US embassy cable - 05VATICAN447

C O N F I D E N T I A L  VATICAN 000447 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/WE LEVIN;  AF: SNYDER; AF/SPG SMALL; AF/E; 
AF/RSA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  2/24/2015 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, SU, VT 
SUBJECT: DARFUR: SANT EGIDIO READY TO ENGAGE 
 
REF: A) 04 VATICAN 2892; B) FEB 18 SMALL- MARTIN EMAIL 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Peter Martin, POL, Vatican, State. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
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Summary and Action Request 
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1.  (C)  Community of Sant'Egidio representatives told the 
Charge February 24 that they were willing to work with the 
Darfur rebels to help them become better prepared for the Abuja 
negotiations.  In confidential talks that could be held at its 
Rome headquarters, Sant'Egidio proposed a preparatory "training 
program" to help rebels prepare for more serious political 
engagement.  They believe that such a session could help the 
rebel groups develop a greater clarity of purpose, better 
organization, and more realistic expectations that could make 
the next round of talks in Abuja more productive.  Sant'Egidio 
made clear that this training initiative would require close 
coordination with the Department both to identify participants, 
and to guide the discussions.  They also envision eventual 
African Union (AU) participation.  Sant'Egidio's representatives 
said they were ready to begin planning right away and agreed 
that an early March timetable would allow time to prepare the 
rebels for the next round of talks.  Please advise post of 
Department interest in pursuing this proposal (please see 
paragraph seven).  End Summary. 
 
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Sant'Egidio Ready to Move Forward 
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2.  (C)  Community of Sant'Egidio representatives told the 
Charge February 24 that they were willing and eager to pursue a 
plan proposed informally by the AF bureau (ref a) to intensify 
engagement with the Darfur rebels by hosting a series of 
confidential talks at their Rome headquarters.  Representatives 
 
SIPDIS 
Claudio Betti, Mario Giro, and Vittorio Scelzi said Sant'Egidio 
has kept up its contact with both Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) 
and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leaders since making an 
offer last summer to facilitate negotiations (ref b).   Various 
rebel leaders have since visited Sant'Egidio's headquarters. 
 
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Rebels Must Learn to Negotiate 
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3.  (C) Betti and Giro were on the same page with AF on the 
bureau's informal proposal.  They said it was clear that the 
Darfur rebels did not know how to negotiate, and could not 
engage productively in current talks because of a lack of 
organization and the fact that, as Betti put it, "they don't 
even know what they want."  The key, Sant'Egidio officials said, 
would be to work with the rebels to help them identify and 
prioritize their goals, and bring them to understand that 
negotiating also meant more than "just saying 'no' again and 
again."  Betti said the rebels needed a dose of reality, 
comparing the situation to the Community's work in the Liberian 
conflict.  "When the Liberian rebels came here, they all thought 
they would be vice-president; but when they left they all knew 
that was impossible," Betti recalled.  Sant'Egidio plans to help 
rebels gain the greater clarity of purpose, better organization, 
and more realistic expectations that could help make the next 
round of talks in Abuja more productive. 
 
4.  (C) Sant Egidio would prefer to gather all the rebel groups 
together rather than deal with them sequentially, so that they 
can develop a common approach.  They also stressed the 
importance of uprooting the rebels from Asmara, where they come 
under the meddling influence of the authorities.  Sant' Egidio 
believes the credibility of the AU talks is at stake, and that 
some sign of progress in the next round will be essential.  At 
present, the rebels lack both an understanding of how to engage 
in a political process and a grasp of the international context 
of the conflict.  Up to now, they have been courted by the 
international media, and have come to believe that they can 
simply restate their positions endlessly without truly engaging 
with their interlocutors. 
 
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Whom to Invite 
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5.  (C) Sant'Egidio envisions several days of talks with SLA and 
JEM leaders.  They mentioned the names of several SLA leaders as 
likely participants but said that they would want to consult 
closely with the Department when drawing up a list of invitees. 
 
Giro cautioned that it would be important to keep the number of 
principals down, as he imagined that each principal would come 
with a small entourage, including some with wives.  A group of 
four leaders would quickly become a party of fifteen. 
 
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U.S., AU Participation 
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6.  (C)  Sant'Egidio believes U.S. participation and 
international pressure would be necessary to entice some leaders 
to participate.  Betti said that U.S. participation for the 
duration of the discussions would be essential, though he noted 
it would not have to be at senior levels -- at least at the 
start of the talks.  Giro also anticipated inviting the chief 
African Union (AU) negotiator to come to Rome to meet the group 
after the first week of what he imagined would be two weeks of 
discussions.  Although the Community has had little contact with 
him, Betti and Giro stressed their good relations with previous 
negotiator Sam Ibok and the AU in general.  "They know us well," 
Betti said, and noted that the AU had come to Sant'Egidio with a 
similar proposal to aid in negotiations some time ago.  He 
emphasized that they were not looking to sideline the AU, but 
only to prepare the groundwork for more productive AU efforts. 
Their goal was to aid, not undermine the AU's efforts, Betti 
stressed. 
 
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Action Request: Next Steps 
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7.  (C)  Sant'Egidio representatives said they were ready to 
begin Qeir "training" initiative as soon as possible, and 
agrQ that an early March timetable would allow time to prepare 
the rebels for the next round of talks in Abuja.  Post requests 
Department advise of its interest in pursuing the AF informal 
proposal with Sant'Egidio and next steps.  Sant'Egidio 
understands that considerable coordination will be needed to 
identify participants and arrange for their travel to Rome. 
Sant'Egidio would be amenable to direct contact from AF, though 
Post requests that Department keep us closely advised of 
contacts and discussions with the Community. 
 
 
HARDT 
 
 
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 2005VATICA00447 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL