Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03ABUDHABI2236
2003-05-08 12:54:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Cable title:  

UAE LEADERSHIP RESPONDS TO AMBASSADOR'S URGING OF

Tags:  PREL PGOV TC 
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Cable 
Text: 
 
 
CONFIDENTIAL

SIPDIS
TELEGRAM May 08, 2003


To: No Action Addressee 

Action: Unknown 

From: AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI (ABU DHABI 2236 - PRIORITY) 

TAGS: PREL, PGOV 

Captions: None 

Subject: UAE LEADERSHIP RESPONDS TO AMBASSADOR'S URGING OF 
 REFORM AT CONTROVERSIAL UAEG-FUNDED ZAYID CENTER FOR 
 COORDINATION AND FOLLOW-UP 

Ref: None 
_________________________________________________________________
C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 02236

SIPDIS
CXABU:
 ACTION: POL 
 INFO: DCM RSO P/M ECON AMB 

DISSEMINATION: POL
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: AMB:MMWAHBA
DRAFTED: POL:STWILLIAMS
CLEARED: DCM:RAALBRIGHT

VZCZCADI417
PP RUEHC RUEHEE RUEKJCS RHEHNSC RUEAIIA RHEFDIA
RUCJACC
DE RUEHAD #2236/01 1281254
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 081254Z MAY 03
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9851
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCJACC/USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL//POLAD/CCJ2/CCJ5// PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC//OSD/NESA//
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 002236 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/08/13
TAGS: PREL PGOV TC
SUBJECT: UAE LEADERSHIP RESPONDS TO AMBASSADOR'S URGING OF

REFORM AT CONTROVERSIAL UAEG-FUNDED ZAYID CENTER
FOR COORDINATION AND FOLLOW-UP

REF: 02 Abu Dhabi 4712

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 002236

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/08/13
TAGS: PREL PGOV TC
SUBJECT: UAE LEADERSHIP RESPONDS TO AMBASSADOR'S URGING OF

REFORM AT CONTROVERSIAL UAEG-FUNDED ZAYID CENTER
FOR COORDINATION AND FOLLOW-UP

REF: 02 Abu Dhabi 4712


1. (U) Classified by Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba
for reasons 1.5 (B) and (D).


2. (C) SUMMARY: As a result of the Ambassador's
interventions with the UAE leadership, the Zayid
Center for Coordination and Follow-up (ZCCF),a
UAEG-funded institution which has drawn fire for
its sometimes noxious and intolerant views, is set
to be placed under new management. This will be
welcome news to many in the United States who have
grown alarmed over the ZCCF's embrace of hateful
rhetoric, its publication of virulently anti-
Semitic literature and its promotion of fringe
speakers, who while billed as "researchers" or
"experts," frequently pander to the lowest common
denominator's taste for base racism and conspiracy
theories. In a May 6 meeting, MFA Minstate Hamdan
told the Ambassador that as a result of her
expressions of concern -- including a two-page
letter outlining our serious reservations with the
ZCCF's policies -- Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khalifa
will soon shift supervision of the ZCCF from its
current sponsor to the highly respected Center for
Documentation and Research, which is attached to
the office of President Zayid. END SUMMARY.

-------------- --------------
AMBASSADOR'S DIALOGUE WITH MFA MINSTATE ON
INCREASINGLY CONTROVERSIAL ZCCF BOOKS AND SPEAKERS
-------------- --------------


3. (C) In 2002, the Ambassador began a quiet
dialogue with MFA Minstate Hamdan bin Zayid in
which she voiced concerns about the controversial
Zayid Center for Coordination & Follow-up (ZCCF).
By way of background, the Center was established by
a decree from the UAE cabinet in 1997 and reports
to both the UAE Government and the Arab League,
though it is funded entirely by the Emirate of Abu
Dhabi. The brain child of UAE Deputy Prime
Minister and Shaykh Zayid's second eldest son, the
often erratic and sometimes bibulous Sultan bin
Zayid, the ZCCF in its formative years attracted
many prominent speakers, including former President
Jimmy Carter, former VP Al Gore and former
Secretary of State James Baker. However, over the

SIPDIS

last 18 months, and particularly since the 9/11
terror attacks, the ZCCF has adopted an especially
harsh tone, often crossing the line into anti-
Semitism.

