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Journal Entry for December 2, 2003

Sitting here at 8am on December 2 with a nice breeze waifing in Khartoum air. The scent is a bit musky but not unpleasant and it is cool. Opened the windows in the middle of the night and turned the AC off. Yahoo says the temp will range from 65 to 89 today and it'll get into the high 50's for lows this week. Beats Belize by miles. Woke up to birds singing and the occasional cry of a distant hawk.

Went to Nyala, capital of Southern Darfur yesterday. Took 3 1/2 hours of flying each way. Went with UK and EU Ambassadors to highlight our concern over the conflict there. The Wali (governor), a tough military man (and possible war criminal) had stopped the UK ambassador and me from making previous tries to get there. He was absent yesterday.

We met with state government officials, NGOs and then with a group of tribal leaders. The Wali had tried to stop us from meeting them but we insisted. The leaders of the two main Darfur opponents -- Arab nomad tribes and the Fur tribe (African farmers) -- both gave us their sides. We encouraged them to make peace. (The Arab nomads have been trying to drive the African farmers from their land. Both are Moslem.)

Some of our group went to a camp of people displaced by the war. They are in bad shape. Darfur from the air looks absolutely barren and it we'd call it desert.* But Greater Darfur has 6 million people and as the Sahara spreads south, they have less good space and thus fight for it. I find it hard when I am in such a place to grasp how the people who live there and the people who live in the First World, North America or Europe, could possibly be on the same planet. The distance between realities is so great.

*2014 Note:  Darfur does look very arid to an outsider.  But it gets just enough rain when the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone moves north.  The Jebel Marra region sticks up into the clouds and can get enough rain for agriculture and pasture.  It's thus worth having.

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Journal Entry for November 28, 2003

Yesterday was Thanksgiving. I missed being in Pittsburgh. But we carried on the traditions here in Khartoum. Had 20 fellow Embassy folks, Americans from all over the US. We all wanted to be somewhere else, with family and friends, but here we were. I said a few words of thanks, for all the loved ones and people back home who give us the reason for being here to serve and for each other. I hugged everyone who came. We all had good food and a good time. Tradition carrying on.

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The status of the Nuba Mountains remains unsettled.

Journal Entry for November 17, 2003

It's getting hard to keep things in perspective. I went from dealing with the serious issues left by the recent threat and meeting with embassy staff (American & local) to discuss this with them to a phone call from the Director General. You can bet on how I looked forward to the Ops Center connecting him to me. Sure enough, not good news. Not a late recognition of my deserving advancement or a word on how well I was handling the current crisis. No, he wanted to tell me that AID Director* thought he had not been treated well enough during his recent visit. Then I went to see the Egyptian ambassador for a scotch and a chat. I enjoy talking with him. Home for dinner and then after dinner, I discover the back lights are out. In the current context, makes me predisposed to paranoia. Then I talk to USAID Washington about a food shipment being held up by a rebellious Agriculture Minister. There is an open feud over this pitting the Minister against the Vice President (and "strong man") and Foreign Minister who told us last month that we could ship despite GOS concerns over GMOs. (Hardliners vs "moderates.") The senior USAID official (who was on the trip) told me we have only days before the food problem will lead to costly diversions. (But "no", he knew of no problem with Andrew.) Then the RSO calls me to tell me the government is already withdrawing police from our facilities including some from my residence. I'm beginning to wonder just what the early signs of coup would be here. I call the desk just to chat. They feel good because the peace delegations had a good meeting in London. (For all I know, they were talking to dead men walking.)

 

What part of this do I take seriously? I don't think I can handle all of it. Think I'll concentrate on police guards.

*Note:  Andrew Natsios was the Director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), 2001-06.  USAID was a hotbed of USG support for the "Christian" African rebels (SPLM) fighting the Khartoum government in southern Sudan.  The SPLM boosters within the USG did not like the Embassy constantly raising the distracting issue of Darfur.  But Natsios also understood the need to be seen doing something about Darfur by sending food aid while the Sudanese government went ahead with its ethnic cleansing there.  (Natsios reportedly said in a 2003 interview that the total cost of rebuilding Iraq would not cost US taxpayers more than $1.7 billion.)

