Cablegate: Chad-Sudan Detente: The Next Step Is Definitely

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OO RUEHBC RUEHBZ RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHKUK RUEHMA
RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNJ #0498/01 3031220
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 301220Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7379
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NDJAMENA 000498

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/C
STATE FOR S/USSES
NSC FOR GAVIN
SECDEF FOR DASD HUDDLESTON
LONDON FOR POL - LORD
PARIS FOR POL -- BAIN AND KANEDA
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR AU

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PREF PHUM MARR SU CD
SUBJECT: CHAD-SUDAN DETENTE: THE NEXT STEP IS DEFINITELY
UP TO KHARTOUM, FRANCOPHONIE AMBASSADOR ASSERTS

REF: A. NDJAMENA 485
B. NDJAMENA 446
C. NDJAMENA 438

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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) "The ball is definitely in Sudan's court" in the
current Chad-Sudan bilateral process aimed at detente between
the two countries, Francophonie "Ambassador" Hassan Lebatt
told Ambassador and DCM October 30. Lebatt, who is a keen
analyst of the Chad-Sudan situation and very well-informed,
said that Chad was waiting for Sudan to advise that it had
relocated Chad rebels sufficiently far away from the border
for Chad's comfort and that rebel chiefs were gathered in
Khartoum. Lebatt confirmed our understanding of the sequence
of actions agreed by Chad and Sudan during Dr. Ghazi's visit
to N'Djamena: first, the Sudanese act with respect to Chad
rebels; second, the Sudanese come to Chad to verify that
there are no JEM bases in Eastern Chad; third, a Chadian
delegation goes to Khartoum to discuss further steps. Lebatt
called for international pressure on Sudan to put into force
early, good-faith cantonment measures, joining UN/AU
Negotiator Djibrill Bassole and Chadian officials, who have
been making the same point to us since the Ghazi visit. END
SUMMARY.

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BILATERAL DYNAMIC ENCOURAGING
-----------------------------

2. (SBU) Representative of the Organisation Internationale
de la Francophonie (OIF) Hasan Lebatt, a former Mauritanian
Foreign Minister, UN official, and academic specializing in
international mediation, offered his views on Chad-Sudan
relations in the course of a conversation with Ambassador on
Chad's electoral process, in which the OIF has played an
important and positive role. Lebatt stressed that the most
encouraging aspect of the October 10 visit by Sudanese
Presidential Envoy Ghazi to Chad was that the Chadians and
Sudanese seemed interested in speaking directly to each
other, without a facilitator. Lebatt noted that the
international community had a virtual "facilitators market"
in operation at present, with many individuals, organizations
and representatives of third countries trying to encourage
Chad-Sudan rapprochement. Mediators who were biased or
motivated by self-interest -- even if the interest consisted
solely of putting the mediators themselves on the world stage
-- generally did not make headway unless parties to conflict
genuinely wanted to work out their differences.

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REALISM ENCOURAGING
-------------------

3. (SBU) The GoC and GoS had not only been willing to sit
down bilaterally, but they had also agreed on mutual
confidence-building measures that were achievable and
realistic, said Lebatt. President Deby had not asked Ghazi
to disarm the Chadian rebels, to take away their sources of
financing, or to chase them from Sudan, he had simply asked
that they be cantoned in a location where they could not
continue to threaten Chad. Ghazi had not asked Deby to force
the JEM to leave Chad or to prevent them from visiting
relatives here, he had merely asked that they not have
military bases in Chad. Thus both sides appeared to have set
aside their litanies of demands and maximalist positions.
This in itself was a big step.

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NOW WALK THE WALK
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4. (SBU) According to Lebatt, President Deby had told OIF
Secretary General Abdou Diouf in Paris, during his visit
there immediately following meetings with Ghazi, that Ghazi
had agreed explicitly to the notion of Sudan's taking the

NDJAMENA 00000498 002 OF 002

first step in the new bilateral process. If Sudan did not do
so, said Lebatt, the result might well be a return to proxy
war. The GoC remain extremely nervous about the Chadian
rebels. Lebatt added that his most recent information
suggested that some Chadian rebel groups were still arming.
If Sudan failed to accomplish cantonment, or if it cantoned
the Chadian rebels in such a way that they could remain
strong or continue to receive Sudanese arms, there would
likely be trouble. The international community needed to put
pressure on Sudan so that it would fulfill its commitment in
a manner that reassured the GoC that the Chadian rebels would
not be in a position to threaten or attack.
NIGRO

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