VZCZCXRO1256
PP RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #1433/01 3540947
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 200947Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4922
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001433 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR MGAVIN, LETIM 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PHUM PREL SU
SUBJECT: NORTHERN OPPOSITION LEADERS TELL SPECIAL ENVOY 
GRATION THAT DEMONSTRATIONS WERE NECESSARY 
 
REF: A. KHARTOUM 1370 
     ¶B. KHARTOUM 1404 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: On December 16, five northern opposition 
political party leaders discussed the recent demonstrations 
in Khartoum and their objectives with U.S. Special Envoy to 
Sudan (SE) General Scott Gration.   Mariam Al-Sadig Al-Mahdi 
from the Umma Party, Ali Traio of the Sudan Liberation 
Movement/Minni Minawi (SLM/MM), Taj El-Sir Mohamed Salih of 
the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Siddiq Hassan Al-Turabi 
from the Popular Congress Party (PCP), and Siddiq Yousif of 
the Communist Party, all agreed that they wanted free and 
fair national elections in April 2010. Four of the parties 
had been working together (with the Sudan People's Liberation 
Movement (SPLM) and other parties) to stage the 
demonstrations of December 7 and 14, while the DUP disagreed 
about the utility of using demonstrations to bring about 
change. Instead, the DUP's Salih said his party preferred 
holding meetings with all parties to reach consensus on 
differences. Many in the group expressed concerns about what 
they claimed were irregularities in the voter registration 
process, but agreed that in general, the results of the 
latter had been encouraging. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Mariam Al-Sadig Al-Mahdi from the Umma Party 
recounted for SE Gration the most recent opposition 
demonstration on December 14, organized by the parties of the 
Juba Alliance, during which Government of Sudan (GOS) police 
arrested and detained her for several hours.  She called it a 
silent gathering rather than a demonstration, and said the 
force used by the GOS was not warranted.  She stated that 
Sudan does not have a "Government of National Unity" (GNU), 
instead accusing the National Congress Party (NCP) of 
preventing forward movement on issues of national importance. 
Referring to the NCP and Sudan People's Liberation Movement 
(SPLM) agreement on three long-disputed bills, Al-Sadig 
argued that the demonstrations of December 7 and 14 prompted 
resolution of differences between those parties that had not 
been possible for years.  She said this gave renewed faith to 
political parties and activists that there was hope for the 
political process, even if it required the intense pressure 
of public protests to bring about progress.  When pressed for 
a specific objective for the demonstrations, she 
characterized them as a mobilization of the people in which 
they exercised their rights, in order to begin the long-term 
democratic transformation process in Sudan. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Ali Traio from the SLM/MM, went further in his 
justification of the demonstrations.  He said they had been 
intended to rectify election malpractices and highlight the 
issue of election-related issues in Darfur.  He, too, viewed 
public pressure on the NCP as being responsible for agreement 
on the three contested bills.  However, he noted that the 
National Security Act bill and issues relating to elections 
in Darfur remained unresolved. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Siddiq Yousif from the Communist Party said his 
party was interested in free, fair and transparent elections. 
Although acknowledging that according to statistics, some 60 
percent of Darfuris had registered to vote, he maintained 
that this number was not accurate and reflected voter 
registration irregularities.  Yousif claimed that in some 
areas, especially certain locations where the NCP might not 
have been confident of a winning vote, the registration data 
had been manipulated.  He cited one location in Khartoum in 
the area surrounding President Omar Al-Bashir's residence and 
said that according to census data, the population is 934 
people; however, according to voter registration data, over 
2,000 people  registered to vote in this locale.  Yousif 
agreed that not all areas might not have the same high number 
of alleged voter registration irregularities, but emphasized 
that irregularities were common and politically -motivated. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Taj El-Sir Mohamed Salih of the DUP noted that his 
party was not part of the Juba Alliance and had not 
participated in the recent demonstrations.  He said that 
while the DUP was not necessarily against the demonstrations, 
the party did not believe such actions were the best or only 
way to effect change.  The DUP preferred, he said, a meeting 
or conference between the opposition parties and the GNU to 
discuss and resolve differences.  His party had sent letters 
to both GOS President Bashir and GOSS President Salva Kiir 
calling on them to initiate such a consensus-building 
conference.  The DUP's hope, he concluded, was that such a 
gathering would take place prior to national elections. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment: With the exception of the DUP, the 
 
KHARTOUM 00001433  002 OF 002 
 
 
opposition party representatives were united in the view that 
 public protests and demonstrations are necessary to achieve 
progress on election and referendum issues. Despite arrests 
and reported beatings, those favoring  such demonstrations 
did not seem daunted by the GOS response. They vowed to 
continue with more rallies and demonstrations in the coming 
weeks. All continued to support preparations for elections to 
be held on schedule in April 2010. End Comment. 
 
¶7. (U) S/USSES has cleared this message. 
ASQUINO