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Note:  SBU means Sensitive But Unclassified

News Item of 9/16/2003

News Item

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Nov 16, 2003 (AP) -- The U.S. Embassy reopened Sunday after a temporary closure due to terrorism threats against American interests in Sudan.

A brief statement from the embassy said officials were conducting a "constant review" of the security situation to determine if it may be necessary to close the embassy again.

The embassy has been closed since Tuesday following what was called "a credible and specific threat" to U.S. interests in the capital. U.S. and Sudanese officials did not give details on the nature of the threat.

On Friday, the U.S. State Department alerted Americans to terror threats in Sudan and told them to avoid travel to the northeastern Africa country.

Although Sudan remains on the United States list of terror-sponsoring states, Washington has applauded Khartoum's efforts to combat terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and said it would review its sanctions once the government signs a final peace accord with the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army.

Peace talks are to resume in early December on ending civil war that began in 1983 when rebels from the mainly animist and Christian south took up arms against the predominantly Arab and Muslim north. More than 2 million people have been killed in the war, mainly through war-induced drought.

Sudan hosted al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in the 1990s and the region has been cited as a possible haven for terrorists.

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News Article by AFP posted on November 11, 2003

News Article by AFP posted on November 11, 2003 at 14:13:00: EST (-5 GMT)*

Sudanese insist foreigners safe in Sudan despite US embassy closure

KHARTOUM, Nov 11 (AFP) -- Sudanese officials insisted Tuesday that their country remained safe for foreigners and they had heard of no threat against Americans here after the US embassy suspended operations for a week.

Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Mutref Siddeiq told Tuesday's edition of the official Al Anbaa daily that his government had no information about a threat against the US embassy in Khartoum.

"There is no threat to the American interests in Sudan," he said.

He added, however, that the security services "are vigilant in protecting foreigners in Sudan."

At least six policemen stood outside the embassy Tuesday in the western part of Khartoum, compared to one or two who are usually posted there, according to an AFP photographer.

The US embassy in Sudan said Monday it "will suspend normal operations as of November 12," noting it would also be closed on Tuesday for the Veterans' Day holiday in the United States.

"This action is the result of a credible and specific threat to US interests in Khartoum," an embassy statement said, without elaborating.

The mission also advised US nationals to be cautious and avoid gatherings of foreigners. A Sudanese source who asked not to be named said around 40 Americans live in Khartoum.

The US embassy is heavily fortified with strong walls and iron bars while a stretch of some 150 metres (yards) of the main Abdel Latif avenue is closed to all but pedestrians.

The fortifications were installed in the 1980s but the road was blocked off to traffic early this year.

In Cairo, visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Tuesday that the Sudanese authorities have been helpful.

The problem is "you have to be correct 100 percent of the time but the terrorists only have to be right once," he added.

"So we err perhaps on the side of caution but we made the decision we did. As I understand it from my telegrams this morning we're quite pleased what the Sudanese government has done in response," Armitage said.

In Khartoum, Kamal al-Obeid, the external relations secretary for the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), said meanwhile that "Sudan is a safe country where foreigners enjoy peace and security and are not subjected to any threat."

Obeid, quoted by the official SUNA news agency, called upon the US administration to "reconsider its policies in the region so that the American citizen feels safe."

The Khartoum embassy closure coincided with the shutting of the US mission in Riyadh, only hours before a car bomb attack in the Saudi capital killed 17 people.

The Riyadh attack was blamed on the al-Qaeda terror network.

Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir's government has been trying to shed its Islamic militant image and improve relations with Washington, which since 1993 has maintained Khartoum on a list of states alleged to support terrorism.

But there is deep hostility in Khartoum and other Arab capitals towards the US occupation of Iraq and Washington's support for Israel in the conflict with the Palestinians.

