VZCZCXRO9790
RR RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHNJ #0162/01 1281317
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081317Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6903
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 0612
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0222
RUEHBZ/AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE 0050
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NDJAMENA 000162 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
KHARTOUM FOR SE GRATION 
STATE FOR AF/C AND AF/USSES 
NSC FOR GAVIN AND HUDSON 
LONDON FOR POL -- LORD 
PARIS FOR POL -- D'ELIA AND KANEDA 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR AU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF AU LY CD
SUBJECT: KHALIL IBRAHIM PRESENTS --  "THE NEW JEM" 
 
REF: A. KHARTOUM 597 
     ¶B. NDJAMENA 147 
 
NDJAMENA 00000162  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
¶1.  (SBU) JEM Chief Dr. Khalil Ibrahim told SE Gration May 
2-3 that his recently enhanced and expanded movement was the 
"New JEM" whose top priority was peace, not conquest.  Khalil 
claimed to represent over 200 Sudanese tribes, offered proof 
that a number of former commanders of separate rebel 
movements had for the moment joined his cause.  Senior 
SLA/Unity commanders and Fur leaders were part of Khalili's 
40-person delegation -- representing the JEM Executive Board. 
 Khalil claimed that only the "New JEM" had effective 
fighting forces on the ground in Darfur and Kordufan, 
dismissed remaining rebel movements as insignificant 
("internet movements"), and said that the only way to the 
Doha negotiating table was via unity with the JEM.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) During May 2-3 discussions with SE Gration, Dr. 
Khalil Ibrahim, Chairman of the Justice and Equality Movement 
(JEM) presented his group as the "New JEM" whose top priority 
was peace.  Ibrahim brought 40 members of JEM's executive 
board to the May 2 meeting with the SE.  He claimed that 22 
different tribes were represented on the Board and that the 
"New JEM" included representation from over 200 Sudanese 
tribes.  See Para 8 for the delegation list of JEM Executive 
Board members who met with the Special Envoy. 
 
---------------------- 
JEM WAY OR THE HIGHWAY 
---------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Khalil was adamant that his group should be 
considered the only legitimate Sudan rebel movement, and the 
only group to be allowed to negotiate with the Government of 
Sudan in Doha.  He said that he would welcome any rebels to 
the table so long as they were aligned with JEM.  He decried 
GOS efforts to recognize other rebel groups and invite them 
to Doha, saying that the GOS's goal was to divide the Darfuri 
people.  He expressed concern about efforts by the Government 
of Qatar (GOQ) to welcome all rebel factions to the table. 
Ibrahim termed rebel groups not aligned with the JEM 
"internet movements," claiming that they had no troop 
strength.  JEM was now the only strong, qualified movement on 
the ground, he said.  "We have disarmed all the others," he 
asserted 
 
------------------------- 
EITHER YOU ARE WITH US... 
------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Khalil asked former SLA/Unity commanders to stand 
and testify to their loyalty to the JEM; seven people of the 
40-member delegation did so.  Suleiman Mohamed Jamous, former 
SLA/Unity leader, along with former SLA commanders Mansour 
Arbab Younis and Mohamed Bilail Issa, all spoke passionately 
about their decision to abandon the SLA for the JEM.  Jamous 
noted that he had tried for two years to unify various SLA 
factions; having become convinced that a unified SLA would 
never exist, he opted to join JEM, bringing 70 percent of the 
SLA force with him.  Younis then claimed to have brought the 
rest of the SLA's fighters to join the JEM.  Jamous asserted 
that only those "leaders" living abroad still referred to 
themselves as belonging to the SLA, which had no strength on 
the ground in Sudan.  Younis spoke dismissively of Abdul 
Wahid, whose decision to live in Paris kept him far from the 
suffering of the people in Darfur. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Mohamed Abdalla A/Khaliq portrayed himself as a 
representative of the Fur tribe, stating that Fur leaders had 
taken a collective decision to join JEM.  He said that JEM 
offered an opportunity for the Darfuri people to determine 
their own fate.  He spoke of an upcoming conference for all 
Fur people sponsored by JEM.  Khalil asserted that the "New 
JEM" represented the Fur as well as the Zaghawa. 
 
