Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BAMAKO443
2006-04-17 13:01:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bamako
Cable title:  

THE "FRERE GUIDE" QADHAFI CAUSES A STIR IN MALI

Tags:  PREL PINR PGOV EINV LY ML 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO5190
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHBP #0443/01 1071301
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 171301Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5258
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 0244
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 0025
RUESKT/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 0007
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0004
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 0183
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 0080
RUEOMFD/USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEHTRO/USLO TRIPOLI
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BAMAKO 000443 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF, AF/W, AF/SPG, NEA/MAG, INR
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2016
TAGS: PREL PINR PGOV EINV LY ML
SUBJECT: THE "FRERE GUIDE" QADHAFI CAUSES A STIR IN MALI

REF: A. DAKAR 00877 (NOTAL)

B. BAMAKO 00421 (NOTAL)

C. BAMAKO 00321 (NOTAL)

BAMAKO 00000443 001.2 OF 004


Classified By: Classified by: Ambassador Terence P. McCulley, Embassy B
amako,
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BAMAKO 000443

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF, AF/W, AF/SPG, NEA/MAG, INR
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2016
TAGS: PREL PINR PGOV EINV LY ML
SUBJECT: THE "FRERE GUIDE" QADHAFI CAUSES A STIR IN MALI

REF: A. DAKAR 00877 (NOTAL)

B. BAMAKO 00421 (NOTAL)

C. BAMAKO 00321 (NOTAL)

BAMAKO 00000443 001.2 OF 004


Classified By: Classified by: Ambassador Terence P. McCulley, Embassy B
amako,
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Libyan leader Mouammar Qadhafi arrived to
great fanfare in Mali on April 6 to celebrate the April 11
prophet Mohammed,s birthday (Mawloud). After a two-day stay
in Bamako, Qadhafi and Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure
(ATT) headed on a 2-day road trip to Timbuktu. In a
controversial move, Qadhafi led the Mawloud prayer and
delivered an inflammatory speech, glorifying Islam and
calling for collective armed opposition to foreign influence
in the Sahara region. Qadhafi and regional religious leaders
went on to sign a 8Grand Sahara8 Pact for a unified front
against imperialism. Qadhafi also used the opportunity to
privately meet with recently resurfaced Malian national guard
deserter and former rebel leader Fagaga, while at the same
time snubbing local Malian authorities. The Mawloud
festivities proved to be a logistical nightmare, and foreign
dignitaries and visitors alike were largely left without
hosts, accommodations, and food. Not all were surprised by
Qadhafi,s provocative sermon, as the Mawloud event in
Timbuktu had been hyped long before Qadhafi,s arrival as a
counterpoint to the Danish cartoons controversy. Still, his
divisive comments and the disastrous logistics of the
Libyan-organized event seriously undermined Qadhafi,s image
and public confidence in his commitment to Malian
development. END SUMMARY.

--------------
POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE
--------------


2. (C) Qadhafi,s arrival was by no means a subtle affair.
Week-long tributes and announcements in the major newspapers
and posters and flags all over the capital city made the
Guide,s visit one of the most hyped and publicized events in
Mali,s recent history. The government newspaper
&L,Essor8 described Qadhafi,s arrival in Mali as a moment

of &intense joy,8 as the Guide was greeted at the Bamako
airport by an official delegation led by President Toure,
music, dance, and folklore. Visibly enjoying the elaborate
welcome, Qadhafi stated, &I am delighted to come back once
more to my second homeland and to be with my dear brother,
ATT. I am not a foreigner, Mali is my country and I say it
sincerely.8


3. (C) Following his visit to Mali,s capital, Qadhafi
embarked on a two-day road trip to Timbuktu with ATT, though
the Guide apparently lost track of the Malian president en
route, arriving in Timbuktu without him. The scene in
Timbuktu, Qadhafi,s destination for the Mawloud holiday, was
an even greater spectacle than the capital. Embassy staff
traveled to Timbuktu days before the arrival to find the city
transformed into a Libyan town. Posters of the &Frere
Guide8 up to 30 feet in size, African maps with Libya
highlighted, and welcome banners in both Arabic and French
lined the streets. In Timbuktu,s stadium, the venue for the
Mawloud prayer, pictures of Qadhafi flanked the stage and
walls, illuminated by flood lighting that was visible from
miles away and temporarily interrupted the city,s power
supply. The green flags and pictures of the Guide throughout
town far outnumbered Mali,s national flags and posters of
Malian President ATT. Tent villages ) including a small
fortress for the Guide himself, complete with air conditioned
and electrified living quarters, security fencing, and guard
posts ) sprung up all around town.