*Note:  The Embassy released the notice that follows after the senior leadership considered information suggesting there was a pending bomb threat to US facilities.  We also discovered that an outside sewer might allow underground access to our building.

 

Press Release

The United States Embassy in Khartoum will suspend normal operations as of November 12. (The Embassy will be closed on November 11 for the national holiday of Veterans Day.) This action is the result of a credible and specific threat to US interests in Khartoum. We urge all US citizens in Sudan to exercise extra caution and to avoid gatherings of foreigners that may attract outside attention. The Embassy hopes to be able to resume normal operations next week.

The United States Embassy in Khartoum also wishes to express its appreciation for the strong support provided by the Sudanese authorities in confronting the present threat.

 

Journal Entry for October 30, 2003

Went to a reception at the Turkish ambassador's residence last evening. There was the usual crowd of diplomats scanning the crowd for targets and then swooping in for a quick info pump. The British ambassador and myself did our info exchange up front and then went off in our own directions. Since everyone thinks the U.S. knows everything, everyone wants to pump me. That's okay, that's what we do. Someone said they recognized me from the picture that appeared in the paper on Monday (part of a long interview I did). The publisher of the newspaper and I chatted. He said he got lots of favorable comment on my interview, especially the part where I said if the Sudanese talked more about the important issues, we foreigners could shut up.

I try to talk to actual Sudanese at these things. They are usually there. Spoke to a businessman. He wanted to know why the U.S. still has sanctions on Sudan. He said that business and investment do more to change things than sanctions. I said that I agreed and hoped we could remove them sometime next year. I also met the Indian ambassador's wife. She looked like an Indian movie star.

On the way home, the crescent moon hung low in the sky over the Blue Nile. The month of Ramadan starts with the first sign of the new moon and ends when the last of the old moon disappears. Struck me how the Arabs of the deep desert could look up every night and tell exactly what part of the month they were in even if they didn't have clocks or calendars. Many of the Muslim holy days go way back into the Arab past. I'm beginning to get a feel for the flow of life when you live as much in the cool night as the brutally hot sun. There is something there vaguely familiar, maybe from the Arabian Nights.

News Article by DPA posted on November 09, 2003

News Article by DPA posted on November 09, 2003 at 18:00:43: EST (-5 GMT)

Sudan prohibits U.S. officials from travelling to Dafur

KHARTOUM, Nov. 09, 2003 (dpa) -- The American Embassy in Sudan published a statement Sunday expressing regret that the U.S. Charge d'Affairs in Sudan, Gerard Galluci, and other representatives of the Embassy and USAID were prohibited from travelling to Nyala town in the South Darfur region of western Sudan.

The statement said that Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), a government establishment regulating the work of local and international relief organizations cancelled the trip despite the Ministry of Foreign Affairs granting permission to travel.

The embassy and USAID officials were travelling to Dafur, a region of extreme unrest, to monitor on-going aid programmes.

The statement demanded that the Sudanese government remove barriers to free movement and permit free travel throughout the country.

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Sadiq El Madhi is the great-grandson of El Mahdi, who declared himself the savior of Islam in the 19th Century. 

Journal Entry for October 28, 2013*

October 28: Went to Darfur on Monday, leaving early on a WFP plane. Darfur means "land of the Fur" and was an independent Sultanate until 1916 when the British made it part of Sudan. Flying out with us was a new government minister brought in to deal with the conflict in Darfur, a grandson of the last Sultan. We went first to Geneina, close to the Chad border. We met there, and in our second stop El Fasher, with the local Wali (governor) and Emirs (tribal chiefs). Darfur, like everyplace in Sudan, has a rich mixture of different tribes and peoples. All are Moslem and all consider themselves Arab, though most would be judged as “African” by non-Sudanese. There is an age old conflict between farmers and herders and between cattle herders and camel herders. Many members of the government and military come from Darfur but the government has never given much attention or resources to the region. Then this year, a small scale civil war broke out and the government troops were beaten. The government then gave the camel herders guns and unleashed them on the others. Some 600,000 people lost their homes and had to flee the war. Most are still refugees. USAID is helping feed them and care for their children through WFP, UNICEF and other UN agencies. I went to Darfur accompanying the AID Director.

