VZCZCXYZ1479
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKH #0325/01 0641535
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 041535Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0119
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000325 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SOCI KDEM SU
SUBJECT: DUP PARTY SPLINTERS DUE TO POOR LEADERSHIP AND NCP 
POACHING 
 
REF: KHARTOUM 128 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Recent defectors to the NCP describe the 
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) as lacking effective, democratic 
leadership and a vision for the future.  They see the NCP as an 
attractive alternative and contend that the NCP has changed for the 
better since Al-Turabi's departure.  They are less attracted by the 
SPLM, viewing it as an armed rebel movement rather than a political 
party.  Some observers accuse the NCP of poaching across party lines 
in order to weaken the DUP and guarantee an NCP victory in the 2009 
elections. End Summary. 
 
Democratic Unionist Party Splinters Again 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶2.  (U) Several prominent members of the DUP recently announced 
their defection to the National Congress Party (NCP) shortly after 
the start of a DUP-NCP dialogue.  Meanwhile preparations are under 
way for the expected return of elderly DUP leader Mohamed Othman 
Al-Mirghani after almost 18 years of self-imposed exile in Egypt. 
Like most other Sudanese political parties in recent years, the DUP 
has suffered several internal splits, but the most recent resulted 
in the loss of prominent DUP members who have provided financial 
support over the years. 
 
¶3.  (U) Five factions now carry the name Democratic Unionist Party 
moniker: the original DUP led by El-Sayed Mohamad Othman 
Al-Mirghani, DUP Hindi Faction, DUP Haj Mudawi Faction, DUP Mohamed 
Al-Azhari Faction, and the DUP Mirghani Abdel-Rahman Faction.  Each 
group claims to legitimately carry the DUP name. 
 
DUP "Without Political Leadership" 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶4. (SBU) Poloff met separately with two of the most recent prominent 
defectors, wealthy businessmen Ali Abbarsi and Hisham Al-Brair. 
Abbrasi and Al-Brair share common reasons for leaving the DUP for 
the NCP.  They complained about Al-Mirghani's long absences from 
Sudan as well as his autocratic management style, pointing to 
failures to consult others in the party leadership, control of party 
members' activities, lack of transparent and democratic decision 
making, failure to nurture a successor generation in the party, and 
treating party members as Al-Khatmia Sufi sect followers.  (Note: 
Although technically separate organizations -- one religious, the 
other political - most members of the Al-Khatmia Sufi religious sect 
also belong to the DUP. End Note). 
 
¶5. (SBU) Ali Abbarsi charged that Al-Mirghani "is managing the party 
by phone from outside the country."  He claimed the A-Mirghani is 
not available most of the time and spends three months in Sudan and 
the rest of the year in London or Alexandria.  Al-Brair asked 
rhetorically "how can we serve the country's causes without 
political leadership?"  According to Hisham Al-Brair, disagreements 
within DUP have been on the rise in the last eighteen months. 
 
NCP Has Changed, SPLM Has Not 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶6. (SBU) Asked about why they joined the NCP rather than form a new 
DUP faction as have other DUP defectors, Abbarsi and Al-Brair 
asserted that NCP has changed dramatically after the departure of 
Hassan Al-Turabi in 2000.  "My disagreements with the NCP ended when 
Al-Turabi left, which was a shift from the iron fist policy and 
since then the NCP has headed in a different direction," said 
Al-Brair. "The policy the NCP is following now represents 60% of the 
original DUP policy" he added.  Abbarsi echoed the comment about 
Turabi's departure and pointed to his need to protect his interests 
as a businessman.  "I cannot afford to stay away from the economic 
decision-making circles and allow others to control my business 
decisions." 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Abbarsi and Al-Brair said they did not consider joining 
SPLM when they decided to leave the DUP for two main reasons. 
First, according to Al-Brair "We do not trust them especially after 
the late John Garang decided to negotiate the peace agreement with 
the NCP without discussing the idea or even informing the DUP 
leadership, his partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)." 
 Second, according to Al-Brair and Abbarsi, although the SPLM now is 
the NCP's partner in the Government of National Unity, "they need to 
transform themselves into a political party before the elections." 
(Note: The SPLM obviously is a political movement, though it is 
notable that these DUP defectors share a perception of the SPLM as 
an armed rebel movement, a view shared by many northerners. End 
note.) 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Regarding elections, Al-Brair opined "they must be held in 
the whole country - no exceptions for Darfur or the South." 
Al-Brair noted that the NCP is ready to form alliances with other 
parties including the Umma party, the DUP, and the Communist party. 
However Al-Brair indicated that he is against an alliance with the 
Communist Party "because it has been closed on itself for many years 
and has nothing new to offer." 
 
 
DUP:  We're Reaching Out Too 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶9. (SBU) In an earlier meeting with Poloff, DUP-Al-Mirghani Deputy 
Secretary General Tag Elsir Mohamed Saleh said that his party 
 
SIPDIS 
"continues conversations with all stakeholders in Sudan."  Saleh 
said the DUP's dialogue with the NCP is limited to election 
arrangements and national reconciliation.  He noted that the DUP is 
represented on the Elections Laws Committee.  "We support the 
mixed-electoral system based on a 50-50 percentage" as advocated by 
the SPLM "and could even accept 55-45, but not the 60-40 proposed by 
the NCP, because this is going to maintain the status quo." 
 
Comment 
- - - - 
¶10.  (SBU) While Al-Mirghani clings to the DUP leadership and 
frustrates members with his management style, the NCP is all too 
eager to poach prominent defectors like Abbarsi and Al-Brair, 
possibly obviating the need for an alliance with DUP Al-Mirhgani. 
The NCP would also like to break up the moribund (pre-CPA) National 
Democratic Alliance - which was chaired by Al-Mirghani and included 
the DUP, the Umma, and the SPLM - in favor of an all northern 
alliance confronting the SPLM and cornering it as only a "Southern" 
party with limited appeal.  Both of these actions strengthen the 
hand of the NCP heading into elections, should they ever actually 
occur. 
 
FERNANDEZ