--------------
IMAM FOR A DAY
--------------


4. (C) Qadhafi made few friends with his posture during his
visit to the City of 333 Saints. The Guide arrived two hours
before ATT and sped around the city, ignoring official
attempts to greet him and present him with the key to the
city, and instead basking in the crowd,s cheers. The Guide
proceeded to unilaterally move the Mawloud prayer from
Tuesday, April 11, to Monday, April 10, and, according to

BAMAKO 00000443 002.2 OF 004


officials, &scandalized8 the religious authorities by
leading the Mawloud prayer rather than ceding the stage to
Timbuktu,s Grand Imam Essayouti. Most newspapers noted
Qadhafi,s leading the prayer as unusual, with some harshly
criticizing the Libyan president for &playing Imam.8

--------------
A SAHARAN PACT AGAINST FOREIGN INFLUENCE
--------------


5. (C) Adding to the controversy, Qadhafi delivered a 95
minute incendiary speech glorying Islam and blasting the
imperialist influence of foreign governments and NGOs in what
witnesses described as &very poor Arabic,8 translated into
even poorer French. Qadhafi,s visit followed on the heels
of already controversial comments made in Dakar on the
occasion of Senegal,s independence celebrations (Ref A).
Spectators in Timbuktu were left confused and disoriented by
the Guide,s ramblings. In the speech, Qadhafi called for
all humans to adopt Islam as their religion and used
citations from the Koran to identify Islam as the only
religion accepted by God. Qadhafi called for the northern
tribes to take up arms against foreign spies and
fundamentalists, oddly naming several international NGOs,
including MSF (Doctors Without Borders) among those unwanted
entities. According to Embassy contacts, he stated that
presidents Bush and Chirac, as well as other Western leaders,
are &as impure as beads of sweat8 and advocated for the
creation of a unified Sahara from Mauritania to Iraq as a
&tinderbox, in which imperialism will perish.8 Qadhafi
assembled various dignitaries and religious figures on the
margins of the festivities to sign a &Grand Sahara8
charter, though the content of the alleged agreement has not
been publicized.

--------------
QADHAFI,S PASSIONATE TIRADE RINGS HALLOW
--------------


6. (C) In reference to the Danish cartoons depicting the
prophet Mohammed, Qadhafi described the cartoons as an insult
to all believers. Continuing his bizarre and confusing
commentary, Qadhafi went on to say that true freedom of
expression would call for depictions of Jesus with a nuclear
bomb on his head or surrounded by naked women, since
Christians had invented the atomic bomb and embraced female
nudity. Qadhafi questioned the authenticity of the Bible,
arguing that only the Barnabas Gospel, which states that
Islam would replace Christianity, can be considered the real
biblical text. He cited the presence of many Muslims in
Europe and the US as a sign that Islam would one day dominate
the world.


7. (C) Conveniently, Qadhafi said little to highlight the )
to date largely unfulfilled - Libyan contributions to Mali,s
development. While in Timbuktu, he did promise to provide
funds to revive the Niger canal that once provided Timbuktu
with water at the gates of the city. Qadhafi also made a
stop in Segou en route to Timbuktu to ceremonially lay the
cornerstone for a Libyan-financed new mosque and conference
center. With the newly-opened Libyan consulate in Kidal and
apparent Libyan-Malian fraternity, expectations for Libyan
development assistance are growing among the northern
population. Embassy contacts in the northern regions,
however, have voiced skepticism that concrete actions will
follow the numerous promises and proclamations. Qadhafi also
disappointed expectations by failing to commit funds for
desperately needed new roads in the Timbuktu region.