The people we met treated us very well because they know how much help the US has given them and because they need more help. We wanted them to know that we are ready to do more when the government ends the war.

Monday was the second day of Ramadan. Our hosts in El Fasher – where we stayed for the night – fed us four meals even though they were fasting. Ramadan is the holiest month in the year for Moslems. It is a month of peace. It begins on the first day of the 10th month in the Moslem calender when the first crescent moon is sighted after sunset. The faithful fast from sunup to sundown, taking no food and no water. Someone told me that Mohammed set up the rules in this way so that for that month, no one would have the energy to fight. I fasted today to see what it was like and I can say I was not anxious for strenuous activity.

I got the idea for fasting last night at breakfast. At around 6:30, when the sun goes down here, the faithful break their fast with a quick light meal before evening prayer. The traditional meal included dates, nuts, liquid and a mixture of sorghum and meat paste. We were invited by our hosts – who had spent the afternoon talking with us – to join them. We removed our shoes and sat on large turkish rugs laid out on the lawn(picture below).  After prayer, we joined them for a larger meal. They set up some tables for us and some joined us while most took their meal on the carpets. We ate outdoors under the gaze of a tame gazelle. At my table, one of the Sudanese suggested I try the fast because it would help clean out my system and make me feel better. So I did.

The sleeping quarters were very humble (and this morning there was no water.) But I did have a cigar and some bourbon with a couple of colleagues under the stars while evening prayer was called. We talked about war and peace and how good it can feel to be in Africa.

*Note:  see 03Khartoum 0959 below 

Photos to go with 03 Khartoum 0959

Russian-made Hind helicopter used in Darfur.  Photo taken October 27, 2003 in El Geneina, (see para 5 below).

The Iftar in El Fashar

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US Embassy Khartoum and EU counterparts sought to alert capitals to what we knew by October 2003 was going on in Darfur -- state-conducted ethnic cleansing -- with no great success.  In Washington, focus was on the north/south Sudanese conflict.  Eventually aid flowed but no support for pushing Sudan government to end its efforts to push African Moslems off land to contain the rebel insurgency and no real support for AU/UN peacekeeping until 2007 when ethnic cleansing was more or less completed.

Journal Entry for September 27, 2003

I have now spent several weeks being driven from place to place through Khartoum.  I’m beginning to see things a bit better.  One of the reasons for this is the ample time one has for studying street life while stuck in Khartoum’s awful traffic.  Khartoum has somewhere around 5-7 million people in the extended urban area around the confluence on the two Niles.  I’d say at least a million of them are driving cars, riding in or on buses, trucks, scooters and motorcycles, plodding along on donkeys or walking at any one time.  Because only certain roads are paved and still fewer cut from one section of the city to another, all the traffic gravitates to the same half dozen routes.  During business hours – from around nine till six everyday except Friday – the streets are clogged.  Because many of the “paved” roads have obstacles of various sorts – holes, ripples, rough spots, train tracks – traffic often slows down even more and gyrates through a complex set of avoidance maneuvers, adding to the leisurely pace.  Through it all, the Sudanese patiently make their way by moving sharply to claim any open space and through liberal use of hand gestures.

