Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ALGIERS1364
2006-07-22 16:38:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Algiers
Cable title:
LIBYAN, ALGERIAN MINISTERS OF INTERIOR DISCUSS
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UNCLAS ALGIERS 001364
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PBTS AG LY
SUBJECT: LIBYAN, ALGERIAN MINISTERS OF INTERIOR DISCUSS
BORDER AND SECURITY ISSUES IN ALGIERS
UNCLAS ALGIERS 001364
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PBTS AG LY
SUBJECT: LIBYAN, ALGERIAN MINISTERS OF INTERIOR DISCUSS
BORDER AND SECURITY ISSUES IN ALGIERS
1. (SBU) General Salah Rajab El-Mismari, Libyan Secretary
General of the Popular Committee and de facto Libyan Minister
of the Interior, visited Algiers July 17-19, holding talks on
border and security issues with Algerian Minister of the
Interior Nouredine Yazid Zerhouni. The official visit,
according to the press and Embassy contacts, signaled that
Libya -- and its leader Muamar El-Qaddafi in particular --
had pulled back from Qaddafi's initiative for a "Greater
Sahara" tribal alliance and was looking to patch up relations
with the GOA. Terrorists and smugglers operating in the
buffer zones between the undelineated borders of Algeria and
Libya have been a rising cause of concern not just for
Algeria but for all the greater Sahel countries. Delineating
the border, thought to be long overdue on the Algerian side,
was the primary focal point of the discussions, according to
press reporting and MFA sources.
2. (U) General El-Mismari, acknowledging Algerian security
concerns about the lack of controls along the Libyan border,
told journalists that planned "collaboration" in delineating
the border -- the biggest breakthrough achieved during the
visit -- would be "extremely beneficial" for citizens of both
countries, especially those living near the border. The
Libyan official considered this joint decision, which he
described as a partial settlement of the issue, as a sign of
"real improvement" in bilateral relations. The meetings in
Algiers also led to the signing of an agreement on
across-the-board security cooperation; cleared the way for
the reactivation of the bilateral Joint Commission on
Security; and set the stage for better Libyan-Algerian
cooperation on "organized crime, terrorism, illegal
immigration, drug trafficking, and migration flows."
Algerian officials privately welcomed El-Mismari's visit as
an indication that Qaddafi was becoming a "more pragmatic"
leader, according to one MFA source. Zerhouni, for his part,
was quoted by one reporter in an off-the-record session as
welcoming his Libyan counterpart's visit as "an important and
positive step" in improving bilateral relations.
3. (SBU) Comment: MFA sources quietly credit the United
States for making El-Mismari's visit, and the progress
associated with it, possible. Without going into detail, one
MFA official commented that U.S. engagement of Libya on the
Algerian border issues was key to scheduling the visit and
making it successful. Post, for its part, is unaware of what
role the U.S. may have played with the Libyans on this issue.
SIEVERS
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PBTS AG LY
SUBJECT: LIBYAN, ALGERIAN MINISTERS OF INTERIOR DISCUSS
BORDER AND SECURITY ISSUES IN ALGIERS
1. (SBU) General Salah Rajab El-Mismari, Libyan Secretary
General of the Popular Committee and de facto Libyan Minister
of the Interior, visited Algiers July 17-19, holding talks on
border and security issues with Algerian Minister of the
Interior Nouredine Yazid Zerhouni. The official visit,
according to the press and Embassy contacts, signaled that
Libya -- and its leader Muamar El-Qaddafi in particular --
had pulled back from Qaddafi's initiative for a "Greater
Sahara" tribal alliance and was looking to patch up relations
with the GOA. Terrorists and smugglers operating in the
buffer zones between the undelineated borders of Algeria and
Libya have been a rising cause of concern not just for
Algeria but for all the greater Sahel countries. Delineating
the border, thought to be long overdue on the Algerian side,
was the primary focal point of the discussions, according to
press reporting and MFA sources.
2. (U) General El-Mismari, acknowledging Algerian security
concerns about the lack of controls along the Libyan border,
told journalists that planned "collaboration" in delineating
the border -- the biggest breakthrough achieved during the
visit -- would be "extremely beneficial" for citizens of both
countries, especially those living near the border. The
Libyan official considered this joint decision, which he
described as a partial settlement of the issue, as a sign of
"real improvement" in bilateral relations. The meetings in
Algiers also led to the signing of an agreement on
across-the-board security cooperation; cleared the way for
the reactivation of the bilateral Joint Commission on
Security; and set the stage for better Libyan-Algerian
cooperation on "organized crime, terrorism, illegal
immigration, drug trafficking, and migration flows."
Algerian officials privately welcomed El-Mismari's visit as
an indication that Qaddafi was becoming a "more pragmatic"
leader, according to one MFA source. Zerhouni, for his part,
was quoted by one reporter in an off-the-record session as
welcoming his Libyan counterpart's visit as "an important and
positive step" in improving bilateral relations.
3. (SBU) Comment: MFA sources quietly credit the United
States for making El-Mismari's visit, and the progress
associated with it, possible. Without going into detail, one
MFA official commented that U.S. engagement of Libya on the
Algerian border issues was key to scheduling the visit and
making it successful. Post, for its part, is unaware of what
role the U.S. may have played with the Libyans on this issue.
SIEVERS