VZCZCXYZ1727
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKH #1128/01 2791419
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 061419Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4517
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001128 
 
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 SU
SUBJECT: NCP Sounds Campaign Themes at Party Congress 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The National Congress Party (NCP) held its third 
party congress in Khartoum October 1-3.  In the opening session, NCP 
hardliner and party Deputy Vice President for Political and 
Organizational Affairs Nafie Ali Nafie extolled the party's 
financial, numeric and organizational strength.  In remarks at the 
opening and closing sessions, President Bashir rehearsed his stump 
speech:  NCP is the party that brought peace to Sudan via the 
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA); the NCP is unjustly accused of 
fomenting the conflict in Darfur; oil has helped Sudan break free of 
the West's hegemonic designs on Sudan; the NCP will continue to 
strengthen ties with China and Russia, but maintain relationships 
with European nations and the United States.  However, he stressed 
in both speeches that these countries must avoid dominating or 
dictating policies to Sudan. He also emphasized that the NCP will 
hold free and fair elections and a referendum open to all 
southerners.  The party rallied other political parties to their 
anti-hegemony theme, notably the National Umma Party's (NUP's) 
Chairman Sadiq Al-Mahdi who urged Sudanese to forget their 
differences in order to resist "hegemony and penetration," and 
prominently celebrated delegations from China, North Korea, Africa 
and the Middle East, including Hezbollah/Lebanon. Yasir Arman, the 
sole Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) representative to 
attend, provided the only counterpoint to NCP claims, noting that 
the CPA had been the work of all Sudanese, and that the NCP failed 
to attend the All Parties Political Conference in Juba.  Arman, who 
as SPLM northern sector representative, is outspoken and often 
criticized by the NCP, was heckled when he came to the podium during 
the closing session.  His brief remarks also met with  studied 
silence when he finished. 
 
¶2. (SBU) (Summary Cot'd)  During its convention, the NCP strove to 
prove that it is well-funded, well-organized in both the North and 
the South, growing in numbers and poised to win the elections, which 
it promised would be held pursuant to the CPA.  The party's second 
key message, that the NCP is a bulwark against Western economic and 
political domination, was clearly intended to provide a narrative 
explaining the ruling party's failure to provide the populace with 
promised peace dividends, and to inspire  people to rally around 
their embattled president and return him to office.  While that 
narrative may have resonated with the party faithful at the 
convention, it is unlikely that many outside the party will find it 
compelling. (Septel) End Summary. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Nafie Describes Party's Successes, Strengths 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) The National Congress Party (NCP) held its third general 
party congress in Khartoum during October 1-3.  Presidential Adviser 
and NCP Deputy Vice President for Political and Organization Affairs 
Nafie Ali Nafie told the group that businessmen contributed SPG 15 
million (approximately USD 6 million), and said that the NCP's 
membership had reached more than 5 million.  NCP is reaching out 
through what it claimed were democratic means such as the 108 state 
assemblies, attended by more than 127,000 NCP members. He attributed 
the shooting death of the NCP Secretary General of the Women's 
Section of the party in Western Equatoria State to her effectiveness 
as a party organizer.  Nafie detailed the party's successes at 
state-level conferences held in the southern states of Central 
Equatoria, Western Bahr al Ghazal, Warrap, Northern Bahr al Ghazal, 
Unity, Upper Nile, Lakes and Jonglei States, which he said had 
garnered support from women and youth and drew participants from 
among state government officials and SPLM representatives. 
Additional sectoral conferences on the economy, and on cultural, 
women's, student and youth affairs attracted the participation of 
10,500 party members, he said. (Note: Embassy received no 
invitations to these conferences, and has no way of verifying the 
veracity of the numbers presented. End Note.) Nafie also stressed 
that the election will take place in April 2010, and that the NCP 
will accept the results. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Bashir Rehearses His Stump Speech 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) In opening remarks, President Omar El-Bashir reminded the 
group that it was the NCP that had succeeded in signing the 
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which   had stopped the war in 
the south. He called the accusation that the NCP was somehow 
responsible for the war in Darfur unjustified, and urged the Darfur 
rebels to return to the country to serve their fellow citizens and 
to participate as part of the government, as had the National 
Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is now a part of the Government of 
National Unity (GONU). He said it was the NCP that had succeeded in 
using oil to break free from western hegemony, and to take its place 
as the third largest economy in the sub-Saharan region, sixth 
largest on the continent.  He told the group that the election will 
be conducted on time and transparently; that the referendum is a 
right stipulated in the CPA, that it will take place as scheduled, 
and that all southerners have the right to participate in it.  Sudan 
is building its foreign policy on respect, and hoped to strengthen 
the country's relationships with China and Russia, as well as to 
establish understanding and friendly relations with Europe and 
America based, not on hegemony, exploitation and injustice, but on 
joint values. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
Al Mahdi Asks Solidarity Against Hegemony 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) Former Sudanese Prime Minister and Chair of the National 
Umma Party (NUP) Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi, who was overthrown in a 
bloodless coup by Bashir in 1989, addressed the opening session, 
thanking the NCP for the opportunity to attend, and calling on 
Sudanese to forget their differences so as to better resist hegemony 
and penetration.  He blamed the diversity of ethnicities within 
Sudan for the country's "chronic problems", including delay in the 
implementation of the CPA, the Darfur crisis, and various regional 
disputes.  In the name of the National Umma Party, he called for a 
national consensus to solve Sudan's problems.  He expressed the hope 
that the NCP congress would result in a clear policy supporting 
democratic transformation, and either a just unity or a brotherly 
neighborliness should the south decide to secede. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Ismail Chairs Third World Solidarity Session 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U)  In a breakout session, captioned, "Peace and Development: 
The Twin Pillars of Stability in the Third World", Presidential 
Adviser Dr. Mustafa Osman Ismail shared the stage with a senior 
member of Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), the political 
party of Robert Mugabe; the Former Defense Minister of Austria, the 
Chairman of the Indo-Arab League Partnership and the Chief of the 
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Mission in Khartoum.  Other 
participants in the  the audience included a large, high-level 
delegation from the Chinese Communist Party; a delegation from North 
Korea; representatives of Hezbollah and of the Palestine Liberation 
organization, the President of Niger and Samuel Haj, identified as a 
former Guantanamo detainee.  Remarks by most panelists followed an 
already familiar pattern:  Sudan has suffered from colonial rule and 
intervention by the first world has hurt Sudan in many ways.  The 
participants discussed how they could better cooperate to fix common 
post-colonial problems, and urged the western press to be more 
balanced in its reporting on the third world.  One speaker singled 
out the United States, which he said unfairly interfered in Third 
World countries. 
 
