VZCZCXRO5063
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0372/01 0731208
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 131208Z MAR 08 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0186
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000372 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF A/S FRAZER, AF S/E WILLIAMSON, AND AF/SPG 
NSC FOR PITTMAN AND HUDSON 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KEDEM PREF SU
SUBJECT: KING OF EL FASHER ON THE PEACE AND RECONCILIATION COUNCIL, 
THE CENSUS, AND ELECTIONS 
 
REF: KHARTOUM 155 
 
KHARTOUM 00000372  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The Malik (King) of El Fasher said the Peace and 
Reconciliation Commission in North Darfur has had some success in 
fostering reconciliation among Arab and African tribes, but lacks 
major funding from the GoS to carry out its work.  The King also 
spoke about the census and called for its postponement, stating that 
there are many more pressing issues to be addressed in Darfur before 
census and the elections can take place - namely, the achievement of 
peace, stability, and the return of IDPs to their villages.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) On 10 March, poloff met with the elderly King of El Fasher 
Rahamtalla Mahmoud at the North Darfur Peace and Reconciliation 
Commission Office.  The King, who is the Chairman of the Commission 
for North Darfur State, was joined in the meeting by 16 staff 
members who work on conflict resolution, media, and administrative 
affairs for the Commission.  [Note: The Peace and Reconciliation 
Commission is part of the Transitional Darfur Regional 
Administration (TDRA) - an institution born out of the DPA.  Its 
North Darfur office opened for business in April 2007.  End Note.] 
 
----------------------- 
A NON-FUNDED GOOD IDEA 
----------------------- 
¶3. (U) According to King Mahmoud, the role of the Peace and 
Reconciliation Commission is to create peaceful coexistence between 
tribes in Darfur.  The Commission provides conflict management 
resolution and problem-solving for tribes in dispute.  The King said 
that the Commission has been instrumental in reconciling between the 
Rezeigat, Mahameed, and Bani Haba tribes along the border of North 
and South Darfur.  He also said that the Commission has provided 
dispute resolution for the Fur, Rezeigat, Zaghawa, and Birgit tribes 
in North Darfur.  The disputing parties have the right to choose 
their mediators, which usually consist of well-respected local 
sheikhs and community leaders.  The mediators sit with the parties, 
listen to their concerns and facilitate dialogue and negotiation on 
issues such as land ownership and compensation.  The mediators 
reconcile the problem using local solutions, such as the giving of 
diya ("blood money") or karama (the slaughtering of sheep to signify 
forgiveness). 
 
¶4. (SBU) Although the Commission has had some success in North 
Darfur, the King described its many constraints.  First, the 
Commission has only received funding to pay salaries.  The 
Commission has no funding for implementing projects, providing 
transportation for mediators, mediator training, or even for paying 
mediators. Second, the Commission must submit project proposals to 
the local Ministry of Finance in order to receive funding for its 
projects.  So far, it has submitted three proposals, none of which 
has received a response.  The King complained that the local 
government is "disturbing" this process on purpose.  Third, the 
mediators are supposed to receive security support from the police; 
however this has yet to be provided.  Fourth, the King described a 
complete lack of cooperation between the Peace and Reconciliation 
Commission offices in the three states of Darfur.  [Note: 
Twenty-two staff members work at the Peace and Reconciliation 
Commission in North Darfur.  Commission funding is to be paid out of 
TDRA funds which originates from the Central Ministry of Finance in 
Khartoum.  As of now, the Commission receives no donor support, but 
it has requested that UNAMID Civil Affairs provide training 
opportunities, equipment and transportation for mediators.  End 
note.] 
 
------------------------------- 
A CALL TO POSTPONE THE CENSUS 
------------------------------- 
¶5. (SBU) The King emphasized that the current situation in Darfur 
does not create an "ideal environment" for the census to take place. 
 Due to the security and stability problems that Darfuris face, he 
said, the census should be postponed.  Many of the King's staff 
chimed in to share the same concern about conducting next month's 
census in Darfur.  The overwhelming opinion was that the GoS should 
be concerned with achieving peace, stability, and allowing for the 
return of IDPs to their villages before carrying out the census and 
elections.  One staff member noted that if the census goes forward 
and Darfur is left out (i.e. - the GoS decides not to hold the 
census in Darfur and makes up for it by adapting 1993 census data to 
the current year), it may lead Darfuris to "take another step 
against the government in Khartoum."  Staff also complained that the 
Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) has announced based on its 
household mapping exercise, that there is no population in some 
areas of Darfur, which is untrue.  One staff member projected that 
the census will be "fraudulent" and used the CBS mapping results as 
an indicator of the GoS' intent to "manipulate the numbers."   When 
poloff asked the King why the GoS would want to manipulate numbers, 
 
KHARTOUM 00000372  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
he responded that the Peace and Reconciliation Commission was a 
"civil, not political institution" and that the GoS should deal with 
such questions.  The King reiterated that the census should not take 
place in April as planned because people are displaced and have no 
basic services - how can they feel free to speak about the census 
and elections when their problems are much bigger than that?  He 
urged that the GoS put peace and security for Darfur at the top of 
its agenda and wait until Darfur was in a stable position before 
conducting a nation-wide census and elections. 
 
¶6. (SBU) COMMENT.  The King, who commenced his reign in 1945, is 
largely a figurehead in North Darfur with no executive power. Darfur 
is particularly rich in kings, sultans, princes and other empty 
noble titles - remnants of when it was an independent country in 
¶1916. However, as the ethnic Fur leader of the native 
administration, he has his finger on the pulse of civil society 
through his deep connections with local sheikhs and community 
leaders.  The fact that the GoS is intentionally holding back TDRA 
funds meant for the North Darfur Peace and Reconciliation Commission 
shows the GoS' continued interest in blocking the implementation of 
the DPA. 
 
¶7. (SBU) COMMENT CONTINUED:  The census and the elections are 
certainly not at the top of Darfuris' agendas.  Peace, security, and 
the return of IDPs to their homes are the Darfur peoples' primary 
concerns.  Without these things, the census and the elections are 
meaningless for the Darfuri people.  They do not want to be 
disenfranchised yet again by being left out of the census and 
electoral process, yet they plead for the postponement of these 
events and urge the international community to re-focus on Darfur's 
larger issues.  This is not the first time Darfur and the CPA have 
come into conflict, of course.  The CPA should continue to take 
priority to ensure national stability and prevent a return to war in 
the South.  Meanwhile the GOS and the international community must 
continually seek ways of including Darfur in the CPA process, both 
before and after elections, if and when they occur. 
 
FERNANDEZ