VZCZCXRO7840
OO RUEHBC RUEHBZ RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHKUK RUEHMA
RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNJ #0311/01 2090650
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 280650Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7135
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 03 NDJAMENA 000311 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR AF/C AND S/USSES 
NSC FOR GAVIN 
LONDON FOR POL - LORD 
PARIS FOR POL - KANEDA 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR AU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PREF SU LY QA CD
SUBJECT: GOC SHOULD BUILD ON MOMENTUM TOWARD NORMAL 
RELATIONS WITH SUDAN AND RECONCILIATION WITH CHAD REBELS, 
AMB TELLS FORMIN FAKI, FRESH FROM DC 
 
REF: A. NDJAMENA 306 
     ¶B. NDJAMENA 283 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (SBU)  Ambassador Nigro told FORMIN Faki July 24 that GOC 
should build on the momentum created by his successful visit 
to Washington and productive talks with senior USG policy 
makers to move forward on normalization of Chad-Sudan 
relations by ending the "proxy war" between the two 
countries' surrogates.  He recommended that the GOC keep up 
the pressure applied in President Deby's interview with JEM's 
Khalil Ibrahim two weeks ago and which apparently led to 
JEM's unilateral release of prisoners last week, and said 
that SE Gration sought an end-state in which Sudanese 
civilians in Chad were and acted as "refugees," not potential 
combatants or political activists, and in which Sudanese in 
Darfur were and acted as political activists and members of 
civil society, not combatants or rebels.  Ambassador added 
that the GOC should be thinking of how to match Khartoum's 
offer to verify steps it took vis-a-vis Chad rebels on its 
territory with a concrete mechanism to permit, indeed, to 
encourage independent verification of steps it had or will 
take vis-a-vis Sudanese rebels on its territory: e.g., 
"closing its border to rebels." 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Faki responded that the GOC would continue to 
cooperate seriously with SE Gration's efforts, as well as 
those of the Dakar Accord Contact Group to normalize 
Chad-Sudan relations, as a way of promoting/facilitating 
peace in Darfur, but warned that the GOC could not trust the 
GOS to live up to its promises and reiterated Chad's 
insistence that only the USG had sufficient influence with 
the GOS to ensure or "guarantee" that Khartoum delivered on 
its promises.  Faki said that the GOC had kept its commitment 
to seek reconciliation with Chad rebels tired of Sudanese 
sponsorship, both on an individual basis (citing the more 
than 1,500 ex-rebels who had returned to Chad since mid-May) 
and as movements (he predicted imminent agreement in Tripoli 
between the GOC and Ahmat Soubiane, leader of the FSR rebel 
group).  Faki repeated that Chad did not host JEM or any 
other armed Sudanese group "as an armed group" and revealed 
that the GOC had offered Libya, also intent on bringing Chad 
and Sudan together by ending support to armed proxies, to 
send teams "anywhere in Chad, now and any other time" to 
verify Chadian commitment to prevent any "act of agression 
coming from Chadian soil." 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Faki was appropriately appreciative of his 
reception in Washington, especially his meetings with the 
Secretary and A/S Carson.  Soubiane's return to Chad July 26 
registered a major success for "intra-Chadian diplomacy," 
albeit with Libyan support, removing an important "historic" 
figure from the rebellion.  Faki's declaration that the GOC 
was indeed open to on-site verification of its commitment to 
break militarily with JEM is good news.  END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------------------ 
FAKI RAVES ABOUT USG RECEPTION IN DC 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  The FORMIN was very appreciative of the reception 
he received during his visit with USG officials in 
Washington.  He was especially pleased at The ecretary's 
willingness to meet with him and was impressed with her 
regard for Chad's role in regional issues.  Faki told us that 
he personally felt that his meeting with The Secretary had 
helped further the USG-GOC bilateral relationship.  The 
FORMIN added that his meeting with A/S Carson was highly 
informative and frank, appreciating the variety of issues and 
political dynamics that the A/S discussed.  Faki said that 
his meeting with SE Gration's team only served to strengthen 
the GOC's support of SE Gration's efforts and further commit 
Chad to being a positive actor pursuing peace in Darfur.  The 
FORMIN expressed to us his thanks that all his meetings with 
USG interlocutors, including those at NSC and DOD, 
demonstrated the USG's commitment to Chad and willingness to 
help. 
 
