Journal Entries for May 25-28, 2004 on signing the Protocols between the Sudanese Government and the SPLM

May 25: It appears that "peace" is at hand, or to be more exact, that the final three pieces of the "general framework agreement" will be signed tomorrow morning in Kenya. The honchos told Powell this on Sunday when he called and the gang is gathering in Kenya. This is actually still a step or two from the final peace agreement & comprehensive ceasefire but it is a big hurdle passed, provided it happens. With Darfur still a problem, we won't do much in response....

Been taking it easy the last few days, even sunning myself in my garden. Following closely the government's new and improved approach to Darfur. Will have lunch here at home with the security/intell chief [note: Salah Gosh*] on Thursday. But then plan on smoking a peace cigar (in lieu of pipe) Friday on the shore of the Blue Nile and then cruising into our version of the Memorial Day weekend.

May 27: Yesterday, the Sudan government and the SPLM finally signed agreements on the last part of the framework for peace. It took a long time and there are still a few steps to go before a final agreement. In fact, I spent the day thinking about the remaining steps and also about the conflict still going on in Darfur. Didn't think to celebrate or anything. (Though I did tell the staff today -- it happened to be the day of our Embassy awards ceremony** -- that they could be proud of their efforts that contributed to peace for their country.)

On the way home, I passed a large gathering in the center of town. Stopped to take a look. It was an SPLM rally of celebration for peace. When they realized the American Charge was there, they invited me up to speak to the crowd and started chanting pro-USA slogans. The crowd was mostly southerners, a couple of hundred, and mostly students. The rally was organized by the SPLM Youth. The group had been underground until recently. I met the leaders when they declared their group openly several weeks ago. The leaders were earnest young men with Western suits. We all were sweating. I spoke briefly about the US support for southerners to be treated justly and equally and about continuing to work for a peaceful, democratic and united Sudan. They cheered. It only hit me then that for many people, the signing yesterday means peace. They want peace. They want to live normally and many just want to go home.

I had forgotten that all this diplomacy -- words, threats, promises, lies, truths, half-truths, hypocrisies, feints, etc -- was about something very real to lots of people, peace.

May 28: Sometime this afternoon while I was working in the office, a haboob came in. The skies are cloudy and the city is covered in a dust cloud. From inside my air conditioned house, it almost seems like dusk on a fall day. Except that it's well over a 100 outside and the weak light coming in through the windows casts a strange orange glow on everything. Not unpleasant as long as the sand doesn't clog the AC.

Off soon to have drinks with the Norwegian Charge and the guy who got us the pig. Imagine me sitting somewhere in an orange glow drinking something stiff and chatting about pork. When I've sunk deep enough into that reality, I'll go to the home of the assistant president for in-depth political analysis of post-peace agreement. He always has tasty sweets and good coffee to make up for the lack of booze. Finally, it'll be the Ethiopian Embassy to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the overthrow of the previous government. Probably no booze there either but by then I won't need any. Reality here is heady enough.

Spoke thrice with the Foreign Minister in the last 20 hours. On Darfur. Our relations may spike upwards with the peace signing.

Note: * The first time I met one-on-one with Gosh, he put his hand on my knee and informed me that he could have me killed and get away with it.  Indeed, in 1973 the US Ambassador and his deputy were assassinated by Black September folks never caught.

 ** A photo from our awards ceremony:

 

04 Khartoum 0550: GOS Announces Suspension of Permits for Darfur & Other Meansures

Per the previous entry (also see note below):

Note:  Behind this cable and the Embassy effort to bring the Sudanese government into a peace process on Darfur was also my effort to convince Washington to agree to providing support from the US military (in the form of logistics) for the African Union (AU) monitoring effort to be put together.  The US regional command in Djibouti (the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, CJTF-HOA) was eager.  But in Washington, the Departments of State and Defense plus the NSC were opposed.  They didn't want to see any US boots on the ground in Sudan.  I argued that the investment could be modest but the impact great.  The Sudanese government would take the AU effort much more seriously if the US were supporting it and the AU certainly needed logistic support to be at all effective.  The difference of opinion over Darfur (plus the enmity of USAID political appointees who saw Darfur as a side issue or one to use against the government) played a large part in Washington's decision not to allow me to extend for a second year.

Journal Entries for May 17 & 20: Working on Darfur

May 17: Went to a UK reception this evening. Was outdoors. French reception this past weekend was indoors. It is hottest time of year here, though I've only seen temperature go as high as 118. Not 120 yet. I've gotten used to it and as long as one dresses reasonably it's not bad. Was 109 as I made my way home at 9:30. Sat outside for a few moments here. The breeze was hot. The ground was hot.

