VZCZCXRO1558
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1009/01 1900741
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 080741Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1259
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001009 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG, A/S FRAZER, SE WILLIAMSON 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT: RIZEIGAT ARAB LEADER ON DARFUR CIVIL SOCIETY, OBSTREPEROUS 
SOUTH DARFUR GOVERNOR 
 
REF: KHARTOUM 992 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Poloff met July 6 with Waleed Maddibo Mousa, 
prominent Darfur Rizeigat Arab and civil society leader and 
organizer of the annual equestrian festival in Ed-Daien, South 
Darfur. Maddibo used the festival to create a "clandestine dialogue" 
among Darfuris, and believes the late-night discussions among 
Rizeigat Arabs gave them a chance to voice grievances free of GOS 
interference. He heaped scorn on the Wali (Governor) of South 
Darfur, a well-known obstructionist of international efforts in the 
region, and plans further festivals in more friendly areas of 
Darfur. End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Maddibo, a sophisticated Sudanese-American with a doctorate 
in philosophy from the University of Florida, and son of the Nazir 
of the South Darfur Abbala Rizeigat community, described the annual 
festival as "another success in challenging the institutional 
mentality of an apathetic population." The event, held in May in 
El-Daien, attracted tens of thousands of local Arabs, and attracted 
positive press in major media outlets such as Al-Jazeera, BBC and 
the Washington Post.  However Maddibo was more focused on the 
after-effects of calming down the tense situation in Ed-Daien, 
noting that the festival had been blocked from even occurring for 
several months by the difficult and obstructive Wali of South 
Darfur.  Maddibo said that El-Daien boasts a large Dinka population, 
and Maddibo estimates that 90 percent of urban dwellers there are 
non-Arab, but its ethnic heterogeneity may prove a source of 
instability. "If you don't take protective measures, you are 
potentially creating a new Abyei. The Rizeigat tribal institution 
doesn't understand way to take advantage of any peace initiative. 
This may be the way out."  (Note: El-Daien is the site of the 
infamous slaughter of Dinka IDPs by these same Rizeigat Arabs in the 
early 1990s, who were then allied more closely with the Khartoum 
regime and used in numerous attacks against the South. End note.) 
 
¶2. (SBU) "This gathering was not apolitical," Maddibo said, 
describing the event as an "umbrella" under which Rizeigat Arabs 
attended horse festivals during the day, and provided cover for 
independent discussions on political topics at night. "We must do 
reconciliation among the tribes clandestinely. The government would 
interrupt it, and Darfur civil society forums are deprived of 
resources."  The five day festival ended without any instances of 
political violence or interruption by Sudanese security forces. "Not 
a single mobile phone was stolen!" Maddibo claimed, and also cited 
an internal GOS security report that he claimed gave the event 
credit for improving local security. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Maddibo did not hide his contempt for Ali Mahmoud, Wali of 
South Darfur. Mahmoud, who in a recent newspaper interview expressed 
his desire to expel all aid workers from Sudan, threw up numerous 
administrative roadblocks to halt the festival, delaying the 
festival by three months. "The emperor of South Darfur," as Maddibo 
described him, is "the match South Darfur needs to set it in flames. 
He is arrogant. He despises the tribal chiefs, he disrespects his 
own commissioners, he intimidates civil society, and he has no voice 
with the rebels." Maddibo said he had received information that 
Mahmoud had ordered retaliatory SAF air attacks in June on the Beni 
Halba Arabs (ref. A, paragraph 9), killing 109 members of the Beni 
Halba militia. Maddibo said that after months of bureaucratic 
delays, he finally managed to outmaneuver the wily Wali thanks to 
his personal contacts in the GOS, who in turn have begun to turn 
against their appointee. "He has become a liability for the NCP," 
Maddibo said, "and they don't trust him." The Beni Halba have 
reportedly sworn to kill the Wali (who comes from the Darfuri Taisha 
Arab tribe) as part of a blood feud. 
 
¶4. (SBU) At heart an academic, Maddibo's said his goal is to empower 
"agents capable of acting civically," but remains concerned that 
international efforts to solve the Darfur crisis strand themselves 
in hotels in Khartoum without actually reaching out to target 
beneficiaries. "People in Darfur don't know anything about the DDDC, 
the JMST and UNAMID," voicing a common complaint heard from Darfuri 
civil society activists. Hence his ambitious plans: Maddibo intends 
to move forward with proposals for another festival in El Geneina, 
West Darfur ("This time the Wali, he wants us there"), and a series 
of engagements to expose his "clandestine dialogue" to as many 
Darfuris as possible. "Both rebels and the GOS are taking the silent 
majority for granted. If the silent majority can coerce them, and if 
they feel the silent majority can pull the rug out from under their 
feet, then they have to respond." 
 
¶5. (SBU) Comment: Maddibo is well connected within his tribe and 
broader Sudanese society, and his goals most likely connect to 
far-reaching political ambitions. The festival received significant 
support from international donors, and it appears to have paid off 
in South Darfur. Ed-Daien sits on the fault line that connects 
 
KHARTOUM 00001009  002 OF 002 
 
 
Darfur with South Kordofan and the always volatile Abyei, and 
peaceful civil society initiatives such as this serve to encourage 
discussion among tribal groups that have been at times ignored and 
at times manipulated by Khartoum. 
 
FERNANDEZ