---------------- 
OR WE DISARM YOU 
 
NDJAMENA 00000162  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
---------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Khalil replied to a question about Minni Minnawi's 
SLA faction by stating that this group had been disarmed by 
the JEM.  (NOTE:  Ref A appears to confirm this.  END NOTE.) 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The presentations of the rebel leaders who 
accompanied Khalil to N'Djamena appeared staged.  Still, we 
know Suleiman Jamous to be a man of his word in a climate 
where this characteristic is rare, so it seems to us that 
JEM's uptick in credibility among anti-GOS elements is a 
factor to be dealt with.  Khalil clearly reveled in the 
opportunity to portray himself and his group as the unifying 
rebel force in Darfur -- a powerful, peace-focused New JEM. 
His mercurial negotiating tendencies -- agreeing to a 
position he subsequently disavows, demanding concessions for 
taking a step he initially offered to carry out for free -- 
remain unwelcome reminders of his personal style as leader of 
old JEM.  Khalil spent much of his floor time in the course 
of 16 hours of negotiating with SE Gration over a two-day 
period repeating that the JEM had long since satisfied its 
commitments under the February Goodwill agreement, whereas 
the GOS had failed to fulfill its promises.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶8.  (U) SE Gration cleared this message. 
 
--------------- 
DELEGATION LIST 
--------------- 
 
¶9.  (U) JEM members gave us this delegation list in advance 
of the May 2-3 meetings.  Additional JEM members, including 
JEM press and security, attended the discussions. 
-- Dr. Khalil Ibrahim Mohamed: Chairman 
-- Dr. Tahir Adam El Faki: Speaker of the Legislative Council 
-- Ahmed Adam Bakhit: Governor of Darfur Region, Deputy 
Chairman 
-- Ibrahim Al Maz Deng: Governor of the Region of South 
Sudan, Deputy Chairman 
-- Al Wathiq Billahi al Hamadabi: governor of the Northern 
Region, Deputy Chairman 
-- Nour Addaem Bahri Salama: Acting Governor of the Region of 
Kurdofan 
-- Bushara Suleiman Nour: Economic Advisor to the Chairman 
-- Eng. Mansour Arabab Younis: Secretary for Presidential 
Affairs 
-- Eng. Suleiman Mohamed Jamous: Secretary for Humanitarian 
Affairs 
-- Adam Ali Shogar: Secretary for Political Affairs 
-- Ahmed Mohamed Togod Lissan: Secretary for Negotiations and 
Peace Affairs 
-- A/Rahman Ibrahim Banat: Secretary for Social Affairs 
-- Suleiman Sandal Haggar: Secretary for Security and 
Intelligence 
-- Dr. Gebreil Ibrahim Mohamed: Secretary for Foreign Affairs 
-- Izzaddeen Yousif Bejji: Secretary for Financial Affairs 
-- Hassan Haroun Adam: Secretary for Construction and 
Development 
-- Mohamed Bilail Issa: Secretary without Portfolio 
-- Dafalla Bakhit Yagoub: Secretary without Portfolio 
-- Jamal Hussain Mohamed: Wali of West Darfur 
-- Suleiman Fadl El Karim Humaidan: Wali of West Kurdofan 
-- Aamir Allikah Kuku: Wali of South Kurdofan 
-- Mohamed Abdalla A/Khaliq: Wali of Jabal Marra 
-- Seifannasr Attijani Haroun: Wali of North Darfur 
-- Babiker Abbakar Hamadain: Deputy Secretary for 
Presidential Affairs 
-- Yazid Dafalla Rasshash: Deputy Secretary for Students and 
Youth 
-- A/Salam Ahmed Issa: Member of the Political Secretariat 
-- Jarunnabi A/Karim: Member of the Political Secretariat 
-- Najmaddeen Musa A/Karim: Member of the Political 
Secretariat 
-- Banani Al Ameen: Member of the Political Secretariat 
-- Suheib Ibrahim Abbakar: Special Secretary to the Chairman 
 
¶10.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
NDJAMENA 00000162  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
NIGRO