VZCZCXRO0112
PP RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #2360/01 2690655
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 260655Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4725
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 002360 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG, S/CRS 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KPKO SOCI AU UN US SU
SUBJECT: DARFUR FORUM PROMOTES DIALOGUE ACROSS POLITICAL SPECTRUM 
 
REF: Khartoum 1594 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (U) The Darfur Forum convened a "town hall" meeting on September 
16 in El Fasher to promote dialogue and peaceful co-existence among 
all ethnic and political groupings in Darfur.  More than four 
hundred persons attended the gathering, including prominent 
government officials, community leaders and native administrators. 
While many of the speeches covered familiar ground regarding the 
aims of the Forum and the challenges facing the Darfur Peace 
Agreement, the event was notable for its broad grass-roots 
participation and ability of speakers to air opposing views. 
 
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THE DARFUR FORUM'S PURPOSE AND GOALS 
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¶2. (U) Active Response Corps (ARC) Officer attended a September 16 
meeting convened by the Darfur Forum (DF) in El Fasher to promote 
dialogue on the challenges faced in Darfur and to encourage 
cooperation across the entire spectrum of Darfurian society.  More 
than four hundred persons comprised the gathering, including student 
groups, religious and tribal leaders, women's associations, Sudanese 
Liberation Movement (SLM) members, state legislators, internally 
displaced persons (IDP) representatives, National Congress Party 
(NCP) and other political party officials, native administrators and 
ordinary citizens.  Several prominent government and community 
leaders - cutting across the political spectrum - participated, 
including the Wali of North Darfur, former Governor of Darfur Region 
General Ibrahim Suleiman and Head of DF Ismaeil Kitir. 
 
¶3. (SBU) General Ibrahim Suleiman opened the discussion by 
describing the purpose, goals and progress to date of the Darfur 
Forum.  He underscored that the DF is not a political entity, but 
rather a body devoted to cutting across political, tribal and gender 
lines to promote reconciliation and practical steps to rebuild 
Darfur's social fabric.  He illustrated his point by remarking that 
participants at the meeting included groups both supportive and 
critical of the government's policies in Darfur.  Suleiman explained 
that the DF was open to all stakeholders in Darfur, though it would 
not condone armed solutions on any group's part to solve the 
region's problems.  He further remarked that one specific objective 
of the DF's senior leadership in El Fasher was to help ease tribal 
frictions exacerbated following the September 3 police shooting of a 
student at El Fasher University.  (Note: In sidebar discussions with 
ARC Officer, senior Darfur Forum members noted that, contrary to the 
government's claims, no apparent investigation was being conducted 
into the student's death.  The lack of follow-up continues to 
inflame the underlying tensions between student groups and GoS 
security services, which have maintained a visible presence on the 
grounds of El Fasher University.  End Note.) 
 
¶4. (U) General Suleiman later provided his insights to the crowd on 
the genesis of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) and the current 
challenges facing its implementation.  He held that, based on his 
personal involvement in the negotiations in Abuja, the agreement 
contained many positive elements, but that its fundamental flaw was 
the lack of broad Darfurian buy-in.  In particular, he criticized 
the pressure exerted by the international community to have the 
parties sign the agreement before they had fully addressed all of 
their reservations.  Notwithstanding the DPA's shortcomings, 
Suleiman underscored the importance of continued dialogue with those 
outside the agreement, especially Abdel Wahid's SLA faction.  He 
added that the Darfur Forum is using its influence with senior 
Sudanese Government officials to encourage them to address 
non-signatory demands. 
 
¶5. (U) The Head of the Darfur Forum Ismaeil Kitir and Secretary 
General Siddiq Mohammed Ismaeil further expounded on the role and 
objectives of the forum.  They affirmed the political and ethnic 
independence of the organization and its openness to all Darfurians, 
both inside and outside of Sudan.  Ismaeil articulated that the 
Forum's principal objective is to unite Darfurians and advocate for 
their fair representation and rights within Sudan.  They noted their 
agreement in principle with the demands of the SLA but exhorted 
against the use of force to accomplish political objectives. 
 
