OULD AL-TAYA ARRIVES IN DOHA, JOINING OTHER EXILES

C O N F I D E N T I A L DOHA 001468

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/23/2015
TAGS: PREL KDEM PTER KISL XA QA
SUBJECT: OULD AL-TAYA ARRIVES IN DOHA, JOINING OTHER EXILES

Classified By: Ambassador Chase Untermeyer for reasons 1.4 (d).


1. (U) Ousted Mauritanian president Maouiya Ould al-Taya
arrived in Doha at 8 PM August 22 with his family. According
to a local news report, he was also accompanied by the
"teacher of his children" and is staying at a luxury hotel.
He arrived on a Qatar Airways plane via Cairo. Sources
indicate that the GOQ requires that he not engage in
political activity while taking refuge in Qatar.

Host for Exiles
--------------


2. (SBU) Taya joins a motley mix of forced and voluntary
exiles in Doha. Prominent among them is Dr. Yousef
al-Qaradawi, who as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood ran
afoul of the Nasser regime in Egypt and was given a
professorship at Qatar University in 1962. The former Iraqi
Minister of Foreign Affairs under Saddam Hussein, Naji Sabri
al-Hadithi, has found refuge here, as have Saddam's wife and
one daughter (as ell as an assortment of family members for
other former Iraqi regime figures). The Chechen leader
Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev found asylum in Doha until his
assassination in February 2004. Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal
resided in Qatar for some time, and members of his family
have remained. Bilal Phillips, a Canadian Salafist Muslim,
moved to Qatar after his residency in the United Arab
Emirates was revoked; he teaches at the Qatar Guest
Center. In the same category is Wagdy Ghoneim, an Egyptian
national expelled from the U.S. in early 2005 for supporting
extremism in mosques. Finally, the president of the former
Islamic Salvation Front, Abbasi Madani, chose to reside in
Qatar after his release from Algerian prison in 2003.


3. (C) Qatar has thus become something of a refuge for a
range personalities from across the political spectrum. As it
did with Taya, the GOQ generally requires that "guests" not
create political trouble. Madani, for example, does not
criticize the Algerian government and recently supported
President Bouteflika's recent proposal for national
reconciliation.

Possible Reasons for Granting Asylum
--------------


4. (C) There are several theories why Qatar would choose to
host such a disproportionate number of estranged figures. A
simple one is that, though Qatar's economic might is growing
apace, it remains a rather tiny political entity, and these
figures help the rest of the world locate the country on the
political map. Linked to this idea is that fact that some of
these individuals serve as a resource for the satellite
channel Al Jazeera. Madani has appeared several times on the
channel, and Qaradawi has a regular show.


5. (C) It is not necessarily true that Doha plans to use
these exiles as political chips against the governments of
their home countries. To the contrary, Doha maintains strong
relations with Algeria, to continue with the Madani example.
And the GOQ did not state a position, either in support or
critical, on the Mauritanian coup. It is expected that
hosting Taya will not change Qatar's neutrality in the
matter. Nevertheless, the exiles extend Doha's range of
useful international contacts.


6. (C) While aiming to show Qatar as open to a wide range of
political views, the variety of circumstances show that each
case is judged independently. Ould Taya's reported close ties
with the Qatari Amir would likely have been decisive. Some
minor characters may have been drawn to Qatar for its relaxed
reputation and were able to remain because the government
does not want to create an unnecessary stir by kicking them
out.

Comment
--------------


7. (C) In Qatar it is the Islamic-oriented exiles who are
active giving lectures (at one level) or nuturing a devoted
following (at the higher level). Ould Taya, as politician out
of power from a poor country in the "far west," will probably
slip into relative obscurity.
UNTERMEYER