UPDATE: FOREIGN MINISTER'S SITUATION; BILATERAL MATTERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L MASERU 000064

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR AF/S

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/3/2016
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL KICC ASEC LT
SUBJECT: UPDATE: FOREIGN MINISTER'S SITUATION; BILATERAL MATTERS

REF: (A) MASERU 0059 (B) MASERU 0051

CLASSIFIED BY: JUNE CARTER PERRY, AMBASSADOR, EXEC, STATE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)



Article 98
--------------


1. (C) Following February 2 Cabinet meeting, Finance Minister
Thahane contacted Ambassador to report on his conversation with
injured FOMIN Moleleki on pending bilateral matters. Thahane
said that Moleleki confirmed, despite his confinement from the
shooting incident, that he is working on language for an Article
98 Agreement. According to the Finance Minister, Moleleki has
instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Acting Principal
Secretary to work closely with the Office of the GOL Attorney

SIPDIS
General to develop the text. FOMIN Moleleki then called
Ambassador February 3 to say a draft is ready and we should
expect to meet with the A/Attorney General soon. (Note: As
previously reported, we have provided a number of sample texts
to the FOMIN; these have been forwarded to the Attorney General
for review and for compilation of a mutually agreeable text.)

Millennium Challenge Account
--------------


2. (C) During a February 2 budget briefing of the Cabinet, the
Minister of Finance (in that context) discussed Lesotho's
progress in preparing a Millennium Challenge Account (MCA)
proposal. One of the attendees asked Thahane if the length of
time the proposal was taking was somehow linked with Lesotho's
not having signed an Article 98 Agreement. In his response,
Thahane "suggested" that the MCA process was a separate one and
he did not see a link between the two.

GOL Silence on Attack
--------------


3. (C) The Government has remained silent on the attack and the
condition of the FOMIN. We spoke late February 1 with the
Government Secretary who gave us a somewhat mixed response when
queried about the condition of the FOMIN. He stated that the
FOMIN was recovering well, but at the same time he was not able
to participate in regular meetings. The Finance Minister
expected that the FOMIN could be able to do more work in his
office the week of February 6. Since there have been no public
GOL statements, despite our and other governments' understanding
that the Deputy Prime Minister would indeed be issuing a
statement, the Media Institute of Southern Africa has reportedly
tried to reach Lesotho's Government Secretary to ask why a
statement has not been forthcoming nearly a week after the fact.


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


4. (C) The prolonged official silence has led to further
speculation that there was political motivation behind the
attack. There have been contradictory reports concerning
Moleleki's contesting Prime Minister Mosisili for the lead LCD
party position. Our understanding, based on a conversation with
Moleleki after the first Party Congress in December, was that he
and the Prime Minister had come to an agreement. We and others
have taken this to mean that Moleleki would not seek the top
leadership position, but would take a unity position with
Mosisili, thus securing a probable leadership position in the
future. The more vocal and public contender for the top job was
Communications Minister Thabane, who received little support
during the second Party Congress. None of this answers who
might have shot the FOMIN. The weapons used, either Uzis or
AK47s, would normally have resulted in death. However, all of
the reports we have indicate that only Moleleki's arm was
injured; according to the Deputy Prime Minister and the
Commander of the Lesotho Defense Force, the Minister sustained
bullet wounds to his arm. The bullets, according to the
Commander, were removed. (Note: The Foreign Minister sounded
strong during our conversation, but was only briefly in his
office February 3.) Whether the attack was simply a warning to
Moleleki, either by discontented elements within the party or an
act of personal vengeance, remains to be seen. There has been
no visible public unrest since the attack; only one local
newspaper carried a full blown cover story on the assault. End
Comment.

PERRY