MEPI: IRI PRESENTS AMBITIOUS PLAN FOR TUNISIA; GOT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TUNIS 001314

SIPDIS

LONDON FOR GOLDRICH, PARIS FOR ZEYA, USEU FOR LITZENBERGER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/16/2015
TAGS: TS KDEM PREL PHUM MEPI
SUBJECT: MEPI: IRI PRESENTS AMBITIOUS PLAN FOR TUNISIA; GOT
TEPID IN RESPONSE

REF: TUNIS 1045

Classified By: David Ballard, Charge d'Affaires, Reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (C) Summary and Comment: International Republican
Institute (IRI) MENA Director Tom Garrett outlined proposals
for increasing IRI engagement with Tunisia to MFA DG Atallah
on June 14. IRI would like to hold a regional conference on
public opinion polling in Tunis in September, plans to
increase the number of Tunisian participants in regional
events elsewhere and would like to open a permanent office in
Tunis. Atallah had no comment on Tunisian participants going
elsewhere, was non-committal on the conference, and tried to
throw cold water on the office idea, stating that cooperation
and communication have been just fine thus far without an
office. Post believes that we should support IRI on both the
conference and an office, letting senior GOT officials know
that we will use this as a means to measure the seriousness
of their claims to want to engage more fully in MEPI
activities. End Summary and Comment.


2. (C) Charge accompanied Tom Garrett, MENA Director at the
International Republican Institute (IRI),to a June 14
meeting with MFA Director General for Asia and the Americas
Hatam Atallah. P/E Counselor and MEPI Regional Director also
attended. Garrett began by noting that IRI wanted to build
on the Campaign School conference for women that it held in
Tunis last year and increase cooperation with Tunisia.
Atallah said he was very familiar with IRI from his days as
Ambassador in Washington and welcomed new activities. He
stressed, however, that to maximize participation, it is
essential to consult closely and well in advance of any
activities. The key, Atallah stated, is not just holding an
event, but ensuring that there is real outcome and follow-up.


3. (C) Garrett said that it was in the spirit of consultation
that he had come to share IRI's thinking about possible
activities for the coming months. First, Garrett said that
IRI would like to host a regional conference in Tunis on the
question of public opinion polling, perhaps in September.
The conference would be both for polling practicioners as
well as end users, such as political parties. Second,
Garrett explained IRI plans to invite more Tunisian
participants to activities held either elsewhere in the
region or in Europe where recent reform programs have been
successful. Finally, Garrett said that IRI would like to
create a permanent presence in Tunisia by opening an office
to support the growing relationship. This, he said, would
respond in part to the GOT desire for consultation, as well
as to ensure the outcome and follow-up that Atallah had
mentioned. Garrett stressed that IRI understood that each
country had its individual circumstances and laws regulating
such an office and that IRI would respect both.


4. (C) Atallah seemed to have no problem with sending
Tunisians to programs elsewhere. On the conference, he was
noncommittal, though he asked whether it would include
countries that already have experience in using polling.
Garrett responded that the conference would bring together
those already doing polling, e.g. Jordan, Lebanon, West Bank,
with those that have little or no experience, e.g. Qatar and
Oman. On the question of an IRI office, Atallah was
circumspect, to say the least. He said he would relay the
request, but did not really see the need for an office since
cooperation and communication have been fully satisfactory up
to now without the presence of an office. He repeated this
same point in a slightly different fashion several times.
Garrett said that IRI was not making program cooperation
contingent on having an office, but wished to pursue the
matter, as it believed an office would greatly benefit its
overall effectiveness in Tunisia.


5. (C) Comment: We should fully support IRI's re-engagement
in Tunisia, including the conference and IRI's quest for an
office here. Post's Democracy Strategy (reftel) identified
this as one of two near-term priorities for advancing reform
in Tunisia. Though, particularly following the successful
businesswomen's summit held in Tunis, the GOT has recently
expressed enthusiasm for greater participation in MEPI
activities, we expect significant resistance to an IRI office
(foot dragging, bureaucratic hurdles, etc.). It will require
senior-level engagement on our side to overcome this. The
run-up to the WSIS gives us added leverage, so we should
waste no opportunity to let senior GOT officials know that we
will judge their openness to IRI's overture as a measure of
their seriousness about greater engagement on MEPI and about
pursuing reform itself.
BALLARD