VZCZCXRO7342
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1639/01 3151120
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 101120Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2272
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001639 
 
DEPT FOR AF A/S FRAZER, SE WILLIAMSON, AF/SPG 
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: FUR SHURA COUNCIL CALLS FOR IDP SELF-DEFENSE 
 
REF: A) KHARTOUM 1365 
B) KHARTOUM 1632 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  On November 9, leaders of the Fur Shura Council 
(FSC) told CDA Fernandez that Darfur's IDPs need community police 
units consisting of IDPs themselves.  These FSC representatives also 
criticized the Sudan People's Initiative, called for one region for 
all of Darfur, urged US eventual development assistance for 
returnees, and insisted on the right for IDPs to return to their 
original homelands. SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  The following members of the Fur Shura Council (FSC), 
representing the traditional leadership of Darfur's largest tribe 
(and greatest victim in the Darfur crisis) visited CDA Fernandez at 
the U.S. Embassy on November 9: 
 
- Dr. Idris Yousif, Secretary General of the FSC 
- Mr. Amin Mahmud, Deputy Secretary General 
- Salah Al-Din Muhammad Rijal, Fur Maqdoom in Nyala 
- Abd Al Majid Ibrahim 
- Abd Al Gadir Mansour 
 
(Note:  CDA Fernandez last met with the FSC on September 4, 2008, 
reftel A.  The FSC includes a number of representatives from some 
tribes that have been historically very close to the Fur such as the 
Tunjur, Birgid and Dajo.  Many of Sudan's larger tribes have these 
"consultative" or Shura Councils to provide a voice for the tribe in 
the capital and to press their views. The Fur Shura Council has 
generally been close to the views of exile SLM leader Abdul Wahid 
Nur, although it is not in lock-step with him.  End Note.) 
 
¶3.  (SBU)   Salah Al-Din Muhammad Rijal opened the meeting by 
expressing congratulations for President-elect Obama and passing a 
letter to be delivered to him.  reftel B).  Rijal added that the 
election of the U.S.'s first African American President is very 
significant.  He also expressed appreciation for President Bush's 
efforts in Sudan, noting that American policy and practical steps to 
help the people of Darfur are appreciated in Darfur's IDP camps. 
 
SUDAN PEOPLE'S INITIATIVE 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶4.  (SBU)  All of the FSC representatives agreed that the real 
people of Darfur were not adequately represented in the Sudan 
People's Initiative (SPI).  Yousif said that even before the 
consultations and meetings had taken place, the  National Congress 
Party had already "cooked" the outcome of the initiative.  FSC 
representatives also bellowed with laughter over the comment: "and 
unfortunately the cooking has not been delicious." They noted that 
while SPI was mostly a "propaganda exercise," the United States had 
treated it in exactly the right way, "by focusing on deeds and not 
words." They expressed fear that the regime will continue to focus 
on process, with the SPI and with the upcoming Doha talks, and that 
some countries and even some rebel movements will be, at least 
temporarily, distracted by the show. 
 
ONE REGION, DEVELOPMENT, AND LAND RIGHTS 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶5.  (SBU)  Yousif emphasized that the FSC firmly believes that 
Darfur needs to become one single region.  Even if a stooge of the 
NCP or an enemy of the Fur leads this united region, the people of 
Darfur "will be able to sort out their own problems by themselves," 
even with the Khartoum-supported Arab tribes of Darfur which make up 
the janjaweed.   Yousif added that Darfur needs rapid re-development 
because destroyed villages must be rebuilt before the voluntary 
return of IDPs.  Mansour added that the removal of Arab settlers 
from West Africa from land previously occupied by the Fur must 
precede any such IDP return.  He  also argued that the people of 
Darfur need to return to the "hakura" system (traditional tribal 
land grant).  Yousif stated that both individual and collective 
compensation are also important to peace in Darfur. 
 
COMMUNITY POLICING 
- - - - - - - - - - - 
¶6.  (SBU)  FSC representatives maintained that the creation of 
community police units would greatly aid security in Darfur. 
Although security has improved in some of the IDP camps (such as 
sprawling and volatile Kalma IDP camp in Nyala, South Darfur, where 
a Bangladeshi Polic Unit began a 24 hour presence in September 2008) 
UNAMID and the international community should help train IDPs as 
police officers and provide oversight to this program, as UNAMID 
will not be able to provide security in Darfur forever, stated 
Yousif.  CDA Fernandez commented that some observers may see this as 
creating an IDP militia, to which Mansour responded, "perhaps, but 
this is the only way to ensure protection for Darfur's IDPs, as the 
Arabs are the only ones with weapons."  CDA Fernandez suggested that 
 
KHARTOUM 00001639  002 OF 002 
 
 
the establishment of joint integrated police units and community 
police should be explored for Darfur despite the many technical, 
political, and logistical challenges facing this endeavor.  Ibrahim 
went further, arguing that after a new peace agreement, Darfur's 
rebel movements should provide security to IDPs.  FSC 
representatives ended the meeting by expressing the hope  that the 
international community, especially the United States, will play an 
even more prominent role in Darfur in the coming weeks. 
 
COMMENT 
- - - - - 
¶7.  (SBU)  The Fur Shura Council based in Khartoum is friendly, 
likeable, and overtly pro-American.  (While exiting the Embassy, the 
FSC even requested a picture with the CDA at their next meeting, 
sang the praises of  American democracy, and again thanked the U.S. 
for its involvement in Sudan.)  Their concept of community policing 
is important and worth exploring, even though it may be premature at 
this point.  UNAMID hopes to build community police centers in 
Darfur, although the timeline for completion for the centers is 
months (and possibly even years) away.  It is not clear whether IDPs 
will be able to police themselves through these centers.  Post will 
continue to follow up with UNAMID's FPU leadership. Certainly, 
giving those people in Darfur who have suffered the most a way to 
defend themselves is an obvious no-brainer, but would be a bitter 
pill for the ruling NCP to swallow as it could lead eventually to 
the end of Khartoum's rule in Darfur. It is inconceivable that these 
IDP police could be trained by Sudanese police, which in Darfur is 
heavily infiltrated by former Arab militias, as are most regular 
paramilitary forces in the troubled region. 
 
FERNANDEZ