Darfur has now overtaken the peace process as our highest priority. Too late and now we may lose both. I'm trying to get to government to help them find way out. Spoke to Sadiq El Mahdi, Dr. Ghazi and others at reception. Probably hopeless.

May 20:  Today is a big day perhaps. Have floated proposal to GOS on Darfur that I made up. Passed to DC few days ago. [The acting A/S] said I should do it even though he hadn't read it..... I'm not sanguine but I think the guys here are getting worried enough. My big plan basically is a number of steps to make the GOS clearly part of the solution rather than the problem.

 

04 Khartoum 0536: Sudan-Darfur-DART Sitrep #5 (The humanitarian situation during a ceaseifre

Journal Entry for May 19, 2004: An Evening with Another El Madhi

Attended a speech by Sadiq El Mahdi this evening. It was part of a regular Wednesday evening gathering of the Umma Party faithful at the party HQ in Omdurman. It was really hot and I hunkered down for two hours of Arabic. Desert cooling once again put to the test. Crowd numbered maybe two thousand on the veranda and lawn of the building. Some guy kept popping up from the side singing praise. At one point he seemed to get very agitated and appeared to be pointing to me, the only gringo on the scene. He may have been singing my praise or calling down the wrath of God or neither.

Until Sadiq showed up, Mr. Kalifa sat next to me and we chatted in English. Kalifa is the grandson of the Kalifa, the follower of The Mahdi who took over at his death and ruled Sudan until the British defeated him. Kalifa the Younger is now #3 in the Umma Party.

Sadiq -- the former Prime Minister overthrown in 1989 -- arrived to great ovation and sat next to me. He asked me how much of the speeches I was following. I said "none at all" although I think I did hear an occasional salaam (peace) and Ameriki. He got his niece to translate for me during his speech. (He spoke about Darfur and peace.) When he was done, and after two hours of sweating steadily but gently and watching little tiny moths land on my white shirt, I took my leave. Another wonderful night in Sudan.

Note:  Previous El Mahdi encounter here.

04 Khartoum 0528: Mudawi Trial Drags On*

* The case against Mudawi Adam was dropped later in the year but he faced continual harassment and imprisonment by the Sudan government.  He remains active and appears to be on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/mudawi.adam.54

Journal Entry for May 14, 2004: Darfur, Khartoum night life and local traffic

Spent this evening chatting and having a few beers with the African Union team that has just been to the west (Darfur) to arrange the logistics for a peace monitoring effort. We sat on the roof of my political officer, also part of the team. It cooled down rapidly tonight. Fell to 98 degrees by 7:30. But it was still 98 at 10pm. There were lots of people out at clubs, restaurants and on the street. On the way back, passed one well-lit place with two people in full body costumes out in front. They were waving and looking jolly. The costumes were furry and, I am quite sure, like a sauna inside. One was a rabbit. The ears drooped and the arms were too long for the person, so they drooped too. I hope it is shift work.

As usual, drove through the new phase of road construction. Lots of it going on. Roads are being broadened and extended. This is very necessary because of the burgeoning traffic congestion. But roads are built or rebuilt without any discernible attention to alternate traffic routes. Sometimes, you'll come to a street that used to go somewhere but now ends in a ditch or pile of dirt. Sometimes, you'll be riding on an old road when it stops. You can see the new road ahead or to the side but you'll need to go over some rough ground to get there. Everybody going both ways faces the same challenge. So the traffic backs up and everyone runs for whatever space they can get. Soon, everyone is lost in the dust, especially at night. The same thing happens in reverse. You'll be zooming down a nice new paved road until suddenly it stops. There may or may not be another road in sight. My driver always seems to know where to go and eventually we get there.

My favorite example of road work is a large exchange near the embassy. Four lanes of traffic meet at a major intersection. The old intersection: a couple of dirt roads plus a paved one. They are building a new exchange which is sorely needed. Only problem is that while they are building it, where the old one used to be, there is now no official intersection at all. Instead, the two roads pass close enough together that traffic "leaks" from one to the other over maybe 20 feet of construction area. Here traffic congeals and cars pass each other every which way and up. I like to think of it as a macro example of the physics phenomenon of "quantum tunneling." Particles from two different realms get so close they just sort of "pass through" barriers to magically reach the other side. Who needs an actual intersection. That is so old physics!