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OO RUEHBC RUEHBZ RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHKUK RUEHMA
RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNJ #0213/01 1561050
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 051050Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6975
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NDJAMENA 000213 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR AF/C AND S/USSES - SE GRATION 
NSC FOR GAVIN 
LONDON FOR POL - LORD 
PARIS FOR POL - D'ELIA AND KANEDA 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR AU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PREF MOPS SU LY QA CD
SUBJECT: CHAD COMMITTED TO NEGOTIATED PEACE WITH SUDAN BUT 
FINDS AU MEDIATION USELESS 
 
REF: NDJAMENA 208 
 
---------- 
KEY POINTS 
---------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Key Points are: 
 
-- FORMIN Faki was effusive in his praise for President 
Obama's Cairo speech, saying it effectively rebutted 
extremist and Islamist propaganda; 
 
-- President Deby welcomes the opportunity to meet with A/S 
Carson and SE Gration at AU Tripoli Summit; 
 
-- Deby had successfully corrected in Tripoli 
misinterpretations of Chad's position on Sudan, but judges 
the AU an ineffective and unwanted mediator; 
 
-- FORMIN will come to DC to meet The Secretary on any date 
of her choosing except for June 26-July 3 and July 15-17; 
 
-- China's visiting Darfur Special Envoy giving GOC 
impression that Beijing will be a bit tougher with Sudan; 
 
-- USG-GOC preparations for the return of Chad Guantanamo 
detainee are on track; and 
 
-- The GOC will hand over rebel child soldiers to UNICEF soon. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat was effusive 
in his praise for President Obama's Cairo speech, saying that 
it effectively rebutted extremist and Islamist propaganda; 
shared with Ambassador June 5 current GOC views of the 
Chad-Sudan situation, continued GOC outreach to dissaffected 
Chad rebels, travel plans for Chadian President Deby and 
himself, confirmed the planning for the return of Guantanamo 
detainee, and pending release of child prisoners to UNICEF. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Ambassador congratulated Faki on GOC's measured 
response to the attack (and defeat by Chad forces) of Chadian 
rebels based in Sudan, including refraining from breaking 
relations with Sudan; remaining committed to mediation 
efforts; confining its mopping up of rebels to limited 
military targets inside Sudan; working closely with UNICEF on 
rebel child soldiers; and continuing to reach out to perhaps 
disaffected Chad rebels.  Ambassador noted that Chad had sent 
some 225 ex-rebels to its "transition camp" at Moussoro 
before releasing them back to their communities and Faki 
added that some 120 more rebels had voluntarily returned 
across the border yesterday. (NOTE:  We think that most of 
the aforementioned 225 were in fact rebel prisoners taken 
last month, with a few voluntary returnees mixed in; that 120 
new voluntary returnees repatriated themselves is a 
significant development, confirming recent trends.  END 
NOTE.) 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The FORMIN said that President Deby had 
successfully corrected negative interpretations of Chad's 
point of view vis-a-vis the situation with Sudan during his 
May 29-30 trip to Libya to participate in the regional 
Sahel-Sahara African States meeting.  Faki said that the 
President underscored to the Libyans Chad's intent to remain 
engaged with the African Union and other regional bodies but 
noted Chad's unhappiness with the AU's actions in the wake of 
the May Chadian rebel incursion.  Faki told Ambassador that 
the GOC blames the AU's ineffectiveness for the current state 
of relations between Chad and Sudan, in which Sudan claims 
that Chad must take the first steps to ameliorate the 
political and security situation between the two countries. 
Faki said that the AU fails to follow through on its efforts, 
noting that an AU delegation of former African leaders had 
visited Chad and Sudan in November 2008 to evaluate the 
current climate and had yet to issue a report on its findings 
and conclusions.  Faki felt that if the AU could not be 
effective in this instance, it should disengage from attempts 
to resolve the situation. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Faki stated that China's Special Representative for 
Darfur Ambassador Liu Guijin is currently in Chad and had 
given the GOC the impression that Beijing will be a bit 
 
NDJAMENA 00000213  002 OF 002 
 
 
tougher with Sudan.  Faki said that he told Liu that Sudan 
had enough internal problems without adding Chad to its list 
of issues but believed the GOS to be insincere and not 
committed to resolving anything, causing Sudanese problems to 
spill over into Chad.  Faki said that Liu told him that Sudan 
feared the West, which Faki thought was either Sudanese 
fantasy or Sudanese mendacity. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Faki stated that the GOC, led by President Deby, 
would participate in the July 1-3 AU summit in Tripoli.  Faki 
assured us that Deby would welcome the opportunity to meet 
with SE Gration and A/S Carson at that event.  As for his own 
travel, Faki said that he is flexible on his dates for travel 
to the U.S. and wanted to be accommodating of the Secretary's 
schedule.  Faki said he was available any date of the 
Secretary's choosing EXCEPT June 26-July 3 and July 15-17. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Faki also noted that GOC preparations for the 
return of Guantanamo detainee Yousef Abkir Salih al-Qarani 
were on track.  Faki underscored his support for Chadian 
Ambassador to the U.S. Mahmoud Adam Bechir's stewardship of 
Al-Qarani's return.  Faki stated that the agreements were in 
place for the children to be handed over to UNICEF with the 
goal to return the children to their families in two to three 
month's time. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The GOC gets credit in our book for largely 
following our recommendations (REFTELS) to "take the high 
road" with Sudan (both militarily and diplomatically) and 
mediators and Chad rebels following its repulse of the rebel 
attack last month, although we were not the only ones 
suggesting restraint, prudence, and patience to the GOC.  We 
agree that the AU has been ineffective in bringing two member 
states to a better way of dealing with their problems. 
Fortunately, there are other mediators to choose from, 
including efforts by SE Gration.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶9.  (U)  Minimize considered. 
NIGRO