VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKH #1659/01 3181515
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 131515Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2308

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001659 
 
DEPT FOR S/ES-CR, S/ES-OS, AF A/S FRAZER, AF/SPG, 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SU
SUBJECT:  MESSAGE OF CONGRATULATIONS FOR THE PRESIDENT ELECT FROM 
THE PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL UMMA PARTY 
 
REF:  STATE 118192 
 
¶1.  Post has received a letter of congratulations (text in para. 2) 
for President-elect Obama from the President of National Umma Party 
of Sudan, former PM Al Sadig Al Mahdi.  A copy of the original 
letter is being transmitted to the Department via pouch. 
 
¶2.  Begin Text: 
 
      5 November 2008 
 
To:  Senator Barack Obama 
President-Elect of the United States of America 
Washington DC, USA 
 
From:  Imam Al Sadig Al Mahdi 
President of the National Umma Party of 
 
Re:  Congratulatory Message 
 
My dear brother 
 
I write to congratulate you and all the forces which have suffered 
from the status quo, and have had the audacity to hope and act for 
change. 
 
I cannot find words strong enough to describe the exhilaration of 
the majority of peoples all over the world at your meteoric rise and 
election as the 44th president of the United Sates. At the same 
time, I cannot find words strong enough to describe the mess which 
the neo-cons have meted world wide. 
 
You have captured the spirit of time and made change your most 
effective motto. Our key message to you is a double yes for change. 
But before defining the terms of change, give the stakeholders, who 
have been the victims of the outgoing misguided policies, your ears 
and listen as you promised: 
 
¶1. Your parental home, Africa, the cradle of Human Civilization, is, 
in cosmic terms, a Global black hole. It aspires to a qualified 
panel to decide what America can do to help it, pull itself out of 
it's present predicament, and to define what its own genuine 
representatives should do to help themselves. 
 
¶2. In the Middle East all America's interests are with the Arabs, 
yet all America's positions are with expansionist Israeli policies. 
This anomaly cannot continue. America must realize that there is no 
peace without justice and work for a genuine, sustainable and just 
peace. 
 
¶3. The free market economy achieved wonderful results in terms of 
enterprise, innovation, and productivity. But like all aspects of 
freedom, it presupposes a backbone of discipline. 
 
Discipline which Mr. Bush and his team undermined by an internal 
fiscal free fall, and an external military adventurism which 
overburdened the U.S economy. 
 
To add insult to injury, the brinkmanship over Iran fuelled the 
speculative rise in the price of oil. 
 
Not only the Americans, but the whole world has been inspired by 
your election, look up to you to restore discipline in the economy, 
to terminate brinkmanship and military adventurism and to develop 
the social welfare potential of the free market economy. 
 
¶4. My own country, the Sudan, had suffered from the misgovernment of 
its own neo-conservative type leadership. In our context, change 
cannot come in the same way as in America. In response to various 
factors, the country's leadership has now accepted the necessity for 
change. What is now being considered is to convene a National Forum 
to undertake the following reforms: 
 
(a) To end the DARFUR crisis in terms which will endorse all the 
legitimate demands of the people of DARFUR. 
(b) A redoubled effort to develop the Peace Agreement, The NAIVASHA 
Agreement, to become a National Commitment, to enhance its 
implementation and to achieve its cherished targets of just peace, 
making unity attractive, and effecting Democratic Transformation. 
(c) To guarantee Human Rights, and basic freedoms. 
(d) To hold general, free and fair elections to resolve the power 
struggle democratically. 
(e) To pursue the duty of accountability for criminal conduct as 
specified by UN Security Council Resolution 1593 without 
surrendering the country to chaos, i.e. to reconcile retributive 
Justice with restorative Justice. 
 
To achieve the above stated, a National All Party Conference is 
planned to give the resolution of these issues consensual 
legitimacy. 
 
This is the outline of possible change in the Sudan. We look forward 
to your support for this endeavor. 
 
Finally, 
 
As the last legitimate elected Prime Minister of Sudan, a leader of 
a party (the National Umma Party) which continues to struggle for 
democracy and human rights, and as an African who sees the future of 
the continent in terms of its geo-political unity and not a damaging 
ethnic schism, and as a Muslim who believes that Islam preaches the 
accommodation of modern social change, accepts cultural and 
religious plurality and calls for peaceful International Relations; 
I pray to Allah to bless your efforts to effect the promised change, 
in the pursuit of which, we extend our hand for cooperation to 
effect the desired change in our respective countries, and support 
for your effort to pursue the Agenda of International Good 
Governance. 
 
Please accept my best wishes and heartiest condolences for the loss 
of your grandmother. 
 
I am,  /s/ 
Elected Sudanese PM 1986-1989 
Elected IMAM of AMSAR Dec. 2002 
Elected President of UMMA Party 2003 
 
FERNANDEZ