VZCZCXRO0007
OO RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #1033/01 2510428
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 080428Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4388
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001033 
 
NSC FOR MGAVIN, LETIM 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM SOCI UNSC SU
SUBJECT:  CIVIL SOCIETY REPORTS POLITICAL SPACE IN SUDAN SHRINKING 
AS ELECTION NEARS 
 
REF: A) KHARTOUM 964   B) KHARTOUM 893 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Northern opposition parties and civil society 
groups report rising levels of government interference in voter 
education and political party activities in the runup to the 2010 
elections.  Groups report delayed and cancelled meetings; violence, 
arrest and detention of those who attempt to participate in 
meetings.  These incidents underscore the importance, well known to 
opposition parties and civil society, of reform of the security laws 
if the 2010 election is to be free and fair.  End Summary 
 
Political Parties See Meetings Restricted 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On August 16, opposition parties threatened to boycott the 
election unless security laws were reviewed.  In discussions with 
leaders of the Umma Party, Popular Congress Party and Communist 
Party, all told Poloffs that current security laws do not allow for 
freedom of assembly.  Leaders said they should not have to ask for 
permission to hold meetings and gatherings.  They are particularly 
concerned with the powers of arrest of the security services (ref 
A). 
 
¶3. (SBU) Abdullah Mohamed Adam Douma, Secretary General of the 
Popular Congress Party (PCP) of North Darfur, told Poloff on August 
20 that members of the security services attended many political 
workshops held in the state.  At one such event, two teachers were 
arrested and one was injured by the security services and had to be 
hospitalized. Due to NISS monitoring and the fear of being arrested 
and imprisoned, Communist Party members in North Darfur state 
refused to meet with Poloff on August 18. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Babaker al-Shafa'i(e) of the Communist Party and Bashir 
Adam Rahma of the Popular Congress Party both told Poloff on August 
19 that the government uses systematic delaying tactics to prevent 
assembly or rallies.  Both Al-Shafa'e and Rahma described delays in 
the issuance of permits for not only political rallies, but also 
meetings related to the electoral process and discussions of civil 
liberties have been shut down or postponed indefinitely, even when 
these events are held in party headquarters. 
 
Civil Society Meetings Delayed, Cancelled 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) On August 6, Poloff went to an outdoor meeting and 
conference in an open square in Al-Sha'abiyah.  The program was 
billed as a commemoration of the passing of John Garang and a 
discussion of the future of Sudanese Politics.  The meeting had been 
canceled by security shortly before poloff arrived, and police 
ringed the area.  In reaction to this surprise closure, opposition 
parties drafted and signed a joint memo of protest that they have 
sent to the Election Commission. 
 
¶6. (SBU) On August 11, Poloff attended another meeting at which 
electoral law reform was to have been discussed.  Event organizers 
stated that the security services told them that they would not 
allow the meeting to be held in any public location and the 
organizers subsequently postponed and relocated the event three 
times, each time at a location that the security services found 
unacceptable.  They finally opted to hold the meeting at a remote 
venue which was approved.  A participant told Poloff that a number 
of attendees at the meeting were actually security service observers 
assigned to monitor the event. 
 
¶7. (SBU) An event organizer in South Darfur told Poloff on August 20 
that the NISS had cancelled a workshop on elections and 
implementation of the CPA despite the fact that the Governor of 
South Darfur had already issued the necessary permits.  According to 
reports from some civil society leaders around the country, civil 
society groups are reporting NISS interference in voter education 
and political party workshops. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Poloff spoke on August 21 with a community leader who said 
that the NCP is using government ministries to recruit members.  In 
one example, the community leader said, officials from the Ministry 
of Education directed school head masters to recruit teachers who 
would in turn recruit students into the NCP. 
 
NISS Promise to "Contain Tensions" Seen as Threat 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶9. (SBU) On August 20, the new director of the National Intelligence 
and Security Service (NISS), General Mohamed Atta Al-Moula Abbas, 
told the press that NISS plans to contain any tensions that might 
arise following the announcement of the results of the 2010 national 
 
KHARTOUM 00001033  002 OF 002 
 
 
elections.  He warned the political parties against attempting to 
"create violence and disorder".  The Minister of Interior, Ibrahim 
Mahmoud Hamid, announced on August 20 that the Ministry will provide 
27,000 police to secure the elections process, and has hinted that 
"some political parties may create disorder and chaos to interrupt 
the process." 
 
¶12. (SBU) Comment:  These incidents underscore the need for security 
law reform to ensure that the 2010 election is free and fair.  NCP 
political will is essential if the needed reform is to occur. 
 
WHITEHEAD