VZCZCXRO2977
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0310/01 0631022
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 031022Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0088
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000310 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF A/S FRAZER, AND AF/SPG 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL UN SU CD
SUBJECT: S/E WILLIAMSON'S MEETING WITH RIEK MACHAR 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) In a meeting with Special Envoy Williamson, Government of 
Southern Sudan (GOSS) Vice President Riek Machar briefed the Special 
Envoy on GOSS efforts to improve stability and security in the South 
in the face of continued tensions along the North/South border and 
despite continued threats to the viability of the CPA.  The Vice 
President called for banking sector assistance and initiatives that 
targeted private sector development.  He also requested the Special 
Envoy to engage the NCP on the current impasse over the national 
elections law, Abyei, and greater transparency in the oil sector. 
Machar reviewed the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) 
efforts to consolidate Darfur rebel factions and its contributions 
to a successful peace settlement for Western Sudan.  End summary. 
 
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CPA CHALLENGES: CENSUS AND THE BORDER 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Meeting with S/E Williamson on February 28, GOSS Vice 
President Riek Machar asserted that despite resolution of some key 
issues, threats to the CPA remain and NCP manipulation continues. 
Machar alleged that the forms for the national census were printed 
without the SPLM's consent (even though the SPLM shares oversight 
for the census) and argued that the NCP's rejection of questions on 
ethnicity and religion was not in compliance with the Interim 
National Constitution and not in accordance with the spirit of the 
CPA.  "The NCP has a political objective for the exclusion of 
questions which are already reflected in the first chapter of the 
Interim National Constitution," he stressed.  "To the SPLM, 
diversity is a strength that we can anchor the unity of the country 
on." 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Vice President emphasized his belief--following the 
conclusion of the Ad-Hoc Technical Border Commission's February 26 
briefing to the GOSS Council of Ministers--that a buffer zone must 
be in place during the demarcation of the 1956 North/South border. 
Tensions in the border states remain high, he stressed, stoked by 
inconclusive meetings of the Joint Defense Board, incomplete 
redeployment of forces from oil fields in Unity and Upper Nile 
states, and continued attacks by Misseriya PDF against the Sudan 
People's Liberation Army (SPLA).  The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) 
continues to occupy points in four counties in Western Bahr el 
Ghazal under the pretense of "protecting civilians from Darfur 
guerillas" despite GOSS requests that they leave.  Recruitment of 
SAF-aligned popular defense forces (PDF) continues, particularly 
around Abyei. 
 
------------------------------ 
GOSS-GENERATED PEACE DIVIDENDS 
------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) The GOSS continues to face high expectations entering its 
third year, particularly for service delivery.  Machar noted that 
the perceived absence of tangible peace dividends stemmed from the 
GOSS' initial emphasis on the stabilization of the South: 
consolidating the SPLA, establishing Southern Sudan Police Services 
posts, and disarming the civilian population.  For the 2008 calendar 
year, the GOSS' commitment is to provide better services to the 
people of the South.  Similarly, he emphasized recent requests by 
the GOSS to its international partners to refocus their efforts from 
humanitarian response to that of development, "to fill the gaps we 
are not reaching and attract more attention to the private sector." 
Machar also stressed that while sanctions have utility with respect 
to Darfur, their existence continues to deter business travelers 
from coming to the South.  "Development of our private sector is 
critical," he said.  "Our efforts through the GOSS budget are not 
enough," he said. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
REQUEST FOR USG ENGAGEMENT: ELECTIONS, OIL, BANKING SECTOR 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Machar reviewed the continued impasse over the national 
elections law and requested USG engagement to move the issue 
forward.  The SPLM and NCP disagree over what percentage of 
contested seats should be subject to proportional representation and 
at which level of constituency such seats should be contested.  The 
SPLM sets the constituency at the state level, with 25 percent set 
aside for women and party lists, and is demanding 50 percent of the 
contested seats be competed via proportional representation.  The 
NCP want a constituency at the national level and only 40 percent of 
the available seats open to list competition.  Lack of transparency 
in the oil sector remains problematic, but the GOSS is equally 
concerned by the environmental impact of petroleum development and 
 
KHARTOUM 00000310  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
the need for local communities to benefit directly from the oil 
sector via community development programs and employment 
opportunities. 
 
¶6. (SBU) A chief area of concern for the Vice President remained the 
South's limited banking sector.  Three banks operated in the 
southern Sudan--one of which was an Islamic financial institution 
not in compliance with the INC--and none of these banks were yet 
established in all of the South's ten states.  No system existed for 
intra-South financial transfers, and sanctions make wire transfers 
into the South difficult if not impossible. Machar would like to see 
Western/American banks in South Sudan. 
 
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SPLM ENGAGEMENT ON DARFUR 
------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Vice President outlined SPLM engagement on the Darfur 
issue as one of paramount importance for the conduct of national 
elections.  Stability in Darfur is essential for elections and 
unattainable if the rebels remain divided. Despite NCP unhappiness 
over the issue, Machar noted the SPLM has committed itself to 
engagement in Darfur along four points: outreach to DPA signatory 
and non-signatory groups, outreach to civil society and IDPs, 
outreach to the Janjaweed (Darfur's Arab tribes being an essential 
part of a solution in the region), and anchoring the SPLM's presence 
as a party in the region. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Machar counseled that approaches to the Janjaweed and DPA 
signatories (both the Declaration of Commitment signatories and 
Minni Minawi's Sudan Liberation Movement) remain critical, terming 
the neglect of the signatories "dangerous" and urging recognition of 
the Janjaweed as an element of the peace process.  "The NCP shies 
away from them," said Machar.  "It views them as a political burden 
as a result of their atrocities, but we need to prevent them from 
being spoilers."  Machar urged a USG approach to Darfur as one that 
handled Darfur and Chad in tandem.  "Khalil Ibrahim has become 
active again because of Deby's support, and Deby will not stop while 
Khartoum is doing the same thing.  They must be solved together." 
 
¶9. (U) S/E Williamson did not have the opportunity to clear this 
message. 
 
FERNANDEZ