VZCZCXRO2350
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1504/01 2831526
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 091526Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2044
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001504 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG, A/S FRAZER, SE WILLIAMSON 
NSC FOR PITTMAN AND HUDSON 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PREL KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT: CIVIL SOCIETY INITIATIVES MAY MISS THE BOAT 
 
REF KHARTOUM 1167 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Two Darfurian civil society groups are separately 
working to combine existing civil society proposals with the hope of 
developing a unified, comprehensive view of Darfurians on how to 
resolve the crisis in their region, although neither anticipates its 
 work will be complete before the launching of the Sudan People's 
Initiative on October 16. Polchief urged both groups to unify their 
efforts and put forth a proposal as soon as possible to contribute 
to discussions organized by the regime and the Qatari Government. 
The Sudan People's Initiative, meanwhile, is apparently set to kick 
off with a weeklong conference in Khartoum. Following these 
deliberations, the NCP hopes to begin negotiations with the rebels 
in Qatar by the end of the month. End Summary. 
 
OVERLAPPING CIVIL SOCIETY INITIATIVES 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On October 5 poloffs met with representatives of the 
"Unification of Darfur People's Vision" working group, a civil 
society organization dedicated to developing a unified proposal to 
resolve the crisis in Darfur. Though its core members are civil 
society leaders and intellectuals who have participated in the 
various international conferences on Darfur (Reftel), the group has 
attempted to broaden its reach and claims to have sought input from 
all aspects of Darfurian society. To that end, it has assembled a 
roster of 192 individuals, democratically chosen from fourteen 
designated constituencies such as women, IDPs, refugees, native 
administration, nomads, farmers, lawyers, media, and others. All 
tribal groups are represented, said Siddig Ismail, one of the 
group's leaders. The group hopes to convene a conference of all 
chosen representatives in London in mid-November to unify and 
finalize its proposal, he said. Its main objective is "to pressure 
the government and the rebels to get to the negotiating table," he 
said. "We want the voice of civil society to be heard." As a 
conflation of views on Darfur, the group's final communiqu will 
address the familiar themes of land rights, resettlement and 
rehabilitation, compensation, and the like. Siddig stated that an 
overarching theme of the group's work is a return to Darfur's 
historical right to be one state, and a Vice Presidential slot for 
Darfur. "These are non-negotiable," he said. 
 
¶3. (SBU) On October 7 poloffs met with Professor Atayeb Hajj Attia, 
Director of Peace Research Center of the University of Khartoum and 
Professor Abdul Rahman B. Dossa, Secretary General of a "White 
Paper" group seeking to collect and unify all civil society 
proposals and resolutions presented in the various workshops and 
conferences, particularly those held in Heidelberg, Concordis, 
Jeddah, Dar Es Salaam (Reftel) and discussions of Khartoum-based 
Darfuri intellectuals. They are seeking to present a comprehensive 
"white paper" to represent the views of Darfur civil society to 
inform future negotiations between the GOS and rebel factions. "This 
will be a practicable and workable document that puts forth all 
existing ideas and recommendations," said Professor Attia, noting 
that while there is near-total agreement on many issues, others are 
more contentious. Professor Dossa added that the group "is 
non-political... We are just trying to do something useful to solve 
the problem." They envision presenting a draft of the white paper to 
a mini-conference of 70-80 select individuals to sharpen their 
focus, and publish a final version for universal distribution. 
Though short on time and resources, the group expects to have a 
preliminary draft ready in 17-20 days (Note: A former Embassy 
Political Assistant is one of the key drafters. End Note.) 
 
¶4. (SBU) Given the apparent similarity in the two civil groups' 
goals and objectives and many cross-relationships and linkages 
between them, polchief urged that they unify their efforts and put 
forth a joint proposal as soon as possible. With the Sudan People's 
initiative apparently  scheduled to be launched on October 16, 
polchief told them that the window of opportunity to influence 
people and events may not remain open for the several months that 
each organization thinks necessary to complete its respective study. 
 He also encouraged them to seek media exposure and widespread 
publication of the final communiqu to make sure their voices are 
heard. 
 
PEOPLE'S INITIATIVE TO LAUNCH OCTOBER 16 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) On October 7, polchief met with Atta Al Mannan, an NCP 
member and former governor of South Darfur who is involved with the 
much-hyped Sudan People's Initiative. Al Mannan stated the 
initiative is set to be launched on October 16 with a weeklong 
conference.  It is envisioned that negotiations hosted by Qatar 
would commence towards the end of the month, he said, noting that 
 
KHARTOUM 00001504  002 OF 002 
 
 
all parties have been invited to participate. He was optimistic that 
representatives from JEM would fly to Doha, noting that Khalil 
Ibrahim has authorized his brother, Dr. Gibriel Ibrahim, to conduct 
negotiations on his behalf. However Al Mannan asked polchief to 
"help us convince Abdul Wahid." The DPA will remain the basis and 
the starting point for all political negotiations on Darfur, he 
said. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Al Mannan stated that the NCP is committed to fostering 
dialogue and welcomes universal participation in the Sudan People's 
Initiative. "It's a very comprehensive effort" he said. "All 
proposals will be on the table." He noted that that the time was 
ripe for finding a solution, as "people are very flexible...even the 
government." He expressed hope that by the end of the Sudan People's 
Initiative conference a consensus would be found.  Polchief agreed 
that a framework for resolution would be a positive development, but 
urged that a serious offer be made to Abdel Wahid and Khalil Ibrahim 
in advance of the conference.  Al Mannan urged that the USG strongly 
encourage the rebel groups to participate. He also asked that the 
USG urge Libya and Chad to play a constructive role in resolving the 
conflict, particularly the latter. "There will be no sustainable 
Darfur solution without Chad," he said, noting Dr. Nafie Ali Nafie, 
Mutriff Siddiq and Salah Ghosh had all brought up this point in 
their meetings with French officials in Paris. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment: Though chided by some as elitist, the work of 
civil society groups represents some of the most substantive 
thinking on how to resolve the Darfur crisis to date. If they are 
successful in drawing input from a wider representation of 
Darfurians, these groups can play a constructive role in providing a 
voice for the people of Darfur (especially alienated IDPs) in future 
negotiations.  This is a role that rebel factions are unsuited to 
play. It is unfortunate therefore that neither group appears ready 
to present a unified proposal before October 16.  That said, we do 
not expect any dramatic progress on the Sudan People's Initiative - 
other than perhaps an opening ceremony - before the end of the 
month. 
 
ASQUINO