¶6. (U) Senior Darfur Forum representative Zedan Abdul Rahama 
reiterated many of the same points as his predecessors regarding the 
negotiating environment in Abuja and its impact on the DPA.  He 
highlighted the accord's fundamental flaw as the lack of endorsement 
by all parties to the conflict (e.g., the Justice and Equality 
Movement (JEM) and Abdel Wahid), and reiterated the Forum's core 
recommendations to make the DPA acceptable to all factions.  These 
adjustments, he explained, include: 
 
KHARTOUM 00002360  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
-- Increasing the amount of individual compensation allocated to 
war-affected Darfurians from the specified sum of $30 million to 
$300 million.  Rahama pointed out that Sudanese displaced by the Al 
Hamadab dam project were given "lavish compensation, in which the 
government paid 500,000 dinars (USD 2,300.00) per date tree." (Note: 
Rahama failed to mention that the $30 million is only an initial 
amount that may later be supplemented.  End Note.) 
 
-- Allocating $600 million for development projects to be completed 
in accordance with the UN Development Program-led Darfur Joint 
Assessment Mission (DJAM) priorities. 
 
-- Reserving fifty percent of the positions in the Darfur State 
government institutions for the Movements and at least twenty 
percent of federal governmental positions for the Movements and 
Darfurians in general. 
 
-- Providing greater assurances that the results of the 
Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation (DDDC) will either be 
incorporated into the DPA, or that the DDDC outcomes will be legally 
binding on the GoS. 
 
-- Ensuring that the position of Senior Assistant to the President 
does not solely play an advisory role but has genuine executive and 
administrative powers to make decisions on behalf of Darfurian 
interests. 
 
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WALI STRIKES A NOTE OF DEFIANCE 
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¶7. (U) Speaking on behalf of the Government, North Darfur Wali Osman 
Mohammed Yousif Kibir opened his remarks in noting the importance of 
continued dialogue to solve the problems that "Darfurians themselves 
created."  He registered his disagreement with the fault placed on 
the Government for the shortcomings of the DPA and its lack of 
implementation, contending that the Movements' focus on "money and 
power" has undermined the prospects for peace in Darfur.  The Wali 
argued that notwithstanding the weaknesses of the DPA, it provided 
the only practical framework for ceasing the conflict in Darfur and 
creating a foundation for stability.  On the issue of compensation, 
he held that President Bashir augmented the initial funding to $100 
million, and that recompense would "soon be paid in North Darfur." 
The Wali acknowledged the need to bring individuals that committed 
war crimes to justice, but asserted that the International Criminal 
Court (ICC) would only provide political theater and not real 
accountability.  Finally, as he publicly stated on several previous 
occasions, Kibir reiterated his rejection of UN Security Council 
Resolution 1706. 
 
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SLA AND STUDENTS STAND THEIR GROUND 
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¶8. (U) During a brief period of open debate, SLA-Minawi 
representatives described their disappointment with the government's 
intransigence in fulfilling its DPA commitments.  For this reason, 
they posited, the SLA must continue to carry weapons and "be 
prepared for any contingency."  The SLA members also chided the Wali 
and his police force for their inadequate investigations into the 
September 3 student clashes, and criticized the judiciary as wholly 
lacking independence.  Members of the students' union also voiced 
their frustration with the government's heavy-handedness during the 
September 3 incident and apparent unwillingness to take any 
subsequent corrective action. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶9. (U) While many of the speeches covered familiar ground regarding 
the aims of the Darfur Forum and the challenges facing the DPA, the 
event was notable for its broad grass-roots participation and openly 
aired views critical of the Government.  The Forum's stance on the 
DPA is essentially the same as conveyed to ARC Officer in early 
July, though the organization appears more willing to use the accord 
as a foundation to address "unresolved issues."  There are 
relatively few civil society organizations in North Darfur, and the 
Darfur Forum - with its diverse membership and influential 
connections - should remain under consideration as an enabling 
mechanism to promote the peace process, reconciliation and dialogue 
in Darfur. 
 
HUME