I’ve observed that hand gestures, though in some sense equivalent to “signaling,” are quite different in effect.  As traffic moves along, people wishing to turn into the road will at the first opening edge out and claim right of way.  Someone in the car, driver or passenger, will wave the vehicle cut off to stop or slow down.  When the turn is completed, the two drivers will then exchange waves of “thanks” and “your welcome.”  Because all of this occurs in slow motion, it has a certain friendly quality, as if two villagers meeting in the town square.  This cuts the edge off what would drive motorists in other countries crazy.  Imagine moving down a road with paved area for two lanes.  Three lanes of traffic are moving down it, two in one direction and the third in another.  The two lanes in your direction are moving slow or approaching an intersection, the opposite “lane” is open for a couple of car lengths.  Off you go into that lane, against the flow of traffic to reach your turn or just to move ahead.  That third lane of traffic, now made a fourth, jerks over into the dirt until things sort out.  Now the time it takes for that fourth lane to reestablish itself creates just enough space for someone else – such as a bus driver – to edge into traffic from a side street.  Everybody is gesturing as circumstances demand.  Meanwhile an old women with a child will launch into the river of vehicles fending off the various currents with her own waving.  Remarkably no one seems to get angry – it is too hot – and there are few accidents. 

A brief word about women.  Almost all of the women in the street wear head covering.  My guess is that the non-Moslem women from the south are the ones wearing the brightly colored wrappings.  A good number wear what must be the more traditional black.  (The Arab males get to wear white robes and headdress.)  Only a few wear the complete chador.  But I can only imagine that under the black bulk are some truly sweaty and uncomfortable people.

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Journal Entry for trip south & meeting John Garang

October 6: Went deep into southern Sudan over the weekend. Flew to Rumbek, the capital of "New Sudan" ruled by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). For hundreds of years, people have been moving down the Nile Valley through and to Sudan. (Spoke to a Dutch archeologist last week who runs a dig at one of the oldest known sites with signs of modern men – 200,000 years old.) Over the last few thousand years, people moving north have met other people whose ancestors had moved north and beyond even longer ago. So long ago, they forgot where they came from, as we all do. The more recent movements north have been by "Africans" and they have met "Arabs." The people have mixed, fought and lived among each other. The Arabs preyed on the black Africans, taking them as slaves, treating them as animals. The Africans – found mostly but not all in the south – themselves are split into hundreds of tribes, big and small. Some farm, some raise cattle. They too have fought with each other. The largest African tribe is the Dinka, the Nuer next. They are split into further groups that have also fought with each other.

When the British left Sudan in 1956, they left behind an old boundary separating north and south Sudan. The south has been fighting the north ever since. This became a war for the independence of the south and the SPLM became the prime liberation movement in 1983. The SPLM represents the Africans. John Garang has headed it for most of its existence. Garang lived for nine years in the US and received a PhD in agricultural science from the University of Iowa. I went to Rumbek to meet Garang and to greet a retired US four-star general who also was arriving in Sudan to meet with him and the government.
 

Rumbek is around 500 miles south of Khartoum. It is deeper in the rain belt and it rained right after we arrived on Friday afternoon. Bringing rain in Africa is considered good luck. It had not rained for 12 days and the sorghum needed water to finish growing by harvest time at the end of October. It also cooled things off a good bit.

The British had kept the Arabs out of southern Sudan during the colonial period to protect the people there. But that is all they did. No development or investment of any kind took place. Southern Sudan today is almost totally primitive. No paved roads, no electricity, no plumbing, no modern medicine, no telephones, no TV, no AC. Simple mud huts, water from rivers and wells, brutally hot days, nothing but hard work, survival, family and friends. When we attended a large SPLM ceremony on Saturday, Garang told us they had nothing to offer the guests but the good free air but we could have all of that we wanted. (Nevertheless, our visiting ex-general was given the usual village greeting for an important person: he jumped over a big cow held on the ground and with its neck freshly cut. The village then celebrates with a feast.)

Garang is very impressive: thoughtful, quick, subtle and farsighted. Not bombastic and clearly able to tolerate a bunch of rowdy “sons,” the younger leaders pursuing their own ambitions and who have at times been with him, then with the government and then back again. We met twice. 
 

