COMPREHENSIVE CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM

C O N F I D E N T I A L ALGIERS 001878 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/06/2015 TAGS: PREL PTER SUBJECT: COMPREHENSIVE CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM REF: A. SECSTATE 161624 ¶B. STATE 105937 ¶C. ALGIERS 1418 Classified By: Ambassador Richard W. Erdman, for reasons 1.4 (b) ¶1. (C) Due to absence abroad of both Foreign Minister Bedjaoui and Secretary General Lamamra, Ambassador delivered Secretary's letter urging conclusion of the Comprehensive SIPDIS Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) without delay to MFA Mulilateral Relations Director General Belhimeur on September 5. Belhimeur expressed appreciation for the letter (and Embassy's informal French translation)and said he would bring it to the Minister's attention as soon as possible. ¶2. (C) Ambassador also deployed reftel talking points, stressing our hope that Algeria would help find a bridge that would resolve outstanding issues preventing conclusion of the CCIT convention. Belhimeur said Algeria had suffered firsthand from terrorism for a decade or more. No country wanted more than Algeria to conclude the convention and reinforce international efforts to combat the scourge of terrorism, he claimed. He said Algeria would work in a flexible spirit and agreed on the desirability of concluding the convention without further delay. ¶3. (C) While there remained a definitional problem, Belkhimeur felt "the lawyers" could work out the necessary language to bridge differences. He also agreed with the Secretary's point that a failure to conclude the convention SIPDIS during this General Assembly would send the wrong message to terrorists and their supporters and make it more difficult to revive the prospect of a CCIT in the near term. Ambassador underscored that the international community needed to speak with moral clarity on this issue, making clear that terrorist acts could not be justified by any political cause. ERDMAN