S. - 
in the issues of Sudan and the Horn of Africa. 
Isaias' rhetoric appears to reinforce the GSE's 
determination to garner Sudanese and regional 
support for Eritrea to take the lead in finding a 
solution to Darfur. End Comment. 
WROBLEWSKI