VZCZCXRO4664
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0849/01 0961531
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061531Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2223
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000849 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON PREL PINS SU
SUBJECT:  SPLM POLITBURO MEETS IN RUMBEK 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  The SPLM Politburo met in Rumbek from 
April 2 to 5 to discuss the internal organization of the 
party, select officials for unfilled slots, and debate 
policy options.  The meetings were reportedly more cordial 
than expected.  CG Juba was in Rumbek at the time and picked 
up the following snippets, although the concluding press 
conference and release of the communique occurred after his 
departure.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Politburo meeting in Rumbek, scheduled for two 
days, stretched into four.  The marathon sessions were 
interrupted by the May 3 travel of Government of Southern 
Sudan (GoSS) President and SPLM Party Chairman Salva Kiir 
and others to attend the inauguration of an Italian built 
bridge that opens a land corridor to Yirol.  All SPLM 
ministers in the Government of National Unity (GoNU) save 
the State Minister of International Cooperation attended the 
politburo.  GoSS Vice President Riek Machar and GoSS 
Minister of Transport and Roads Rebecca Garang were also 
there, along with most of the prominent officials in the 
GoSS.  Former Sudanese Vice President Abel Alier and other 
notables arrived for the concluding ceremony.  GoSS Minister 
of Cabinet Affairs Justin Yac was notably absent, undergoing 
medical treatment in South Africa. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) From the margins, it seemed that the Politburo 
lacked the factional fireworks that some had predicted. 
There were reportedly some contentions, but most were 
resolved through compromise.  We have not laid hands on the 
final communique yet (septel), and did not cover the press 
conference that took place a full day later than scheduled, 
but from side conversations gleaned the following: 
 
-- There was a split over whether National Assembly SPLM 
Chairman Yassir Arman or former SPLA Commander for the North 
Abdul Aziz al-Hilo should be named the Politburo's Deputy 
Secretary General (DSG) for the North.  Arman partisans 
 
SIPDIS 
argued that the SPLM needed a Northerner in a senior 
position if it were to try to compete in the North; those 
behind Aziz argued that the transition areas should fill the 
slot.  In the end, Arman prevailed.  The DSG for the South 
is a Bari physician from Juba just returned from abroad, 
with whom we are not acquainted. 
 
-- The SPLM National Conference will take place in 
September, a compromise between those who favored December 
and those who pushed for June. 
 
-- SPLM finances were subject to long debate, and eventually 
it was resolved to request a grant from the GoSS to support 
the party.  Details of this arrangement were not explained. 
 
-- There was great emotion surrounding the situation in 
Abyei, with a strong consensus that the decision of the 
Abyei Boundaries Commission must be binding, as stipulated 
in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).  Calemont Yada, 
former head of the South Sudan Council of Churches, will 
become the SPLM's point person on Abyei. 
 
-- According to one source, Salva Kiir will reportedly serve 
for an indeterminate period as Minister for SPLA Affairs, 
making him the top person in both the military and civilian 
chains of command.  (Note:  This is in addition to his 
serving as GoNU First Vice President, GoSS President, SPLA 
Commander in Chief, and SPLM Party Chairman.  End note.) 
 
-- The position of Under Secretary for SPLA Affairs will be 
created; no appointment was made. 
 
-- The Politburo discussed how it will prepare for public 
consultations in Blue Nile State and the Nuba Mountains. 
 
-- There were complaints from some quarters that Upper Nile 
and Bahr El Ghazel - areas respectively supportive of 
Machar/Kiir and Kiir -- were underrepresented on the 
Politburo.  At the time of CG's departure, no changes to the 
Politburo structure had been decided. 
 
-- The Politburo refused to budge on the CPA formula for 
Khartoum serving as a secular national capital versus as a 
northern state. 
 
-- They resolved that the University of Juba should be 
returned to the South and fall under the Ministry of 
Education, Science, and Technology. 
 
-- There was considerable anxiety over security.  The need 
to devise a workable plan for disarmament, demobilization, 
and reintegration (DDR) and the status of facilities for the 
SPLA came under discussion. 
 
-- The Politburo said that it would push for additional 
 
KHARTOUM 00000849  002 OF 002 
 
 
funds to speed up repatriation of internally displaced 
persons (IDPs) from the North.  They decided that port 
facilities in Yirol, which are in a shambles, should be 
rebuilt to facilitate return by river.  An Italian firm has 
reportedly agreed to undertake this project. 
 
-- According to one source, the Politburo agreed to devise a 
"grand strategy" for working with the National Congress 
Party as well as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and 
other parties.  Details were painfully scarce. 
 
-- The same source said that they had opted for a strategy 
of negotiation in the East, following guarantees that UNMIS 
that will fill the void when SPLA forces withdraw, 
reportedly by May. 
 
-- There was discussion of Darfur and confirmation of who 
will take the SPLM/GoSS lead in support of a negotiated 
peace settlement.  Again, details were painfully scarce. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Comment:  What was not discussed was significant. 
To the best of our knowledge, there was no discussion of 
corruption or the White Nile/Total petroleum exploration and 
development rights controversy, although a Northern 
journalist said that he planned to raise these issues at the 
concluding press conference.  Most of those with whom we 
spoke said that the debate centered mostly on how to 
reorganize SPLM internal structures to facilitate the 
evolution from military movement to political party.  While 
many of the policies reportedly decided appear positive on 
the surface, we will withhold final judgment until the 
details are clear.  End Comment. 
 
STEINFELD