VZCZCXRO4664
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1372/01 2421552
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 301552Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8364
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001372 
 
SIPDIS 
 
CODEL 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SE NATSIOS AND AF/SPG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL AU UN SU
SUBJECT: CODEL JACKSON-LEE'S MEETING WITH SUDANESE FOREIGN 
MINISTER LAM AKOL 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  During an August 28 courtesy call, Codel 
Jackson-Lee briefed Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol on 
their visit to Darfur.  The delegation also urged the 
expeditious implementation of UNSCR 1769, full implementation 
of the CPA, unfettered access for humanitarian NGOs, 
expedited clearance of materials needed for the construction 
of the New Embassy Compound, and asked Lam Akol to intervene 
in the recent expulsion of CARE Director Paul Barker.  Lam 
Akol stated that the GNU is committed to implementing 1769, 
charged that USG actions contribute to NEC delays, and was 
not encouraging on the Barker expulsion.  He also suggested 
that claims that 7,000 abductees from the North-South civil 
war remain unaccounted for are exaggerated.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) At the conclusion of their two-day visit to Sudan on 
August 28, Codel Jackson-Lee paid a courtesy call on Foreign 
Minister Lam Akol.  The Codel was led by Congresswoman Sheila 
Jackson-Lee (D-TX), and included Congressmen Steve Chabot 
(R-OH) and Adrian Smith (R-NE), along with Staffer Genel 
Brown and military escort Major Gerald Thomas.  They were 
accompanied by Charge Powers and Embassy notetaker. 
 
------ 
Darfur 
------ 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Congresswoman Jackson-Lee reported to Foreign 
Minister Lam Akol that the Delegation had just completed a 
very worthwhile visit to El Fashir, where they had met with 
orh Darfur Wali Osman Mohammed Yousif Kibir, UN officials, 
newly arrived AMIS Field Commander Martin Luther Agwei, and 
visited the El Shouk IDP camp.  She attested that the camp 
residents have organized themselves and know what they want. 
The Codel appreciated the meeting with the Wali, with whom 
they agreed with some issues and agreed to disagree on others. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Lam Akol briefly reviewed the history and the 
issues involved in resolving the Darfur conflict, starting 
with the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement, and said that 
the challenge now is building on UNSCR 1769.  He asserted 
that the critical problem is lack of unity among the Darfur 
rebels.  Abdul Wahid is the missing component of the peace 
process.  Lam Akol warned that the Comprehensive Peace 
Agreement (CPA) between the National Congress Party (NCP) and 
Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) is in danger of 
becoming a victim of Darfur.  With its attention focused on 
Darfur, the international community incorrectly takes 
North-South peace for granted. 
 
----------------------- 
Implementing UNSCR 1769 
----------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Ms. Jackson-Lee expressed the hope that UNSCR 1769 
implementation would advance quickly and that Sudan will take 
the initiative to expedite it.  She noted that in the 
Codel,s meeting earlier that day with AMIS Force Commander 
Agwei, he had strongly endorsed rapid implementation of 1769 
and the deployment of additional peacekeepers under UN 
command that goes with it.  Jackson-Lee noted especially the 
need to promptly transfer to the new UN-AU peacekeeping force 
the land required to support its infrastructure.  She hoped 
that the GNU would help speed such transfers. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Lam Akol stated that the GoS has taken steps to 
establish a flexible planning process for the necessary land 
transfer to the peacekeeping force, forming both political 
and technical committees.  Now that the mechanism is in 
place, Sudan is waiting for specific applications for land 
transfers on which to act. 
 
----------------------------- 
Comprehensive Peace Agreement 
----------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Jackson-Lee emphasized the importance of the full 
implementation of the CPA, noting that it can provide a 
framework for ending the conflict in Darfur, as well as 
North-South peace.  She suggested that an international 
conference might assist in moving the CPA forward.  She also 
urged the GNU to show flexibility in resolving the dispute 
over the Abyei region,s border. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Lam Akol explained the current obstacle in 
implementing the CPA is the redeployment of SAF and SPLA 
forces to their respective sides of line 1156, due to 
conflicting interpretations of boundary demarcation.  The 
slow disbursement of international assistance via the 
 
KHARTOUM 00001372  002 OF 002 
 
 
Multi-Donor Trust Fund also has deprived the South of a 
tangible peace dividend expected from the CPA.  He noted that 
the Abyei border dispute is not one on which the GNU could 
take a position, but rather a disagreement between the NCP 
and SPLM within the GNU, that must be resolved by the two 
parties. 
 
------------------- 
Humanitarian Access 
------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) The Congresswoman noted the great work being done in 
Sudan by international humanitarian NGOs.  She hoped that the 
GoS will work with the High-Level Committee formed to promote 
humanitarian access to ease the NGOs ability to operate 
unhindered. 
 
-------------------- 
New Embassy Compound 
-------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Jackson-Lee raised the difficulties being 
experienced in clearing through the Port of Sudan the 
materials needed for the construction of the New Embassy 
Compound (NEC) in Khartoum.  She noted that completion of the 
NEC is in the interest of both countries and would be a step 
toward normalizing bilateral relations.  She urged Lam Akol 
to try to assist in speeding the processing of the needed 
containers into Sudan. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Lam-Akol countered that the responsibility for the 
delays lies largely with the USG, which he asserted has taken 
&retrogressive8 actions that are hindering improved 
relations between the two countries, and to which the delays 
in approving NEC shipments are a response. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Expulsion of CARE Director Barker 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) Jackson-Lee raised the August 25 order expelling 
from Sudan Amcit CARE Director Paul Barker.  She cautioned 
that Barker,s expulsion sends the wrong message to the world 
community.  Given that the deadline for Barker,s departure 
was that very night, she understood the impossibility of 
reversing the decision in time to allow him to stay. 
However, she urged the Foreign Minister to intervene with the 
relevant GNU agencies to allow him to return as quickly as 
possible. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Lam-Akol denied that Barker had been &expelled8 
from Sudan, arguing that, rather, Barker,s residence permit 
had expired and had simply not been renewed.  He noted that 
this is not an MFA area of responsibility and he could not 
promise that it would be satisfactorily resolved. 
Congressman Chabot emphasized that Barker,s forced absence 
from Sudan would be viewed very negatively in the United 
States and elsewhere.  The longer Barker was unable to 
return, the longer the issue would fester.  Chabot urged that 
Sudan resolve the problem promptly. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Charges of Forced Abduction Exaggerated? 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶14.  (SBU)  Congressman Chabot queried the veracity of 
allegations that 7,000 Southerners abducted during the civil 
war remain unaccounted for and may still be being held 
against their will.  He asked what could be done to identify 
and repatriate them.  Lam-Akol downplayed the extent of any 
such problems, saying that such allegations are frequently 
made in wartime and often are exaggerated.  He also asserted 
that it is a traditional practice to adopt such abductees 
into the society of their captors, suggesting that any 
unrepatriated abductees likely are remaining of their own 
free will. 
 
¶15.  (U) Codel Jackson-Lee did not have an opportunity to 
review this message before transmission. 
FERNANDEZ