O 121741Z MAR 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM IMMEDIATE 
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS STATE 023541 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SU UN
SUBJECT: ACTING A/S PHIL CARTER SPEAKS WITH GOSS PRESIDENT 
KIIR AND OTHER GOSS OFFICIALS 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Between Monday, March 9 and Tuesday, March 
10, Acting Assistant Secretary (A/S) of African Affairs (AF) 
Phil Carter spoke with Government of South Sudan (GOSS) 
President Salva Kiir and, separately, Ezekiel Gatkuoth, the 
GOSS Head of Mission to the United States.  Kiir and Gatkuoth 
both reaffirmed that the National Congress Party had acted 
unilaterally in its decision to expel the NGOs last week. 
Kiir had advised the NCP to reverse its decision, but 
believes they will not likely take his advice.  He has 
offered to allow the ousted NGOs to come to Juba in the 
meantime, as well as any members of the international 
diplomatic community who feel that necessity.  Kiir also 
advised that the international community should stay engaged 
diplomatically and politically for the sake of the people of 
Sudan while he is enlisting the support of his friends in the 
region to persuade Khartoum to reverse its decision.  GOSS 
Representative Gatkuoth and A/S Carter discussed the 
necessity of the GOSS making its own decisions and Gatkuoth 
expressed his personal concern that if the NCP continues to 
exclude the SPLM from key decisions it will create a crisis 
within a crisis and it risks the SPLM pulling out of the GNU. 
End Summary. 
 
Meeting with South Sudan President Salva Kiir 
--------------- 
¶2. (SBU) AF Acting Assistant Secretary Phil Carter called 
Government of South Sudan (GOSS) President Salva Kiir on 
Tuesday, March 10 to discuss the current situation and to 
express further USG desire to see the NGO decision reversed. 
Kiir reaffirmed that the GOSS had not been consulted by 
President Bashir or members of his National Congress Party 
(NCP) on their recent decision to expel numerous NGOs from 
Darfur.  Kiir stated that he had advised the NCP to reverse 
its decision but was not confident they would take his 
advice.  According to Kiir, it seems that the NCP is 
hell-bent on making decisions its own way with only a small 
circle of insiders advising Bashir, a dangerous path in his 
eyes.  Kiir mentioned that he believes, based on Bashir's 
rhetoric, that the NCP is willing to expel more NGOs they 
deem to be wrongly involved in the internal affairs of Sudan. 
 Kiir offered to let the ousted NGOs come to Juba in the 
meantime. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Kiir stated that the NGO expulsion not only affects 
Darfur but is also a disaster for Three Areas - Southern 
Kordofan, Abyei, and Blue Nile.  He believes the GOS has no 
alternative to filling the gap these humanitarian groups will 
leave behind, stating that Islamic NGOs will not be enough. 
Despite the dire situation, Kiir expressed that the only 
option to move forward is through diplomatic and political 
channels.  Though the NCP is undermining all standing peace 
agreements in Sudan, Kiir said that it is crucial that we 
push forward during this crisis to work for the 
implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). 
In Kiir's view, the best option for the international 
community is continued engagement with Khartoum as the main 
concern should be for the people of Sudan rather than its 
rulers.  At this time, the SPLM has not made any decisions 
about pulling out of the Government of National Unity as it 
did over the Abyei dispute in 2007.  Kiir's current moves 
include reaching out to friends in the region such as Ugandan 
President Yoweri Museveni, in hopes that others can influence 
the NCP while it is no longer listening to the West. 
 
Meeting with GOSS Head of Mission to the United States 
Ezekiel Gatkuoth 
---------------- 
¶4. (SBU) In a separate meeting Monday, March 9, A/S Carter 
met with Ezekiel Gatkuoth, GOSS Head of Mission to the United 
States, and two of his staff.  During the meeting, A/S Carter 
affirmed the USG condemnation of the NGO expulsion and 
expressed to Gatkuoth that the GOSS needed to think through 
and determine its next steps.  He explained that the USG 
needed to know where the GOSS was heading as we develop our 
engagement strategy.  He emphasized that as the GOSS makes 
decisions, it also must carefully consider the consequences 
of any decisions they make in the current political climate. 
Gatkuoth responded that he believes senior GOSS officials 
should make very public statements that the decision to expel 
the NGOs was made by the NCP alone without GOSS input.  Right 
now the NCP is attempting to make it seem as if this was a 
GNU decision.  The GOSS should make it clear that if the NCP 
wants to exclude them, it will create a crisis within a 
crisis and that it risks the SPLM pulling out of the GNU at a 
time when Bashir needs the SPLM (note: Gatkuoth said this is 
because many in the NCP want to oust Bashir but are not moving 
now because they think the SPLM is behind him).  Gatkuoth 
explained that these were not official options yet, but that 
he was just "thinking out loud." 
 
Comment 
------------ 
¶5. (SBU) It is not yet clear that the GOSS has made any 
substantive decisions about how to respond to the current 
situation.  It is possible that the SPLM could pull out of 
the Government of National Unity (GNU), but that option has 
not been fully discussed yet and we believe that kind of move 
could propel a further breakdown of the CPA.  It is essential 
that the GOSS think clearly about the consequences of any 
actions it may take but it must also determine its course of 
action quickly.  While the decision is only theirs to make, 
the USG should counsel the GOSS leadership to proceed with 
caution in the hopes that cooler heads will prevail.  Charge 
D'Affaires Alberto Fernandez may consider traveling to Juba 
to meet with President Kiir after the SPLM meetings to gauge 
next steps for the South. 
 
 
CLINTON