--------------
TROUBLED CENTER REFLECTS ERRATIC BEHAVIOR OF
PATRON SHAYKH SULTAN BIN ZAYID
--------------


4. (C) We reported last year (reftel) on the ZCCF's
increasingly regrettable choice of speakers,
commenting that it seemed to reflect the spotty
behavior of its patron, Sultan bin Zayid, who has
been known to lash out publicly against the U.S.,
absent coordination with other UAEG policymakers.
Sultan reportedly had difficulty believing that the
9/11 attacks were perpetrated by Arabs and by early
2002, had withdrawn almost completely from public
life and resumed his addiction to alcohol and
drugs. Among the more questionable speakers hosted
by the ZCCF at the time was fabled French
"intellectual" Thierry Meyssoun who told a packed
audience that the 9/11 attacks were perpetrated by
the CIA/FBI. In the summer of 2002, the ZCCF
sponsored a conference on "semitism" during which
remarks attributed to Center employees and speakers
denying the Holocaust were picked up by the
international press and became a source of alarm to
American Jewish organizations. Attention was drawn
to the ZCCF's publication of books such as "The
Zionist Movement and its Animosity to Jews" and "Al
Buraq Wall, Not Wailing Wall."

-------------- --
AMBASSADOR PRESSES HAMDAN TO SHUT DOWN WEBSITE
-------------- --


5. (C) Not long after Meyssoun took the podium at
the ZCCF, the Ambassador approached Hamdan and told
him that the Embassy had decided not to recommend
the Center to visiting officials (both current and
former) and American academics. The British
Embassy told us they had similarly decided against
recommending the ZCCF. Hamdan readily acknowledged
that the ZCCF had become a source of embarrassment
to the UAEG and noted the irony that an institution
bearing his father's name was entirely against
Zayid's longstanding policy of tolerance and
respect for different faiths.


6. (C) Last month, the Embassy's Public Affairs
Office received an inquiry from the Divinity School
at Harvard University. Harvard's acceptance of a
generous gift from Shaykh Zayid to establish a
chair for Islamic Religious Studies had come under
fire from faculty members and students because of
the ZCCF's promotion of intolerant, noxious and
racist views, particularly on the Center's website.
Harvard queried us on whether the ZCCF was UAEG-
funded. We responded that while the institution is
funded by the UAEG, it does not necessarily reflect
the views of the UAEG or Shaykh Zayid personally.


7. (C) The Ambassador informed Shaykh Hamdan of
Harvard's inquiry and again pressed him to take
action soon before Harvard felt compelled to reject
Shaykh Zayid's offer of a chair. She suggested
cleaning up the website and changing the Center's
name (i.e. removing Zayid's name) would be a good
first step. Hamdan was visibly angered that the
ZCCF's antics had forced Harvard to reconsider the
acceptance of the endowment and at the damage this
would do to Shaykh Zayid's reputation. Hamdan
promised to take the issue directly to Abu Dhabi
Crown Prince Khalifa bin Zayid. The Ambassador
followed-up with a formal letter to Hamdan
outlining our concerns about the ZCCF and noting
that "a brief overview of the Center's website
reveals the use of inflammatory language, a
negative focus on Judaism, a blurring of the
distinction between the Jewish faith, Zionism and
the Israeli government, as well as the employment
of classic anti-Semitic terminology." She
commented that while "we know the Center does not
reflect the view of Shaykh Zayid or the Government,
that distinction is neither understood nor
appreciated by many in the United States. Indeed,
many in the U.S. take the view that if a government
wholly funds an organization, that government is
responsible for the organization's behavior."

-------------- --------------
HAMDAN: CENTER WILL BE PLACED UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT
-------------- --------------


8. (C) On May 6, Hamdan told the Ambassador that
Crown Prince Khalifa had agreed that the ZCCF was a
source of embarrassment and had decreed that quick
action should be taken. Hamdan said the ZCCF would
soon be moved from under Sultan's sponsorship to
the highly respected Center for Documentation and
Research, which is attached to the President's
Office and is under the overall supervision of
Zayid's office director, Mansour bin Zayid. A ZCCF
employee told us later that day that orders had
already been given "from the UAEG leadership" to
remove all anti-Semitic material from the Center's
website.


9. (C) Comment: It is regrettable that the ZCCF
has tarnished the name and reputation of Shaykh
Zayid, a leader whose tenure has seen the
integration into the UAE of individuals from scores
of different nationalities and faiths. Zayid has
prided himself on having fostered the UAE's
tolerance and openness. It is heartening to see
that the leadership is now moving decisively to
correct the damage done by the ZCCF. We will
continue to track this issue closely to assure that
the current momentum does not flag. End Comment.

WAHBA