AMBASSADOR'S FAREWELL CALLS WITH BOTSWANA

UNCLAS GABORONE 001026

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

AF/S FOR MUNCY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM ETRD US BC SAN CKGR
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S FAREWELL CALLS WITH BOTSWANA
PRESIDENT AND VP HIGHLIGHT BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

REF: (A) GABORONE 738 AND PREVIOUS (B) GABORONE 1002

AND PREVIOUS


1. (SBU) Summary. In his farewell calls with Botswana's
President Festus Mogae and Vice President Seretse Khama Ian
Khama July 21, Ambassador Huggins highlighted promoting
Botwsana business and human rights, specifically the
Kenneth Good and Basarwa issues. The President and VP
thanked the Ambassador for having deepened and broadened
US-Botswana relations. Ambassador urged Mogae and Khama to
work aggressively to attract foreign direct investment
(FDI),saying Botswana could not just rely on its positive
reputation. Khama hoped the new Government-Business Council
would redynamize Botswana's FDI efforts. The Ambassador
said Botswana must plan now for downstream projects that
would follow the development of the coal bed methane project,
which the
USG has supported through TDA and OPIC funding. He also
highlighted for Khama the Botswana Export Development
Investment Authority (BEDIA)-Disney
agreement to promote Botswana at Disney World during the
September-November
time frame. On human rights, the Ambassador told President
Mogae and VP
Khama that both the Ken Good (Ref A) and Basarwa (Ref B)
cases depicted Botswana in a negative light, although the
court cases showed the rule of law was observed. Mogae
said his government would await the outcomes, while Khama
defended the GOB action on Good, saying his criticism had
grown more insulting and was not constructive. President
Mogae faulted Survival International for telling lies about
the Basarwa issue and diamonds. Both Mogae and Khama agreed
that a San cultural project might result in great economic
benefit for Basarwa living in the relocation villages.
End summary.

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US-Botswana Relations
--------------


2. (U) President Mogae thanked Ambassador Huggins for
having
broadened and deepened US-Botswana relations in both
government and non-government circles. He singled out in
particular the Ambassador's promotion of government-private
sector partnerships with those working on HIV-AIDS. He
also expressed thanks that members of the U.S. Congress had
visited Botswana and that the country was now much better
known in Congressional circles.

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Promoting Business
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3. (U) The Ambassador told Mogae and Khama that he hoped
Botswana
would take advantage of the U.S. private sector initiatives
as it
would benefit the country in its economic diversification
program. He also
encouraged both leaders to be more active in developing a
strategy to attract FDI. Khama, taking up the business
theme, hoped that
Botswana's public service had improved since his last
meeting with the Ambassador but admitted that more progress
was yet to be made. Khama attributed the economic downturn
to devaluation of the U.S. dollar (which affects Botswana's
diamond revenues),drought, and HIV/AIDS but said Botswana
was working hard to attract FDI and learn from successful
models.


4. (U) The Ambassador highlighted for Khama the coal bed
methane project which the U.S. supported through TDA and OPIC
funding. To exploit this new resource fully, he said,
Botswana must start thinking now about how to use the gas in
developing downstream projects. Such opportunities include
selling the gas as liquified natural gas, exporting excess
gas to the region and beyond, using it locally as a power
source for homes and industries, and utilization of the
enormous byproduct of water for industrial waste water
processing or irrigation. He noted that an Israeli operation
with a farming project in northern Botswana had already
contacted the group developing the coal bed methane about
using the water.


5. (U) The Ambassador also flagged the BEDIA agreement with
Disney World to exhibit at the Food and Wine Show in
September-November 2005 as a great initiative to promote


Botswana both in the U.S. and internationally. This
initiative could benefit Botswana's efforts to generate
revenue through increased tourism.

--------------
The Kenneth Good Case
--------------


5. (SBU) Ambassador Huggins raised the Kenneth Good and
Basarwa cases with both the President and Vice-President,
saying that both cases showed Botswana in a bad light.
While the two cases were still in court, the deportation of
Professor Good (Ref A) had raised his profile.
Constructive criticism should be encouraged in a democracy as
freedom
of speech is one of the major pillars in a democratic state,
said the Ambassador. He also commented that he did not
perceive Kenneth Good as a threat to Botswana. If government
had
evidence to that effect, it should release into the public
domain
to better explain its position.


6. (SBU) VP Khama reacted defensively, saying the U,S. and
Britain have
come up with ways to deal with terrorism that might be
eroding democracy. Assuring safety of citizens without
eroding democracy is always a challenge. He further hinted
that outsiders became interested only when the subjects
were white, calling it a "color thing." He then cited the
Mariana Bortch case
of a white South African who was hanged for murdering her
lover in
Botswana. The VP went on to state, &We have deported
Africans in the past
and heard nothing from the West. We have hanged Africans in
the past and
heard nothing from the West. Why is that the West is only
interested in cases
that involve white people?8


7. (SBU) Khama further expounded that Kenneth Good had
been criticizing the government for years but that his
criticism had grown more "insulting." It was no longer
constructive, said the VP. Kenneth Good had gone
"overboard," writing in papers outside Botswana that
portrayed the country
in a negative light. Khama had
"no regrets" about what had happened to Professor Good,
saying he would be "forgotten over a period time." Both
President Mogae and
VP Khama said they would await the results of Good's
Appeal before speaking further.

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The Basarwa Case
--------------


8. (SBU) On the Basarwa case (Ref B),the Ambassador
suggested that Botswana seek middle ground on settlements
since only the elderly seemed interested in returning to
the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). President Mogae
seized on Survival International's (SI) insistence that the
Basarwa case was about diamonds. The President concluded
that perhaps SI was doing Botswana a favor by "telling
lies." That way, ex-critics were learning that diamonds
were an "add-on" to SI,s campaign for the Basarwa. He added
that any
suggestion that the Basarwa wanted to return to ancestors'
gravesites was SI fiction, since as nomads, the Basarwa
never stayed in one place. He said the GOB would do a better
job in explaining
its position.


9. (SBU) VP Khama focused on the environmental issue,
saying the returning Basarwa had brought livestock such as
cattle, sheep, donkeys, and horses that led to wildlife
decline and degraded the environment. He faulted SI as
inciting the Basarwa to flout the law. The VP said he had
reflected on possible solutions that would, as Ambassador
Huggins suggested, give the Basarwa economic opportunities,
such as a cultural village. The Ambassador noted that he
had visited the settlements and that the Basarwa could not
easily earn a living when villages such as New Xade and
Kaudwane were so
far from the main road. Khama suggested that a cultural
village in the park might work. The Ambassador told Mogae
and Khama the U.S. was ready to assist the Basarwa set up a


cultural village.

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


10. (SBU) Both meetings were very cordial, exemplifying
our excellent relations. The Ambassador also discussed
with the Vice President the latter's eventual succession to
the presidency (septel).
HUGGINS


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