¶7.  (U) The closing ceremony, held Saturday October 3, repeated 
familiar themes.  In his speech, President Al Bashir characterized 
the NCP as "centrist", seeking to reach across party lines to 
include the full political spectrum ranging from the Communist party 
to the far right-wing Shura at the congress.  He called the CPA one 
of Sudan's most important national achievements, and claimed that 
the NCP had come to power to "solve the problems of the country," 
and stressed that stability was key to addressing the "problem of 
Darfur."  Bashir said that Sudan's Constitution mandated that 
elections take place as scheduled, vowing that they would be "fair 
and transparent" to win the confidence of the Sudanese people. 
Although "Unity is (our) destiny," and the NCP and Sudan People's 
Liberation Movement (SPLM) must work together to make unity 
attractive, the people of Southern Sudan will not be denied their 
right to self determination.  Sudan will continue to reject attempts 
by other nations that seek to dictate policies to his country and 
subject it to foreign domination, he said.  In other remarks, 
speakers expressed appreciation to the African Union (AU) and League 
of Arab Nations for opposing the International Criminal Court (ICC) 
indictment against President Bashir. 
 
---------------------------------- 
Not Even Polite Applause for Arman 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U)  While participation of all political parties was stressed 
by the NCP throughout the congress, one incident threw the NCP's 
much trumpeted "inclusiveness" into high relief.  Following remarks 
by representatives of Sudan's Communist Party, and the ultra 
conservative Shura party,  SPLM Northern sector head Yasir Arman 
spoke briefly.  Arman, who as SPLM northern sector representative is 
outspoken and often criticized by the NCP, was heckled as he entered 
the hall.  He told the group that the CPA was the achievement of all 
Sudanese citizens, and provided the way forward for Sudan's 
democratic transformation, culminating with the 2011 referendum on 
self-determination for the South.  Arman stressed that the SPLM 
supports the 2010 general elections, which he said must be fair and 
transparent if they are to be accepted by all Sudanese citizens, and 
called for a fair, comprehensive solution to the conflict in Darfur. 
  In conclusion, Arman said that he appreciated the opportunity to 
address the NCP Congress, but regretted that the NCP had not 
participated in the recently-concluded All Political Parties 
Congress in Juba.  The hall was silent as Arman, the only speaker 
not accorded even polite applause, left the podium. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Comment:  The NCP convention was clearly organized to 
deliver two key messages.  In the first, the NCP strove to prove 
that it is well-funded, well-organized in both the North and the 
South, growing in numbers and poised to win the elections, which 
will be held as promised pursuant to the CPA.  The second message, 
that the NCP stands firm against Western economic and political 
domination, appears intended to deflect the blame that many Sudanese 
place on the ruling party for its failure to provide tangible peace 
dividends or other development, and to inspire them to rally around 
their embattled president and return him to office.  While that 
 
narrative clearly resonated with the party faithful at the 
convention, it is unlikely that many outside the party will find it 
compelling. 
 
ASQUINO