I stayed in a safari-type camp run by a South African company but with an American manager. They served bacon at breakfast and beer at the bar (under a tree). No sharia here. The Civilian Protection Monitoring Team uses most of the tent city to house the Rumbek team. Their job is to investigate possible abuses of civilians by the two opposing armies. The USG funds the CPMT and they flew me to Rumbek. I was apparently lucky the two nights I was there. With a fan blowing – the tents had electric power – I used a sheet at night and slept well. The days were hot. The CPMT also took me on a four-hour plane tour of the south. Took some good shots, including of a typical little village.

Note:  The death of John Garang in July 2005 was a tremendous loss for Sudan and South Sudan.  He had achieved a peace agreement and became 1st Vice President of Sudan before he died in a helicopter crash.  The SPLM leadership he left behind has proved unable to work together and the country has descended into civil war.  

From the Arabic Press of 10/10/2003

ARABIC PRESS REVIEW*

10/10/2003

AL RAI AL AAM:

SUDANESE-AMERICAN AGREEMENT ON PRACTICAL STEPS TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS:

Sudan and the United States agreed to start practical and preparatory steps to normalize bilateral relations during the forthcoming phase.

Upon his meeting with Gerard Gallucci, US Charge before he returns to Washington, Dr. Mustafa Osman, Foreign Minister affirmed Sudan’s keenness to continue communication and coordination with the United States on all pending issues between the two countries.

For his part, Gallucci reiterated the US Administration is determined to take positive step immediately after the government and the SPLM sign the peace agreement.

The US diplomat who will discuss the horizons of relations between the two countries with the officials in Washington expressed his content of his country at the outcome of Dr. Ismail’s meeting in Washington.

He commended the Foreign Minister’s efforts exerted to normalize relations between the two countries. He applauded the President’s speech during the inaugural session of the National Assembly and welcomed the political leadership’s pledge to commit to realize peace and to expand freedoms, freedom of speech and organization in particular.

DR. GHAZI HELD CONTACTS WITH EL SADIG AND EL MIRGHANI ON THE POLITICAL FORCES’ PARTICIPATION IN THE TALKS

HE WILL HOLD A PRESS CONFERENCE ON SUNDAY

THE FIRST VICE PRESIDENT: THE PEACE AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE A POLITICCAL DEAL

THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC: THE STATE’S EFFORTS WILL BE TOTALLY ENEAVORED TO COMPENSATE THE SUDANESE PEOPLE FOR WHAT THEY MISSED DURING THE YEARS OF WAR

EL SADIG EL MAHDI DISCUSSES NIVASHA AGREEMENT WITH EL BAZ

PRESIDENT OMER EL BASHIR VISITS CHAD TODAY TO HOLD IMPORTANT TALKS WITH DEBY

THE GOVERNOR OF SOUTH DARFUR: OUT OF CONTROL GROUPS ARE PRACTICING ARMED ROBBERY IN SOUTH DARFUR

ALWAN:

TRIBUNAL FOR SUSPECTS INVOLVED IN SABOTAGE ACTIVITY:

Six suspects appeared before North Khartoum Criminal Court chaired by Judge Ismat Suleiman Hassan. They were accused of charges regarding practice of activity hostile to the established regime.

The Security organs seized this group and accused them of being financed by a foreign circles that were seeking to provide arms and military equipment through contacts with arms mongers.

This group requested to be supplied with 700 guns, grenade, military uniforms and officers’ and non-commissioned officers’ signs.

The complainant added before court that the group leased a house in Khartoum center and used it to practice its activity. A tight ambush was fixed and the group individuals were seized.

During investigation it was revealed that one of the 4 suspects affiliates to an armed faction in the south and has relationship with the US authorities and he is representative of a foreign figure in one of the major hotels in Khartoum.

