VZCZCXRO9228
OO RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #2812 3411548
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 071548Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5514
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 002812 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR R, A/S FRAZER, AND AF S/E NATSIOS 
DEPT ALSO FOR AF/PD AND AF/SPG 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PREF KPAO PHUM SOCI UN SU
SUBJECT:  CDA Addresses Darfur Crisis in Local Press 
 
 
¶1. (U) In an interview with Arabic daily "Al-Sudani," the Charge 
d'Affaires addressed the Sudanese security apparatus' failure to 
stem the violence in Darfur, while also noting slight improvement in 
the humanitarian situation.  The Charge noted that UN Security 
Council resolutions, such as Resolution 1706 on Darfur, serve as 
frameworks to guide policymakers, but are not always fully 
implemented.  He also took issue with Sudanese President al-Bashir's 
contention that the deployment of UN forces constitutes a new form 
of colonialism.  "Al-Sudani" published a brief preview of the 
interview on the front page of its December 7 issue and will publish 
the entire article on December 9. 
 
¶2. (U) The interview, which was conducted December 4 by recent 
International Visitor Leadership Program ("U.S. Foreign Policy") 
alumnus Osman Merghani, also covered the status of the 
implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, as well as a 
discussion on steps needed to restore normal bilateral relations. 
The independent "Al-Sudani" is one of the most widely circulated 
Sudanese Arabic dailies.  It also has a sizable Internet readership 
in the United States and in the Arabian Gulf.  The publication has 
been confiscated and suspended several times over the past two 
decades for taking anti-government positions. 
 
¶3. (SBU) While in the U.S. in November, Merghani wrote several 
columns on issues such as democracy, accountability, and 
transparency in government.  These writings angered pro-government 
columnists in Sudan.  Some of his critics labeled him an "agent of 
the United States" for commending the virtues of the American 
political system while ignoring such issues as the detention of 
prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and the abuse of Iraqi inmates in Abu 
Ghraib prison.  Merghani has told us that he is writing up to 15 
additional articles about his experiences in the United States. 
 
¶4. (U) A translation of the "Al-Sudani" article from December 7 
follows: 
 
(Begin text) 
 
Hume: Resolving the Darfur Crisis without UN Forces would be Magic 
(article headline) 
 
Ambassador Cameron Hume, the U.S. Charge d'Affaires in Khartoum, 
considers the plan presented by President Omar al-Bashir to UN 
Secretary General Kofi Annan to deploy a Sudanese military force 
 
SIPDIS 
disappointing.  He said the security situation has not improved. 
Senior high-ranking officers of the Sudanese officers have been lost 
without imposing stability.  He further noted that the proliferation 
of arms in Internally Displaced (Persons) camps in Darfur has 
contributed to the deterioration of the security situation, and the 
targeting of women in particular.  "I have seen the security 
situation in Darfur and I don't believe it is good at all," he said. 
 However, he went on to say that the humanitarian situation has 
slightly improved. 
 
The Ambassador said in an interview with "Al Sudani" that the main 
part of the Sudanese government's plan put forward last September 
was to impose security through military means ... and it has failed. 
 I do not know how a political settlement could be achieved if the 
government continues to defy the Darfuri community and its leaders. 
 
Ambassador Hume further refused to consider the AU's decision to 
extend its forces' mandate in Darfur for another six months would 
bypass the UN Security Council Resolution 1706.  "Any resolution 
issued by the Security Council does not need to be adhered to 100 
percent. ... Resolutions create a general framework," he said.  He 
further pointed to 1967 Security Council resolutions 242 regarding 
the crisis in the Middle East saying that the resolution has not 
been implemented to the letter, but it has created a framework 
around which all diplomatic settlements in the Middle East have been 
based for decades. 
 
The Ambassador further criticized President Al-Bashir's statements 
in which he stated that the deployment of international forces to 
Darfur is a new form of colonialism.  The Ambassador further 
reviewed historical cases in which the UN has militarily intervened 
in Africa (Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Liberia), and in South America, 
and in Cambodia in Asia.  He said these cases proved that UN forces 
had not intervened for "colonialism or imperialism."  Ambassador 
Hume said that the assumption that the problem of Darfur can be 
resolved without international troop intervention would be "magic." 
 
(End text) 
 
HUME