NDJAMENA 00000311  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
--------------------------- 
GOC APPRECIATES USG SUPPORT 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  The FORMIN enumerated that expressions of support 
he received during his trip.  He specifically noted the USG's 
support in re-establishing Chad's relationship with the IFIs, 
pointing to Chad's recent agreement with the IMF.  He said he 
was grateful for USG efforts to support the election process 
in Chad, a process that has also seen recent positive 
developments.  The FORMIN said he understood USG concerns 
regarding trafficking issues, especially child soldiers and 
believed that, through working with the USG and UNICEF, Chad 
could implement effective measures to address these concerns. 
 
------------------------------------- 
GOC NEEDS TO SHOW PROOF OF COMMITMENT 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Ambassador Nigro told Foreign Minister Moussa Faki 
Mahamat July 24 that the GOC should build on momentum created 
by his successful visit to Washington and productive talks 
with senior USG policy makers to move forward on 
normalization of Chad-Sudan relations by ending the "proxy 
war" between the two countries' surrogates. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)   Ambassador suggested that GOC keep up the 
pressure applied in Chadian President Deby's interview with 
JEM's Khalil Ibrahim two weeks ago and which apparently led 
to JEM's unilateral release of prisoners last week. 
Ambassador said that SE Gration sought an end-state in which 
Sudanese civilians in Chad were and acted as "refugees," not 
potential combatants or political activists, and that 
Sudanese in Darfur were and acted as political activists and 
members of civil society, but not combatants or rebels. 
Ambassador added that the GOC should be thinking of how to 
match Khartoum's offer to verify steps it took vis-a-vis Chad 
rebels on its territory with concrete mechanisms to permit, 
indeed, to encourage independent verification of steps it had 
or will take vis-a-vis Sudanese rebels on its territory: 
e.g., "closing its border to rebels." 
 
------------------------------------ 
GOC COMMITMENT TO POSITIVE RELATIONS 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Faki responded that the GOC would continue to 
cooperate seriously with SE Gration's efforts, as well as 
those of the Dakar Accord Contact Group to normalize 
Chad-Sudan relations, as a way of promoting and facilitating 
peace in Darfur.  Faki warned, however, that the GOC could 
not trust the GOS to live up to its promises and reiterated 
Chad's insistence that only the USG had sufficient influence 
with the GOS to ensure or "guarantee" that Khartoum delivered 
on its promises.  Faki said that the GOC had kept its 
commitment to seek reconciliation with Chad rebels tired of 
Sudanese sponsorship, both on an individual basis (he 
repeated that more than a thousand/1800 rebels had crossed 
the border peacefully since mid-May) and as movements (he 
cited continuing Libyan-sponsored talks in Tripoli between 
the GOC and Ahmat Soubiane, leader of the FSR rebel group, 
and predicted an agreement according to Sirte Accord rules 
imminently.) 
 
----------------------------- 
GOC OFFERS LIBYA VERIFICATION 
----------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  Faki repeated that Chad did not host JEM or any 
other armed Sudanese group "as an armed group" and revealed 
that the GOC had offered Libya --also intent on bringing Chad 
and Sudan together by ending support to armed proxies -- to 
send teams "anywhere in Chad, now and any other time" to 
verify Chadian denial of such support and sponsorship of 
Sudanese rebels on Chad soil.  He added that the GOC 
supported SE Gration's position of JEM committing to a 
ceasefire before achieving a final resolution on Darfur. 
 
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NDJAMENA 00000311  003 OF 003 
 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU)   Faki was correct about Soubiane's agreement to 
end his armed rebellion, which removes one prestigious 
"historic" figure from the rebel leadership.  Faki's 
declaration that the GOC was indeed open to on-site 
verification of its commitment to break militarily with JEM 
is good news.  Faki returned very impressed with the 
reception he received in the Department, DOD, NSC and 
elsewhere in Washington.  We have long been recommending that 
more senior GOC figures travel to friendly capitals, 
Washington and Paris as well as New York, to "tell Chad's 
story" to senior policymakers. 
 
¶11.  (U)  Minimize considered. 
NIGRO