VZCZCXYZ0004
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKH #0860/01 2021350
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 211350Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4132
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000860 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF A/S CARSON, SE GRATION, S/USSES 
NSC FOR MGAVIN, AF/C, AF/E, DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR 
AFR/SUDAN, ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PREL KPKO UN AU SU
SUBJECT: SE MEETING WITH ABYEI LEADERS BOUND FOR THE HAGUE 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Special Envoy (SE) Gration presided over a 
July 20 meeting of senior NCP and Sudanese Peoples Liberation 
Movement (SPLM) officials and Ngok Dinka and Misseriya 
Leaders, the latter parties bound for The Hague to hear the 
July 22 ruing of the Permanent Count of Arbitration (PCA) 
ruling on the border in the Abyei region of Sudan.  A meeting 
that began with palpable tension concluded with a positive 
affirmation that all parties will seek a soft landing for one 
of the most contentious issues in the Comprehensive Peace 
Agreement (CPA).  The SE outlined the understanding between 
the NCP and SPLM on how to manage the relation on the ground 
between the Ngok and Misseriya in the aftermath of the 
ruling, then answered questions and heard out the concerns of 
the affected parties.  The meeting was in our view a good 
first step toward defusing what could be a deal-breaker for 
the CPA, although it did point to the challenges that lie 
ahead.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) In the wake of the July 16-19 trilateral talks in 
Khartoum, all parties moved rapidly to find solutions to the 
upcoming PCA ruling.  With the logistics assistance of the 
United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), some 40 participants 
from both sides convened at Friendship Hall in Khartoum on 
July 20 to discuss the run-up and aftermath of the 
announcement in The Hague.  SE Gration, Ghazi Salah el Deen, 
NCP lead for Darfur and the trilateral process, and Malek 
Agar, SPLM Governor of Blue Nile State and SPLM's Pagan Amun 
met with senior Ngok and Misseriya leaders en route to The 
Hague.  SE Gration took the lead, explaining in detail the 
NCP/SPLM agreement on how to implement the decision on Abyei. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The SE listed the following elements of agreement: 
 
a.  Agreement that the decision is final and binding, with 
the following provisions: both political parties and affected 
communities will attend the announcement in The Hague; there 
will be prior discussion between Ngok and Misseriya in 
Khartoum; a limited international presence will be on the 
ground in Abyei to visit both communities when the 
announcement is made; the NCP and SPLM will form a joint 
demarcation committee and joint oversight committee with 
affected community representatives. 
 
b. All parties will agree to fully implement the extant Abyei 
Protocol (AP), including its international and wealth sharing 
arrangements, oil arrears and current payments according to 
the new boundaries defined by the PCA.  The GoNU will fund 
the Abyei Administration per the AP; and the relevant working 
group of the CPA Assessment and Evaluation Commission (AEC) 
will convene in Abyei within 14 days after the ruling. 
 
c. The parties will disseminate the decision at the 
local-level and meet with affected communities in the Abyei 
area; to assure mitigation of the conflict the parties will 
work to ensure that violent reactions do not occur; there 
will be a joint NCP/SPLM press statement in English and 
Arabic; the NCP and SPLM will visit the Abyei area to voice 
their commitment to implementation of the ruling; a joint 
taskforce will meet with traditional leaders and disseminate 
the decision on the ground. 
 
d.  All parties will seek to prevent violence by pulling back 
Sudan Armed Forces and SPLA forces and containing spoilers; 
respecting security provisions of the AP; requesting a 
cease-fire; a Combined Joint Monitoring Commission meeting 
within one week; allowing freedom of movement for UNMIS 
monitoring. 
 
¶4. (SBU) With the floor opened for questions and comments, a 
senior Misseriya Nasr asked US views on the implementation of 
agreement.  SE Gration stressed that we fully support the 
decision and will facilitate its implementation.  The 
responsibility for peace and stability in Abyei rested with 
the political parties and the affected communities: their 
future and destiny were squarely in their own hands. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Nasr thanked the SE, and said that this was what 
they had come to hear.  In the recent past, (America) had 
been &a wind from nowhere blowing into things that were not 
its concern.8  The people of Abyei were a simple people who 
understand simple messages and wanted peace among themselves. 
 He added that the Misseriya considered themselves people of 
Abyei, and as such, had the right to vote in the 2011 Abyei 
Referendum determining whether the area cast its lot with the 
North or South. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The exchange served as an icebreaker ) a second 
Nasr offered that it was outsiders who brought conflict into 
Abyei.  A flood of interventions followed from both sides, 
all of them indicating that both sides believed the soft 
landing scenario was in the interest of all as Sudanese and 
peoples who had historically shared the land. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The session concluded with statements by both Salah 
el Deen and Agar, followed by statements (the session had 
been closed to the media) by the SE, Salah el Deen and Agar. 
The latter reaffirmed that SPLA forces had been withdrawn 
from the area. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment:  This was a good step forward in dealing 
with one of the toughest issues confronting implementation of 
the CPA, with significant efforts by the international 
community to prepare the parties for the decision.  The 
meeting itself was gratifying as much as in tone as in 
substance.  The two sides entered the hall in succession, 
separately like prizefighters coming into a fight, but 
mingled on departure, chatting easily between themselves. 
The situation remains fragile and tense, but the combination 
of a trilateral presence in Ngok and Misseriya areas of Abyei 
at the time of the ruling, the presence of senior delegations 
from all parties in The Hague and the international 
community's attention will help cushion the impact of a 
decision that will be ill-received in some quarters.  The 
final proof, of course, will be in implementation and not 
plans.  The referendum vote marker placed by the Misseriya 
Nasr points to daunting challenges that wait ahead. 
 
WHITEHEAD