VZCZCXRO6455
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHMOS RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0467 0541234
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 231234Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1592
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000467 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.  12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SOCI PINR KPKO UN AU SU
SUBJECT:  Sudan:  Full Court Press Against UN 
Intervention Continues 
 
REF: Khartoum 447 
 
¶1.  The Government of Sudan is continuing its intensive 
public and diplomatic efforts to oppose UN intervention 
in Darfur.  In addition to a significant media blitz, and 
the public chastising of SRSG Jan Pronk, the government 
has pushed in the National Assembly.  Foreign Minister 
Lam Akol addressed the body on February 22, blasting 
international intervention as a threat to sovereignty and 
an escalation of the crisis.  The Assembly then passed a 
resolution expressing opposition to any foreign 
involvement in Darfur.  The resolution was reported to be 
unanimous, although members of several parties, including 
the SPLM, insisted on verbiage that highlighted a 
negotiated peace in Abuja as the best means to avert 
foreign interference.  The other legislative body, the 
Council of States, is currently considering an emergency 
session to address the same issue. 
 
¶2.  The press also reported that President Omar al-Bashir 
called Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss 
Darfur.  Iranian Vice President Ahmed Musavi used a 
meeting with the new Sudanese ambassador in Tehran to 
express his desire for Sudan and Iran to collaborate in 
order to resist Western interference in Muslim nations. 
In Algiers, Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa 
declared that the African Union and the Arab League are 
the appropriate fora to resolve this crisis; the Arab 
League Summit will be held in Khartoum at the end of 
March.  The Sudanese also registered their opposition 
with the visiting British Secretary of State for 
International Development Hilary Benn. 
 
¶3.  Additionally, a major aspect of the government 
strategy for preventing UN rehatting has involved 
outreach to civil society and other political parties. 
Assistant to the President and Deputy Chair of the 
National Congress Party (NCP) Nafie Ali Nafie held a 
meeting with parties within the government to develop an 
opposition strategy.  Meanwhile, a newspaper reported 
that Vice President Ali Osman Taha plans to reach out to 
opposition party leader Hassan al-Turabi to develop a 
unified Islamic front.  Turabi, who is reportedly 
associated with the rebel Justice and Equality Movement 
(JEM) in Darfur, has dismissed the possibility of a 
meeting.  The Sudanese Popular Organization Defending 
Creed and Homeland, a radical fundamentalist Islamic 
organization with ties to the NCP, has released a 
statement calling for a strong and united Islamic 
opposition to international engagement. 
 
HUME