VZCZCXRO4326
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #0324/01 0681541
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 091541Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3200
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000324 
 
DEPT FOR AF A A/S CARTER, AF/SPG, AF/C 
NSC FOR MGAVIN AND CHUDSON 
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: BASHIR DEFIANT AS IDPs PREDICT CRISIS IN THE CAMPS 
 
REF: A) KHARTOUM 318 
B) KHARTOUM 315 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: As authorities press ahead with the decision to 
expel NGOs from Darfur, a defiant Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir 
addressed a rally in El Fasher on March 8.  In addition to accusing 
the U.S. of killing "millions" of Muslims, he denounced both the ICC 
and NGO workers as "agents of the West."  Major cities and IDP camps 
in Darfur were quiet over the weekend, but furious Darfuri leaders 
expressed concern that IDPs would be adversely affected within one 
week to ten days as NGOs depart.  GOS ministries have announced 
their intentions to step up their efforts to replicate the efforts 
of the NGOs, but Darfuris universally condemned GOS ministries, the 
HAC, and local NGOs as incapable of providing the required services. 
Joint Chief Mediator Gibril Bassole is traveling to Qatar, Libya and 
Brussels this week to address the NGO expulsions with regional 
leaders, while AU Chairman Ping is in Khartoum March 9 attempting to 
convince the NCP regime to freeze the expulsions or work with donors 
to ensure there are no gaps in humanitarian assistance in Darfur. 
End summary. 
 
--------------------------- 
BASHIR DEFIANT IN EL FASHER 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On March 8 President Bashir flew to El Fasher, North 
Darfur, to address a rally with incendiary rhetoric typical of his 
speeches since the ICC announcement (ref A), much of it aimed 
specifically at the U.S.  Calling Western leaders "hypocrites," and 
NGO workers and International Criminal Court (ICC) judges "agents of 
the West," he accused the international community of wanting to 
colonize Sudan and steal its resources.  In addition to his 
customary demand that the ICC judges and the West soak the arrest 
warrant in water and drink it, he accused the U.S. of killing 
"millions" of Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and Gaza, and claimed 
that the U.S. perpetuates racist policies.  Although Bashir returned 
to Khartoum the same day, UNAMID reported that the Sudanese 
president intends to visit El Geneina later this week. 
 
------------------------------------ 
IDP LEADERS FURIOUS AS SERVICES FADE 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) Furious that the GOS decision will curtail vital services, 
IDP leaders in Darfur interpreted the move as a deliberate policy to 
reduce the "pull factor" that attracts IDPs to the camps. Ahmed Atim 
Othman, a community leader in Abu Shouk IDP camp near El Fasher, 
North Darfur, accused the GOS of expelling the NGOs to pressure IDPs 
to leave the camps.  "They have a plan to get rid of the IDP 
populations by any means, and this is one of the new ways of making 
the life of the IDPs difficult," he told emboff on March 8.  Abdel 
Rahman Aam, a traditional leader in Kalma camp, South Darfur, told 
emboff that he believes that within two weeks, IDPs there will face 
acute water shortages and a lack of health services.   Of the 90,000 
IDPs living in the crowded camp, scene of a GOS shooting in August 
2008 that killed 35 civilians, Aam predicted that some residents 
will definitely leave the camp in search of other suitable living 
areas.  Hamid Abdel Kareem, an IDP community leader in West Darfur, 
expected increased suffering in the coming weeks in Kirinding IDP 
camp, home to more than 35,000 IDPs.  Blaming the GOS for 
exacerbating the precarious plight in the camps, Kareem said he 
believes this to be part of the GOS policy to target the Fur people 
for supporting the expatriate rebel commander Abdel Wahid El Nur and 
tacitly supporting the arrest warrant issued last week by the 
International Criminal Court.  In addition to lamenting the loss of 
basic services, all IDPs leaders expressed their full faith and 
confidence in the expelled NGOs. 
 
