VZCZCXRO6654
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0270 0370753
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 060753Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1281
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L KHARTOUM 000270 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/06/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR SU
SUBJECT: RESPONSE TO KIIR: PRESS ATTACKS AND MORE COMMITTEES 
 
REF: KHARTOUM 00229 
 
Classified By: POL Michael Honigstein, Reasons: Section 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  In the week following Salva Kiir,s 
provocative interview (reftel), the Arabic press and 
government-controlled newspapers have attacked Kiir for 
making unfounded accusations and for not working within the 
CPA.  The government has denied Kiir,s claims that the South 
has not received its share of the oil money, announced the 
second meeting of the National Petroleum Commission (NPC), 
and vowed to form committees to assess the relationship 
between the SPLM and the NCP.  In the meantime, Kiir, 
Government of National Unity (GNU) First Vice President and 
President of the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS), has 
gone back to his normal approach in public meetings and 
statements.  End Summary. 
 
---------------------- 
Press on the Offensive 
---------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) Ever since Salva Kiir,s January 28 interview, when 
he delivered an out-of-character public attack of the NCP 
(reftel), the Arabic-language and pro-government newspapers 
have been criticizing Kiir.  There have been daily editorials 
condemning Kiir for unwarranted attacks and calling on him to 
work within the established mechanisms of the CPA. 
 
¶3.  (U) These newspapers contend that the CPA has shown a 
great deal of progress in its implementation, citing the 
establishment of the GNU and the GoSS, and the forming of 
almost every commission.  A few have even said that Kiir is 
the problem:  he still considers the NCP an enemy and not a 
partner, and he wants the CPA to fail so the south can 
separate.  The papers do not directly address Kiir,s 
accusations that the commissions have been delayed and 
ineffective, or that the SPLM has been marginalized in the 
GNU.  They also make no mention of the sensitive Abyei 
boundary issues. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Government Responds Quietly, Kiir Returns to Calm 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶4.  (U) Meanwhile, the GNU has responded to some of Kiir,s 
criticisms.  Government officials have only made one direct 
response, saying that they have provided the GoSS with its 
full share of the oil revenues:  $702 million dollars for 
¶2005.  The GoSS claims that it has not received that amount, 
and believes that it is entitled to $1.5 billion.  However, 
without directly addressing Kiir,s statements, the GNU has 
called the second meeting of the petroleum commission for 
February 6, and GNU Minister of Cabinet Affairs Deng Alor 
(SPLM) has announced that the cabinet will form committees to 
look into various aspects of SPLM and NCP relations.  Second 
Vice President Ali Osman Taha, recently returned to Khartoum 
from the Hajj, told the press that he has received several 
reports on the progress of CPA implementation. 
 
¶5.  (U) Kiir, for his part, has gone back to business as 
usual.  In a meeting with a visiting IMF delegation, also 
attended by the Minister of Finance and National Economy 
(NCP), press reports that Kiir followed the official 
government line.  In a statement on Darfur, he promised to 
send additional experienced negotiators to Abuja, but did not 
directly attack the current government position. 
 
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Comment 
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¶6.  (C) While Kiir has returned to being less aggressive, the 
SPLM appears newly emboldened.  To continue to establish 
itself as a national party, the SPLM held a political rally 
in Omdurman led by Yassir Arman, Chairman of the SPLM 
National Assembly Caucus and lead SPLM negotiator in Abuja. 
Other speakers participating were all from the SPLM,s 
northern ranks.  Deng Alor has also used his position to take 
a higher profile, but it is unclear how his committees, and 
the reports Taha received, will relate to the Assessment and 
Evaluation Commission (AEC).  Alor, however, did meet with 
the chairman of the AEC this week.  All of these actions may 
have been timed to coincide with Rebecca Garang,s 
high-profile trip to Washington, although the visit has 
received little coverage in the pro-government press. 
HUME