US embassy cable - 05OTTAWA3123

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 003123 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CAN AND AF/SPG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CA, PREL, SU, PARM, MOPS 
SUBJECT: LETTER FROM MP DAVID KILGOUR TO SECSTATE URGING 
GREATER NATO INVOLVEMENT IN SUDAN 
 
 
1. Embassy has received a letter from MP David Kilgour 
addressed to the Secretary regarding NATO involvement in 
Darfur.  Mr. Kilgour is an independent MP who has been a 
champion of human rights and humanitarian issues going back 
to international efforts on behalf of Soviet Jewry in the 
1970,s.  Kilgour is a good friend of the United States and 
is one of Embassy,s better contacts on a range of domestic 
political and international issues.  He has been helpful in 
bringing attention to the issue of Darfur in Canada, most 
recently hosting the Ride for Sudan which linked U.S. and 
Canadian NGOs in helping to raise the profile of the plight 
of the Sudanese.  A reply to Mr. Kilgour from the Secretary 
or Deputy Secretary would help advance our efforts to engage 
Canada on Darfur and would be a way to get a message on Sudan 
to the Canadian public. 
 
2. Begin Text 
 
Ottawa, September 28, 2005 
Ms. Condoleezza Rice 
Secretary of State 
 
SIPDIS 
 
Madame Secretary, 
 
As you will be aware, the public concern across Canada about 
the ongoing catastrophe in Sudan, and from all indications in 
many other parts of the world as well, appears to continue 
unabated. 
 
Attached is an analysis (Note: original faxed to WHA/CAN. End 
Note) of September 7th by the American academic Eric Reeves, 
who has probably followed developments in Sudan as closely as 
anyone outside the continent for the past six years.  In his 
concluding paragraphs, he notes that there are presently 
"over 3.2 million conflict-affected persons, current excess 
mortality in Darfur exceeds 6,000 human beings per month," 
and "without vastly increased international resources, 
including NATO military personnel, genocide by attrition will 
continue indefinitely in Darfur. Nothing could burden future 
operations by the AU Peace and Security Commission more 
onerously than such a legacy." 
 
The second attachment is an overview of the International 
Crisis Group's report this summer, "The AU's Mission in 
Darfur: Bridging the Gaps." I hope you are aware that in 
early July the ICG stated that it wants NATO and others to 
offer additional help to the AU in "force preparation, 
deployment, sustainment, intelligence, command and control, 
communications and tactical (day and night) mobility, 
including the deployment of their own assets and personnel to 
meet capability gaps as needed." 
 
Whatever the international and regional political nuances, or 
organizational mechanics, or any other number of unpersuasive 
excuses, no one can deny that we all have a responsibility to 
protect civilians in Darfur.  As Susan Rice wrote in a 
Washington Post article this past August, genocide is not 
simply a regional or domestic issue. "A government that 
commits or condones genocide is not on par with one that, 
say, jails dissidents, squanders economic resources or 
suppresses free speech, as dreadful as such policies may be. 
Genocide makes a claim on the entire world and it should be a 
call to action." 
 
Although many are pleased to hear NATO has promised to extend 
the airlift of AU troops to Darfur until the end of October, 
many others have called for the alliance to become involved 
in a more integrated and result-oriented way. Insisting that 
such an initiative would need the approval of both the AU and 
the Sudanese government misses the point. 
 
To believe that the Sudanese government would ever condone 
NATO involvement in a capacity more than transporting AU 
troops is folly.  The people of Sudan cannot wait for this. 
Acknowledging that something exists but refusing to take 
action is just as bad as denying something exists at all and 
claiming that no action is necessary. Claims that the 
situation has stabilized and requires only humanitarian aid 
must end, for the crisis in Sudan is far from stable. Neither 
can we remain idle because of fears that strong action will 
lead to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) falling 
apart.  The case is precisely the opposite: without a 
solution to the current crisis, the CPA will never work. 
 
Two Canadian observers returned from Sudan several days ago. 
Consider several of their observations while on the trip: 
 
--    Several armed men opened fire on a bus near El Fasher, 
Darfur this past Friday, September 23rd, killing one and 
wounding seven. They spoke to several witnesses. 
--    None of the Rwandan, Senegalese, South African and 
Malawi AU troops were present during the attack. Even if they 
had been, they are under mandate not to carry weapons so all 
they could have done was report the incident. 
--    An Egyptian policeman in Sudan told one of the 
Canadians that it is ridiculous that the AU troops are 
unarmed - it allows the janjaweed to act with absolute 
impunity. 
--    While at the Zam Zam military base controlled by 
Rwandan AU troops, they saw twelve armoured AU vehicles which 
had never been used because they were waiting for a new coat 
of paint. 
--    In the Abu-Shouko camp, the temporary home of 270,000 
women and children, the observers failed to see even one AU 
soldier in two hours. 
--    The nutrition and living conditions of the AU troops is 
very poor, and has a negative impact on their ability to 
perform their duties effectively. 
We must all do our part to bring an end to the catastrophe in 
Sudan; we as ministers, diplomats and parliamentarians all 
have the capacity to make a difference. Abhorrent violations 
of human rights cannot continue because we chose 
indifference.  If everything we do accomplishes nothing, we 
are simply silent partners in genocide.  Are we really 
willing to allow another Rwanda or Bosnia to take place while 
we stand and watch? We must let "Never Again" mean something. 
 
I'd greatly appreciate your comments on this issue in a form 
that might be shared. Thank you. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
David Kilgour 
 
End Text 
 
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WILKINS