VZCZCXRO7069
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0796/01 0891326
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 301326Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2112
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 KHARTOUM 000796 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SOCI AL US SU
SUBJECT:  Pres. Bashir Interview with Al-Jazira at Arab 
League Summit 
 
 
¶1.  Summary:  In a March 29 interview with Al-Jazira, 
President Bashir said:  many southern forces had 
supported the government during the North-South civil 
war; Khartoum was both a northern state and the national 
capital subject to shari'ah law; the Arab League had 
pledged to support AMIS financially for six months and to 
provide additional troops; the U.S. had interest in Sudan 
in terms of both it as an electoral issue and for the 
sake of its oil; international peacekeeping troops would 
come to Darfur to stay and not to end the conflict there; 
the situation in Darfur was mischaracterized and did not 
involve mass killings; use of development assistance 
funds would keep Sudan united; and CPA implementation has 
been slowed by a variety of factors, due both to the 
actions of the North and the South.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  Following the March 28-29 Arab league heads of State 
Summit, Al-Jazirah television interviewed President 
Bashir.  The lengthy interview touched on a variety of 
sensitive issues, including Darfur, international 
peacekeeping troops, U.S. interests in Sudan, the North- 
South situation, and the implementation of the 
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).  Media reactions to 
President Bashir's statements will follow by septel. 
Selected excerpts are as follows: 
 
(Begin text excerpts) 
 
Sudan's South: 
 
Regrettably, the media depicted the issue of the South as 
a problem between an Arab Muslim North and a black 
Christian South.  If one looks at the formation of the 
fighting forces, he will discover that they do not 
reflect the picture some try to draw.  There were large 
southern forces which supported the government.  All the 
people heard about the militias.  These were one of the 
security problems.  These were huge militias in large 
numbers.  They represented very influential tribes in the 
South.  These militias fought alongside the government 
troops.  We say the problem is now over, praised be God. 
That problem caused us much trouble with many African 
countries.  They sympathized with the (Sudan) People's 
(Liberation) Movement and (words indistinct).  This has 
ended, praised be God.  After reaching peace in the 
South, we have become more qualified to be an element of 
support for Arab-African relations. 
 
The agreement (CPA) is very clear.  The agreement 
resulted in an interim constitution.  According to the 
constitution, every state has the right to have its own 
constitution but within the framework of the federal 
constitution.  I reject such talk (of the constitution of 
Khartoum being Taliban in nature). If talk is about our 
adherence to the shari'ah (Islamic law), that will then 
not be something new.  In the agreement we stressed that 
Islamic shari'ah is the source of legislation in northern 
Sudan.  Khartoum is a northern state and at the same time 
it is the national capital. 
 
The agreement gave the capital other things.  It said the 
representation of the South in Khartoum will be different 
from its representation in the rest of states. We have 
reached agreement on this representation in Khartoum with 
the People's Movement.  The second point is that a 
committee will be set up to guarantee the rights of non- 
Muslims in Khartoum.  If the people who talk want the 
constitution of Khartoum to be secular, there will be no 
need for a special committee to protect the rights of non- 
Muslims.  This means the constitution is Islamic and the 
laws are Islamic.  But under this Islamic constitution 
and these Islamic laws a committee was set up to protect 
the rights of non-Muslims in Khartoum. 
 
AMIS Support: 
 
With regard to financial aid, a figure was mentioned, but 
in internal deliberations the conferees said what is 
required is covering the expenses of troops for six 
months.  This is what was mentioned in the resolution. It 
said the Arab countries will cover the expenses of the 
African forces in Darfur for six months as of 1 
October...There is talk about increasing the number of 
these troops.  The number of the additional troops has 
not been decided.  Therefore, it is difficult to fix a 
sum.  The Arab countries pledged to pay the cost for six 
months. 
 
 
KHARTOUM 00000796  002 OF 005 
 
 
There is talk about sending Arab African peacekeeping 
forces to Darfur.  These are African forces from Arab 
African countries.  These countries will decide the size 
of these forces.  All the Arab African countries like 
Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, (words 
indistinct) which has still not become a full African 
Union member, and Mauritania.  These are the countries 
with military capabilities.  There are Egyptian observers 
in Darfur now.  The Libyans are there.  These are Egypt, 
Libya, and Algeria. 
 
U.S. Interests in Sudan: 
 
This question (of U.S. pressure) should be directed to 
the Americans.  Our problems have become one of the 
elements of the U.S. domestic policy.  Whenever there are 
elections in the United States, some files become part of 
the election campaign.  Regrettably, we have become part 
of the files of these election campaigns. Certainly there 
are political forces and forces of pressure in the 
Congress and in the U.S. media which talk about Darfur. 
The problem is that we have become part of the internal 
electoral files. 
 
Sudan's geographic location is very important.  We are 
located in the heart of Africa and overlook nine African 
countries and the Red Sea.  Sudan has huge resources.  It 
has oil, gas, and minerals of all types.  Sudan has water 
sources and fertile soil.  All these are the object of 
the ambitions of others.  If we look at the map of 
Africa, we will find that the countries where there are 
big problems are the ones with large capabilities.  You 
will find Congo, which has a huge wealth of gold and 
diamond.  You will find Angola and Sudan.  I recall that 
once a company contacted the Senegalese president 
offering to prospect for oil in Senegal, but he said I do 
not want problems; I do not want prospecting.  This is 
one thing.  The other thing is the position of Sudan.  We 
have an independent political position.  We rejected many 
of the U.S. policies in the region.  We strongly rejected 
the invasion of Iraq.  We continue to reject all calls to 
recognize Israel or normalize relations with it.  All 
these create a political force targeting Sudan within the 
United States and for all sorts of reasons.  I will give 
you a simple example.  Oil in Sudan was discovered by 
U.S. firms.  They came and prospected for oil. They dug 
tens of wells.  They might have defined the oil reserves. 
At that time they had enough oil and did not need 
additional oil.  They left in the hope of returning.  We 
heard from some Americans that this is American oil and 
they will not leave it to the Chinese, Malaysians, and 
others. 
 
We are an independent country and we will protect our 
independence and sovereignty.  We will not accept any 
decision related to us if we do not approve it. 
 
International Peacekeeping Forces in Darfur: 
 
This is because we believe that these (international 
peacekeeping) forces will come to Darfur to stay there 
and not to solve the problem.  The issue of Darfur began 
as a local traditional problem which took place there 
from time to time and it was solved traditionally.  There 
was war in the South.  Therefore, they (western powers) 
did not care about problems in other places. They thought 
that the problem or the war in the South would be enough 
for them to achieve all their aims in subjugating or 
defeating the Khartoum government and even occupying 
Khartoum through the rebel movement.  When operations 
continued and the initiative was completely in the hands 
of the armed forces, we heard the western countries -- 
the United States, Britain, and their allies -- talk 
about a cease-fire in the South for the first time.  When 
we began negotiations, we called for a cease-fire in the 
South.  The strange response was fight and talk 
(preceding three words in English as heard).  This is so 
although when any mediator intervenes to resolve any 
armed conflict in the world, the first thing he will 
demand is observing a cease-fire.  This happens 
everywhere except in Sudan.  After making sure that peace 
was inevitably coming to the South and that three days 
remained to sign the protocols which constituted the 
basic peace agreement, we heard that the issue of Darfur 
was referred to the UN Security Council.  They knew that 
the problem there would not last long unless there was an 
international interference that would impose certain 
conditions.  We fought for 50 years in the South, but the 
 
KHARTOUM 00000796  003 OF 005 
 
 
issue was not referred to the UN Security Council.  The 
issue (of Darfur) was referred to the UN Security Council 
only when we were about to reach peace (in the South) so 
that they would say after interference that they wanted 
peace before the end of the year.  They fabricated this 
issue.  If we sign a peace agreement in Darfur today, 
there will be plans for other areas.  These plans are 
made outside Sudan. 
 
Therefore, we have to face our destiny and try to solve 
our problems by ourselves.  We will not accept any 
solutions from abroad. 
 
If things are imposed on Sudan, it will have no other 
option but confrontation.  If things are imposed on it, 
what can it do?  It must either confront or surrender. 
We will not surrender.  We do not know who will finally 
be victorious because victory comes only from God.  This 
is what is required.  No forces should come without our 
approval and we have not approved the dispatch of such 
forces. 
 
Also not in the future.  As happened in the South, we can 
think of the role the United Nations can play once peace 
is reached.  After agreeing on peace in the South, we 
agreed on a role by the United Nations.  There are UN 
troops in the South now, but they are there with our 
approval and upon our request and authorization. 
 
We do not deny that there is a crisis in Darfur.  There 
is a problem and there are refugees and refugee camps, 
but maintaining the problem is a deliberate action.  In 
April 2004, we signed the cease-fire agreement in 
N'djamena.  The agreement had specific clauses demanding 
the rebels to identify their positions and the points 
where forces could be assembled.  Simultaneous collection 
of weapons in Darfur would then begin.  There was 
procrastination or lack of desire on the part of the 
international community to implement this agreement.  If 
this agreement had been implemented and positions had 
been defined (changes thought).  On the first day we 
handed the African Union a map of all positions of the 
Sudanese Armed Forces.  The rebels should have done the 
same.  They should have revealed the positions of their 
forces.  Agreement would then have been reached on 
specifying the forces' assembly points.  If the forces 
had been assembled, security chaos in Darfur would have 
completely ended.  If security chaos had ended, the 
humanitarian issue would have been solved automatically 
because the people evacuated the area because of the 
chaotic security situation.  Why do we not implement the 
signed agreement?  If we implement it, the crisis of 
Darfur will end.  Envoys came and visited the evacuees' 
camps.  Yes, there are evacuees.  But if we implement the 
N'djamena agreement, the evacuees will return to their 
areas. 
 
