AMBASSADOR RAISES ALGERIAN DEPORTEE ISSUE WITH

1. (C) During an August 31 meeting with FM Bedjaoui on other
issues, Ambassador (accompanied by PolEcon Chief) pressed the
GOA to communicate quickly its willingness to accept the
return of twelve Algerian deportees and issue them travel
documents. Ambassador said that we had raised these cases
repeatedly with the GOA and that some of these cases had now
been pending for up to two years.



2. (C) As the Foreign Minister (a former head of the
International Court of Justice) knew, Ambassador continued,
states had an international legal obligation to accept their
own citizens. We recognized that Algeria needed to verify
the Algerian nationality of these individuals. Accordingly,
we have provided the necessary personal information,
including in several cases Algerian documentation. All these
individuals had also testified in U.S. courts that they were
Algerian nationals.



3. (C) However, despite repeated inquiries in both Algiers
and Washington, we had unfortunately seen no evidence that
serious follow-up action was being taken, Ambassador said.
It was important to act now to resolve these pending cases in
order to avoid serious problems down the line, should it be
determined that Algeria was not honoring its legal
obligations. Algeria had recently received Algerian
nationals deported from the United Kingdom and France.
Algeria's delay in responding to our request to receive
Algerian nationals being deported from the United States
looked bad and gave the impression Algeria was not interested
in cooperating.



4. (C) FM Bedjaoui thanked Ambassador for bringing this issue
to his attention, noting this was the first time he had heard
of these cases. He immediately acknowledged the
international legal obligation of states to receive their own
nationals. He said he would ask his staff for background
information on these cases, emphasizing that he wanted "to
avoid a problem" over this issue.
ERDMAN