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P 271455Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY ASMARA
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RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1166
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 4593
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1339
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RUEHNJ/AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA 0203
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 1003
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 0313
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0511

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASMARA 000552 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/27/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV UNSC ETTC ER SU
SUBJECT: EASTERN FRONT OFFER UP THEIR SIDE 
 
REF: ASMARA 543 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: AMB Scott H. DeLisi, for reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: On June 22, Ambassador John Yates 
met with the leadership of the Eastern Front to get 
a better sense of their negotiating strategy and 
readiness following the first round of talks.  The 
group explained that their primary goal before 
talks begin is to build a broadly based consensus 
among the various groups in eastern Sudan.  They 
also presented their understanding of how 
negotiations would proceed and gave prominence to 
their hopes for equitable wealth sharing to help 
meet the needs of the people of the East.  The 
group admitted that they still needed help 
preparing for the next round of negotiations and 
has asked various international partners, including 
the USG, to provide them the necessary training and 
technical expertise.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) On June 22, Ambassador John Yates 
(representing AF/SPG) and ConOff met with the 
majority of Eastern Front leadership, including 
Musa Muhamed Ahmed, Dr. Amna Dirar, Abdallah Kuna, 
Ali Safi and two Rashaida representatives sitting 
in for Mabruuk Salim.  The discussion followed the 
conclusion of the preparatory talks and signing of 
the Declaration of Principles (DOP) between the 
Eastern Front and GNU (see reftel).  The discussion 
initially focused on issues surrounding the signing 
of the DOP and the fact that the Eastern Front was 
unsure until the end, whether an agreement would be 
reached.  They expressed dissatisfaction with the 
way the issue of observers had been dealt with, but 
acknowledged that they did not want the issue to 
hold up the entire process, and stated that they 
would work to get observers involved in some 
capacity.  They also explained that they were under 
the impression from both the GSE and GNU that the 
international community could be involved in 
advisor and technical expert roles. 
 
¶3. (C) The Eastern Front leaders made it very clear 
that their main objective during the break between 
the first and second rounds of talks is to build 
consensus for negotiations amongst the peoples of 
eastern Sudan and ensure the greatest degree of 
representation within the Eastern Front.  They plan 
to hold consultative meeting with Eastern Front 
representatives from throughout the region and 
amongst the different ethnic groups before they 
enter into the second round of talks set to 
commence on July 17.  The talks, they explained, 
will probably be held somewhere near the border of 
both countries to make it easier for the greatest 
number of people to attend.  They assume 
approximately 100 members could attend, similar to 
meetings held in February/March of this year.  They 
did not provide specifics, but claim some European 
nations as well as the GSE have promised to support 
them in organizing the consultative meetings. 
 
¶4. (C) On the format for the next round of 
negotiations, the Eastern Front explained that due 
to their lack of capacity to engage in more than 
one area or issue at a time, they have requested 
that each area - Power Sharing, Wealth Sharing and 
Security Arrangements - be dealt with separately 
and finalized --and in the listed order -- before 
moving on to the next issue.  The Eastern Front 
leaders stated that while the GSE initially 
proposed a 15 person delegation, the Eastern Front 
requested up to 20 people and that at this time 
they plan to have 4 Beja delegates, 4 Rashaida 
delegates and 10 delegates from other ethnic groups 
in eastern Sudan. 
 
¶5. (C) Much of their focus appears to be on 
ensuring that the eastern Sudan region gets their 
fair share of resources and wealth to provide 
proper primary health care and educational 
opportunities.  On power sharing, they seem almost 
completely focused on building the Eastern Front 
movement into an active and capable political 
party.  They acknowledged that many of the 
agreements struck on power sharing may only be 
applicable until national elections are held.  They 
also reiterated prior appeals to the USG to help 
them begin strategizing and transitioning into a 
political party. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The Eastern Front has asked for assistance 
in hosting their consultative meeting and is also 
seeking training before the second round of talks. 
In addition, they hope for assistance from 
technical experts and advisors during the 
negotiations.  Thus far, it seems that the 
Norwegians, Dutch and Swedes are willing to provide 
some level of support.  It is unclear if there will 
be additional needs for assistance.  They also 
asked the USG to assist them in implementation of a 
future agreement between them and the GNU and 
possibly training and capacity building for the 
Eastern Front movement's transition into a 
political party. 
 
¶7. (C)  COMMENT:  The Eastern Front has come a long 
way from initial meetings with them almost a year 
ago.  While there are still some small kinks to 
work out before the second round of negotiations, 
they appear more focused, confident and united than 
ever before.  The consultative meeting will 
hopefully bring some new ideas, energy and 
expertise to the next round of talks.  Post advise 
whether there are possibilities for assisting the 
Eastern Front,  especially in the area of political 
party capacity building, in the near term.  End 
Comment. 
 
DELISI