--------------
LOGISTICAL NIGHTMARE
--------------


8. (C) Against most press accounts, the festivities, which
witnesses claim far surpassed the extravaganza of an earlier
visit to Timbuktu by French President Jacque Chirac, proved
to be a logistical nightmare and embarrassment for both
Libya,s and Mali,s Presidency. At least 100,000 people,
more than three times the population of Timbukutu, flocked to
City of 333 Saints for the festivities. The crowd far
exceeded the logistical capacities on the ground, and many
went without food, beds, and facilities. In a meeting with
the Ambassador, Algerian Ambassador Abdelkrim Gheraieb

BAMAKO 00000443 003.2 OF 004


described the event as a complete and utter disaster. Of the
two dozen invited heads of state, only a handful arrived, in
part due to poor organization and protocol. Those present
included Ely Ould Mohamed Vall of Mauritania, Abdoulaye Wade
of Senegal, Mamadou Tandja of Niger, and Ahmed Tejan Kabbah
of Sierra Leone. Mali,s National Assembly President Ibrahim
Boubacar Keita, who recently delivered a scathing speech in
the National Assembly criticizing the president (Ref B),and
other government officials were also present. According to
Ambassador Gheraieb, the diplomatic community was represented
by six African and Middle Eastern Ambassadors. Other VIPs
included the Vice President of Chechnya and a Special
Emissary of Sudanese President Bashir, though the latter
apparently returned to Khartoum within only a few hours of
arriving after being deserted at the airport and left
stranded at a downtown hotel without accommodations and means
of contacting the Libyan organizers.


9. (C) Ambassador Gheraieb himself was appalled by the
substandard treatment the VIPs received and reported the same
of the Chechen VP, who received a comparable welcome to
Bashir,s emissary. According to the Ambassador, air
conditioning in the hotel rooms and cars did not function,
and water was unavailable from 9:00 a.m. onwards, prompting
most of the VIP guests to spend the night outside. The rest
of the visitors hardly fared better, with accommodations
overloaded and supplies short in stock. Officials admitted
to food, water, and coal shortages, as well as tremendous
price hikes and ubiquitous power outages during the
festivities, but publicly praised Qadhafi,s visit as a
tremendous economic opportunity for Timbuktu. Most Timbuktu
residents expected a food crisis to ensue following the
delegation,s departure. Papers estimated the expenditures
for the city at approximately 1.8 billion FCFA ($US 3
Million) with only 250 million FCFA (US$ 450,000) in returns.
One Embassy source with close ties to Qadhafi stated that
the Guide had given the equivalent of US$10 Million to
Timbuktu for the festivities, though papers have reported an
equally unconfirmed figure between $6-7 million.

--------------
TETE-A-TETE WITH FAGAGA
--------------


10. (C) Before leaving Timbuktu, Qadhafi reportedly held a
private meeting with recently resurfaced Lieutenant Colonel
Fagaga (Ref C). Fagaga, whose reintegration in the Malian
National Guard is still under discussion after several past
instances of desertion and rebellion, was supposedly flown in
by Qadhafi especially for the meeting, from which Malian
officials were excluded. Fagaga has been a strong proponent
of increased development assistance for his Tuareg following.
His future remains a mystery, and we have not been able to
confirm rumors of either his reintegration into the Malian
armed forces or a potential diplomatic role outside the
country. Following his meeting with Fagaga, Qadhafi
supposedly canceled initial plans to visit Kidal and Bamako
before returning to Libya without a goodbye to the Malian
president. Algerian Ambassador Gheraieb reportedly found the
characteristically outgoing Malian president with his head in
his hands at the Timbuktu airport, waiting in vain to see the
Guide off.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


11. (C) The disruption caused by Qadhafi,s visit to Mali
comes as little surprise in light of the Guide,s reputation
for extravagance and self-indulgence. The poor organization
of the events in Timbuktu, though an embarrassment to ATT,s
government, appears largely to have been the work of Libyan
organizers that descended on the city weeks in advance.
Habitually, the Government of Mali, when in control of large
representational events in Bamako, ultimately manages to pull
together a solid, smooth-running function. The fact that MFA
protocol and local authorities were apparently left out of
the loop in the planning process only seems to be further
evidence of Qadhafi,s arrogant attempts to monopolize
attention and distract from hollow promises. There has been
little evidence to date of concrete Libyan development
projects in Mali,s North, and the economic boom the Guide,s
visit to Timbuktu was meant to provide failed to materialize.

BAMAKO 00000443 004.2 OF 004


The visit did little to boost either Qadhafi,s or ATT,s
image abroad, and Qadhafi,s tirade against foreign influence
is likely to have largely fallen on deaf ears. It is
unlikely Mali,s northern population will put up with a
repeat of this extravagance without the Libyans delivering on
their pledges to foster Malian development and growth.
McCulley