These (reports of killings and other abuses) are all 
lies.  I tell you these are lies.  There is no mass 
killing.  Fighting was going on and that was normal. 
There is fighting now in Iraq.  Is there fighting without 
death?  There is no mass killing.  True, some villages 
were attacked or burned in reaction to other actions. 
When someone attacks, he strikes and loots. Another will 
reply to him.  Such incidents forced the defenseless 
citizens to evacuate, but some camps were attractive even 
to city inhabitants because the situation in the camp is 
better than the situation in the city.  People find free 
services in the camp.  There are no free services in the 
city.  There is no free medical care, free water, or free 
electricity.  All these are available in the camp.  Some 
people rented out their houses in the city and left for 
the camps. 
 
Southern Sudan and the Possibility of Secession 
 
Everything is possible.  This depends on what can be 
accomplished during this period of time.  If we convince 
the southern citizen during this period that he is a 
citizen enjoying all his citizenship rights, we expect 
the majority to say yes (to unity).  If we and the 
brothers in the southern government and southern states 
fail to run the south in a manner that convinces the 
southern citizen that he got his rights, this might be a 
cause for separation.  We believe that most of the 
southerners are for unity.  Some people, however, say no. 
When I visited the South -- Bahr al-Ghazal and Rumbek, 
which was the capital of the rebel movement -- I found 
 
KHARTOUM 00000796  004 OF 005 
 
 
that all people in Rumbek were for unity. 
 
We need the assistance of the international community and 
Arab world during this period of time in order to provide 
the southern citizens with services and development 
projects, which will allow them to make a positive 
decision.  This is our program and this is our effort. 
 
We, of course, have the pledge made in Oslo to extend 
$4.5 billion in aid for development and services 
projects.  If we receive these funds and carry out the 
set plans and programs, there will be unity, God willing. 
We cannot carry out these plans depending on our 
capabilities no matter how large they are.  The South is 
a vast area and there has been no development there for 
50 years and 50 years ago we were under colonialism. 
Colonialism did not spend money to develop the country. 
We have a vast area that needs huge efforts.  Many of the 
evacuees in the North or the refugees who were in 
neighboring Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda had services 
available to them in the refugee camps.  If they return 
to the South today, they will not find these services 
there.  Therefore, unless we provide these services, 
there will certainly be a problem. 
 
Implementation of the CPA: 
 
We work according to timetables on the implementation of 
the agreement.  True, there was some delay in the 
implementation of some clauses of the agreement, but the 
delay was due to the fact that there was a period of six 
months before the start of the transitional period.  The 
agreement was signed on 9 January and the transitional 
period began on 9 July.  Much work was supposed to be 
done during this six-month period before the start of the 
transitional period.  That work should have been done 
through joint committees between us and the Movement. 
The committees were supposed to come to Khartoum to do 
this work and finish it before the start of the 
transitional period, but the Movement did not send its 
delegations.  Many people who did not know about the 
details of the agreement thought the delay was from the 
government.  However, when we sit with them and explain 
why this was not done, they become convinced of our 
opinion.  Some people get wrong information and begin to 
talk on the basis of this information.  The people have 
heard many say that the government has not given the 
South its oil rights.  We said we would not respond in 
the media.  We asked officials in the federal government 
and the Government of the South to come and present to us 
at the presidency a report on the implementation of a 
special agreement on oil revenues. 
It (the CPA) is not fragile.  The agreement has full 
details and we are committed to it.  Some may try to 
interpret some parts, but we have implementation 
mechanisms.  Regarding the constitution, the Justice 
Ministry is the term of reference.  It decides if the 
constitution agrees or disagrees with the federal 
constitution.  If there is disagreement, we have the 
Council of States, which is the upper house.  This is 
also a term of reference.  We have the commission in 
charge of monitoring and following up the implementation 
of the agreement.  Accordingly, several quarters are 
involved in this agreement.  If people disagree, they 
will go back to them and they will decide. 
 
The national conference some political forces are calling 
for is not meant to create a base for this agreement. 
The base of this agreement is complete.  Most people and 
political parties and forces fully support the agreement. 
Some political forces, however, say that this is a 
bilateral agreement and that the distribution of powers 
is unfair because it gives 80 percent of power to the 
parties signing the agreement and these are the National 
Congress Party and People's Movement.  They want a new 
conference in order to cancel many points in this 
agreement.  We do not want to violate the agreement.  The 
1972 agreement was excellent and well accepted.  It 
achieved real peace in Sudan, but violating it took us 20 
years back to war.  It was the one which sowed some sort 
of suspicion in the minds of the southerners that we did 
not abide by agreements. Therefore, this agreement came 
with all details.  The reason was past suspicion. 
 
Sudan's Future: 
 
Sudan is an Arab African country.  We reject dividing 
Africa into Arab and black Africa or north and south of 
 
KHARTOUM 00000796  005 OF 005 
 
 
the desert.  We are now talking about a united Africa and 
an African Union representing all African countries. 
According to this concept, we find that most of the Arabs 
are inside Africa.  Therefore, there can be no talk about 
Africa without the Arabs.  Consequently, one cannot talk 
about an African unity without having ties with the 
Arabs.  The Arabs outside Africa are linked to the Arabs 
in Africa.  Therefore, all Arabs in and outside Africa 
are strongly linked to Africa.  Our role is strengthening 
Arab-African cooperation in the interest of Africa and 
the Arabs. 
 
(End text excerpts) 
 
STEINFELD