VZCZCXRO5319
OO RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #0327/01 0691445
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 101445Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3207
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000327 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR A A/S CARTER, AF/SPG, AF/E 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
NSC FOR CHUDSON 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2019 
TAGS: ASEC PREL PGOV PPKO SOCI AU SU
SUBJECT: TURABI: FREE AT LAST - BUT WHY, AND WHAT'S GOING 
ON WITH THE NCP? 
 
Classified By: CDA Alberto M. Fernandez, reasons 1.4(b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On March 10, CDA Fernandez met with Popular 
Congress Party leader Dr. Hassan al-Turabi at his house in 
Khartoum.  Turabi, who was released from Port Sudan prison on 
March 9, appeared in good health and talked about his 
treatment in prison, the strange nature of his release, and 
the most recent political crisis brought on by the National 
Congress Party's actions over the past week. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C) Turabi and his entourage were in high spirits from the 
PCP leader's March 9 release from confinement in Port Sudan. 
Though he appeared jubilant and in quite good health, Turabi 
claimed his treatment was "extremely bad" in prison, where he 
was isolated from the general population and not given 
contact with the outside world save a short weekly visit from 
his family.  He said he developed a "serious cold" and "very 
high blood pressure" from his time in jail. 
 
¶3. (C) When asked why he had been released on March 9, Turabi 
replied "I don't know!"  He hypothesized that "if the NCP is 
going to talk to (Justice and Equality Movement leader) 
Khalil Ibrahim anyway," whom the regime has often accused him 
of supporting, "maybe they figured they should just talk to 
the source."  He also suggested it may have been a favor for 
the Qataris' support for Darfur peace talks. Turabi noted 
that his release appeared very hastily organized - instead of 
the usual calculated, press-making announcement he had 
expected might happen, he instead was loaded onto a plane in 
Port Sudan at 1AM (at which point he assumed he was being 
transferred back to Kober Prison in Khartoum) and was only 
told of his release when he was several blocks from his house 
in Khartoum.  He thanked the U.S. embassy for its support 
throughout his incarceration, noting with our press release 
in hand that the U.S. government was "the only one to do so." 
 
¶4. (C) Noting the recent reaction by the Sudanese government 
after the issuance of an arrest warrant by the International 
Criminal Court, Turabi said that he "hadn't realized how 
extreme that President Bashir had become" over the past 
couple of months.  "This is not the time to take on the whole 
lot, this is not a true politician's decision," he said. 
"Bashir is acting like a boy with a stick - where is the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs?  Where have all the diplomats 
gone?" 
 
¶5. (C) Pointing to both the circumstances surrounding his 
release and the decision to expel NGOs, Turabi claimed that 
the NCP is "confused and behaving wildly."  He continued, 
saying "this erratic behavior is something you might expect 
from an individual or two, but not an institution.  They (the 
NCP) are looking weak and moody, not strong."  Turabi said 
that he had talked to members of Bashir's family and advised 
them that the President "should remain above the fray" 
instead of "dancing on a stage for CNN to see" but even those 
closest to him cannot rein him in now. 
 
¶6. (C) Asked about any conditions for his release, Turabi 
claimed "no one ever approached us," and also noted that 
seven other members of the Popular Congress Party remain in 
jail.  Turabi ridiculed the idea that Bashir is experiencing 
new-found popularity, noting that he "saw the same thing 
happen with (former dictator) Nimeri - everyone whipped up a 
frenzy, and then he fell."  Warning of a possible coup in the 
coming weeks, he added that "the South is worried, and the 
people of Darfur will not negotiate with a fugitive."  He 
concluded the meeting by merrily proposing that President 
Bashir should go the ICC "and save his country, defend his 
name" and not let the ICC issue drag all of Sudan down with 
him. A man should sacrifice for his country but the country 
shouldn't be sacrificed for one man. 
 
¶7. (C) COMMENT: Not even isolation in Port Sudan's prison 
could wipe the smile off of Turabi's face as he explained 
what he sees as the brewing instability within the NCP. 
While the inveterate intriguer clearly has good reason to 
want to see the NCP fall from grace (having been booted from 
the government almost ten years ago after being the guiding 
force of the NIF regime for over a decade) he has apparently 
been briefed on the NCP's ill-advised decision to expel NGOs 
and the division this has created within the NCP.  We have 
heard that some in the NCP do not agree with the expulsion of 
the NGOs, and we expect to see growing fissures in the party 
in the coming weeks.  However, we have heard from several 
 
KHARTOUM 00000327  002 OF 002 
 
 
sources that Vice President Taha -- the alleged regime 
moderate -- authorized the expulsion order and at the senior 
ranks of the party there appears to be relative unanimity 
around the decision to expel NGOs.  Turabi's release may be 
viewed in that light - an effort to quell the dissension 
among Islamists in the NCP who do not want to see their own 
master suffer unnecessarily - as the NCP cannot afford too 
many internal fissures during this confrontation with the 
international community. 
FERNANDEZ