Wikileaks revelations

Recent release of US diplomatic cables by the whistle blowing website quotes Musa Hilal, a suspected Janjaweed leader apologizing for what happened in Darfur. On the other hand, the Ethiopian Prime Minister says Washington would be better off without Bashir in power. Radio Dabanga brings a brief round up of the cables released on August 30.

Ghazi: Talks will fail without the Furs

Salahedeen Ghazi, the advisor to Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir, told the US special envoy Scott Gration that the Doha Peace talks with opposition groups were bound to fail if Fur groups were excluded, according to a leaked Wikileaks cable.

In a February 2010 meeting, Ghazi was discussing the recent agreement between the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Government of Sudan. A report by the US administration reads, “While praising the agreement for bringing JEM back to a serious negotiating track, Ghazi expressed concern that absent the participation of the Fur, any new agreement is bound to fail. He urged SE Gration to continue to engage with Fur rebels and civil society activists in the Doha process so that a final agreement could be signed by mid-March.”

The cables quoted Ghazi as saying, “The significance of the agreement was that it eliminated the ridiculous, phony demands for power sharing and compensation previously made by JEM Chairman Khalil Ibrahim and brought him back on a serious negotiating track.”

The agreement between the JEM and the government however fell out in the following months and the Doha peace talks were eventually signed between the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) and the government.

Among other statements leaked by the whistle blowing website, Ghazi is also quoted saying that the Christians in Ethiopia have more in common with the Muslims in the north of Sudan when compared to the Christians in the south of Sudan.

Hilal: I regret what happened

Musa Hilal, a suspected Janjaweed militia leader regrets the atrocities committed in Darfur and blames it on the ruling regime in Khartoum, according to a recently released Wikileaks cable.

According to the September 2009 leaked cable, Musa Hilal and an American diplomat Alberto Fernandez attended a meeting held by an American-Darfuri activist. Musa Hilal, has been accused of leading the Janjaweed militia group in Darfur.

Sudan Tribune, a Paris-based news network reporting on Sudan said, “Hilal told the US diplomat that the Arab tribes were manipulated by a hysterical Khartoum afraid that Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) leader John Garang was seeking to open a new front in Darfur just as negotiations reached their final stage on the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).”

Zenawi to US: Get rid of Bashir

On the other hand, another diplomatic cable leaked by Wikileaks revealed that Meles Zanawi, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, suggested to the White House that doing away with Omar Al Bashir would work in Washington’s favor.

The January 2009 leaked cable gave out information about the meeting held between the Ethiopian Prime Minister and the US State Department.

The cable quoted Zenawi as saying, “If Bashir remains in power, either because no such coup attempt is made or an attempt fails, the indictment will leave the Bashir regime a wounded animal that is more desperate than ever.”