¶4. (SBU) UN sources indicated that GOS authorities in Darfur have 
begun to address the coming shortfall in services, but they 
themselves do not appear to understand the enormity of the task 
before them.  Hideo Ikebe, political officer with UNAMID, told 
poloff March 8 that in a meeting with UNAMID in El Geneina, 
officials with the West Darfur Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) 
said they were well aware of the short-sightedness of the decision, 
and were concerned that IDPs there would soon lack access to basic 
services.  Yousif Fadul Gumaa, with the World Health Organization in 
El Fasher, said that the North Darfur Ministry of Health has already 
commandeered the assets of INGOs IRC and ACF in order to restart 
their nutrition programs in North Darfur, but he doubted that the 
fledgling ministry has the capacity to run clinics and nutritional 
centers.  He predicted that the impact will be "immediate." 
Additionally, despite whatever earnestness the HAC and GOS 
authorities in Darfur bring to their new vocation, GOS humanitarian 
efforts would not cover as many Darfuris as current efforts. 
 
KHARTOUM 00000324  002 OF 002 
 
 
According to the West Darfur IDP leader Kareem, Save the Children 
US, besides implementing life-saving programs in five areas of West 
Darfur (Geneina, Mornei, Habila, Forbaranga,Kerenik),also works in 
remote, rebel-held areas of West Darfur inaccessible to the HAC and 
government ministries. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Darfuris working in NGOs and civil society organizations 
predicted that the next week to ten days will be crucial as 
bi-weekly aid distributions come to an end.  Ismail Rasheed, 
director of the Save the Children Sweden office in El Fasher, said 
that it would be impossible for GOS authorities to immediately 
bridge the "huge" gap this decision has created, as health and 
education NGOs have already begun shutting down their operations in 
North Darfur.  Ahmed Hassan Bahar, an El Fasher community leader 
allied with SLA/Minni Minnawi, said that the departure of the NGOs 
will impact Darfuris after one week, as GOS and local NGOs were 
lacking in professionalism and not trusted by the IDPs.  Ahmed Adam 
Yousif, a civil society leader in El Fasher, was unsure that IDPs 
would accept the presence of GOS service providers inside the camps, 
and doubted that the GOS would follow through on its vow to provide 
the same level of aid to IDPs. 
 
---------------------------------- 
BASSOLE TO DOHA, TRIPOLI, BRUSSELS 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) On March 8, George Zacariah, political officer with the 
office of Joint Chief Mediator Gibril Bassole, told poloff that 
following several days of tedious consultations with the NCP in 
Khartoum, Bassole heads today to Doha to consult with the Qataris on 
the GOS's order to expel NGOs working in Darfur.  Privately 
frustrated that the decision was "not in the spirit of the Doha 
agreement," Bassole met with senior GOS officials who emphasized 
that the expulsion order is irrevocable and non-negotiable. 
Bassole's office does not intend to issue any public statement, but 
the Chief Mediator will travel to Doha, Tripoli and Brussels in the 
next week to see if regional partners can assist in engaging 
positively with the GOS.  Bassole will return to Khartoum on March 
14 and will meet with CDA Fernandez at that time.  UNAMID polchief 
Abdul Mohammed told polchief March 9 that AU Chairman Ping met with 
GNU Presidential Advisor Nafie ali Nafie earlier that day, and that 
Nafie promised that the expulsions would stop and that the GNU would 
work with the UN and donors to ensure there is no gap in 
humanitarian assistance.  Ping planned to meet with President Bashir 
later in the day March 9. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment: Bashir's presence in Darfur, and his escalating 
rhetoric directed at NGOs and the international community, will 
continue to intimidate the marginalized and their leaders in Darfur. 
 Elsewhere, a government decision to suspend services would be a 
cause for public protest, but for Darfuris, the August 2008 
shootings during a peaceful protest at Kalma camp serve as a grim 
reminder to IDPs that public protests will be met with lethal force. 
 If there is not a coordinated solution soon to mitigate the looming 
humanitarian catastrophe, already displaced Darfuris may eventually 
pick up their meager belongings and start walking to other locations 
including refugee camps in Chad to find better services. At a time 
when the rebel movements have reached a low point in terms of 
strength, the GOS decision to limit humanitarian assistance could 
lead to increased support for armed insurgents.  With the GOS 
defiant, NGOs expelled, IDPs threatening to become refugees or throw 
their support to rebels, the ICC indictment of President Bashir is 
already having a significant impact on the crisis in Darfur. 
 
FERNANDEZ