MALI PEACE AGREEMENT SIGNED IN ALGIERS JULY 4

C O N F I D E N T I A L ALGIERS 001243 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT PLEASE REPEAT FOR EMBASSY TRIPOLI E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINS ML AG SUBJECT: MALI PEACE AGREEMENT SIGNED IN ALGIERS JULY 4 REF: BAMAKO 748 Classified By: DCM Marc Sievers, Reason 1.4 (b) (d) ¶1. (SBU) With considerable fanfare, Foreign Minister Bedjaoui convoked the diplomatic corps and representatives of the Algerian and international media to witness the signing July 4 at the El Mithaq state guest house in Algiers of a peace agreement between the Malian government and the Touareg rebels. Malian Minister of Territorial Administration Kafounouga Kone signed for the GOM, while Ahmed Ag Bibe represented the "Democratic Alliance of May 23, 2006 for Change." Algerian mediator and Ambassador to Mali Abdelkrim Gheraib was also present, along with small delegations from the GOM and Touareg rebels. DCM represented the Embassy at the ceremony. ¶2. (SBU) After signing a document called "The Algiers Accord for the Restoration of Peace, Security, and the Development of the Kidal Region," Bedjaoui, Kone, and Ag Bibe spoke in turn. Bedjaoui stressed that Algeria's involvement came at the request of both parties, and noted that President Bouteflika had personally followed the negotiations. In an apparent jab at Qadhafi's calls for the establishment of a "Grand Sahara State," Bedjaoui said Algeria had paid special attention to protecting Mali's "inviolable territorial integrity," Both Kone and Ag Bibe, in their remarks, thanked Algeria for its mediation, with Ag Bibe going so far as to state that "the events of May 23 came to avoid the worst, and today Mali is saved, thanks to Algeria." General Kone, for his part, declared that Mali "needs all its sons for a consensual, stable, and prosperous Mali that respects the ideals of dialogue and tolerance." ¶3. (U) The MFA did not circulate copies of the peace accord, although the widely-read French language daily El Watan reported July 5 that the text was available on the Touareg rebels' web site, Azawad-Union. According to El Watan, the accord provides for the establishment of a "provisional regional council" for a one-year period that will undertake coordination and follow-up. A Kidal forum will oversee a special investment fund to implement a program of regional development. Special security units, largely composed of Touareg elements, will report to the command of the regional military zone. El Watan noted that both sides undertook to free all prisoners detained during the May 23 events, but made no reference to the rebels' commitment to return arms seized during those events. ¶4. (C) Comment: We defer to Embassy Bamako regarding the significance and viability of this agreement, but from an Algiers perspective it represents a demonstration of Algeria's considerable interest and diplomatic influence in the Trans-Sahel region, and especially its role in trying to ensure the security of northern Mali, a source of concern for both the GOA and the Algerian General Staff. In a June 18 meeting with a senior U.S. visitor, President Bouteflika commented that he was following the Mali negotiations closely, adding that he "was praying" that the GOM would accept the draft agreement worked out in Algiers with the Touaregs and which Ambassador Gheraib was in the process of delivering in Bamako. ERDMAN