A PLAN TO INCLUDE THE SOUTHERN RETURNEES IN THE NATIONAL CONGRESS

HEAVY RAINS IN KHARTOUM

SPLM OFFICIAL SPOKESMAN: WE AGREED TO NEGOTIATE WITHOUT MEDIATORS AN THE ISSUE OF THE THREE AREAS IS THE MOST DIFFICULT

THE FOREIGN MINISTER TURNS DOWN THE BRITISH PROPOSAL TO DISPATCH INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPING FORCES TO SUDAN:

AL SAHAFA:

ALI OSMAN, FIRST VICE PRESIDENT: RELEASE OF FREEDOMS AND LIFT OF GRIEVANCES ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF THE FORTHCOMING PHASE

OMER EL BASHIR CALLS UPON THE NC TO BEAR ITS COMPLETE RESPONSIBILITY TO LEAD THE FORTHCOMING PHASE

FRENCH RESERVATION AND SUDANESE REJECTION OF THE PRINCIPLE OF SENDING PEACEKEEPING TROOPS TO THE COUNTRY

AL SHARIE AL SIYASSI:

SECRETS!

International Intelligence reports spoke about a figure that had its account in one of the world Western banks reached $380 million US dollars. The Intelligence expressed its astonishment at this amount and said how could the fortune of a person in a country such as Sudan to be equal to 30% of the balance of payment!

EDITORIAL: THE PEOPLE IN THE PEACE FORMULA:

DR. GHAZI SALAH EDDIN AFFIRMED: THE FORTHCOMING PEACE PHASE DEPENDS ON APPLICATION AND THE OTHERS’ PARTICIPATION

AL ANBAA:

THE US CHARGE COMMENDS AL BASHIR’S SPEECH AND PLEDGES TO URGE HIS GOVERNMENT TO SUPPORT SUDAN:

GALLUCCI: THE UNITED STATES IS CONTENT OF DR. MUSTAFA’S VISIT:

The American Charge in Sudan commended President El Bashir’s speech before the inaugural session of the NC general conference. He pledged to address his government and to urge it for more support to Sudan to realize peace and development.

Dr. Mustafa Osman, Foreign Minister affirmed Sudan is keen to continue contacts and coordination with the Untied States on all issues remained between the two countries.

He reiterated Sudan appreciates the United States positive contribution to the peace process.

Yesterday’s meeting with the US Charge yesterday discussed the outcome of the Foreign Minister’s visit to Washington and the meetings he held with officials of the US State Department and the White House in addition to the Congressmen.

The US Charge expressed content of the United States at the outcome of the Foreign Minister’s visit to Washington and commended his efforts.

AL ADWAA:

GARANG THREATENS TO SMASH THE LRA IMMEDIATELY AFTER SIGNING THE PEACE AGREEMENT

THE NC DELEGATION WILL MEET WITH THE SPLM IN RUMBECK TOMORROW

POLITICAL ANALYSIS:

WASHINGTON AND KHARTOUM ARE FLIRTING WITH EACH OTHER!

THE US CHARGE COMMENDS AL BASHIR’S SPEECH AND PROMISES FOR A SHIFT IN RELATIONS

THE NC WELCOMES THE BRITISH PROPOSAL BUT THREATENS TO RESIST IT IF IT IS WICKED

THE NC APPROVES PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SPLM

THE GENERAL CONFERENCE CALLS UPON THE POLITICAL FORCES FOR A BROAD FRONT AND CALLS FOR MORE FREEDOMS

THE RULING PARTY APPROVES THE PRINCIPLE OF ALLOWING ALL PARTIES TO START THEIR ACTIVITIES AND CALL UPON THEM TO RENOUNCE BITTERNESS

AL HAYAT:

THE STATE MINISTER FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS MET WITH THE USAID DIRECTOR IN KHARTOUM

_______________________________________________________________________

*Note:  Part of the Embassy's daily press review prepared by local staff (Foreign Service National -- FSN) in the public affairs office.  The press reflected the messages/spin preferred by the government. 

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Note:  Bishop Gabriel Zubeir Wako became a Cardinal on October 21, 2003.  He survived an assassination attempt by one Hamdan Mohamed Abdurrahman on October 10, 2010.  Cardinal Zubeir Wako took part in the election of Popes Benedict XVI and Francis.

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Ali Osman Taha remained a vice president until 2013.  He was considered a relative moderate.