HIGH-LEVEL US DELEGATION DISCUSSES DEMOCRACY AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 NOUAKCHOTT 000152 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2016 TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV PHUM PINR EAID MR SUBJECT: HIGH-LEVEL US DELEGATION DISCUSSES DEMOCRACY AND COUNTERTERRORISM -- DELEGATION'S MEETINGS WITH POLITICAL PARTIES AND CIVIL SOCIETY Classified By: Amb. Joseph LeBaron, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d) -------------- (C) Key Points, with Comment -------------- -- This cable covers the meetings the high-level delegation led by AF PDAS Pittman had with political party, civil society, religious, and press representatives during a busy three-day visit to Mauritania February 7-9. (Please see septel for the delegation's meetings with government officials.) -- Political party leaders told the delegation that the government and electoral commission have not sufficiently included them in the election planning process. The party leaders want a regular forum for consultations with the government. (However, they rejected a recent government request that the parties establish a 9-10 member group to represent all 32 parties in consultations with the government on the electoral process.) -- The leaders denounced Mauritanian civil society as little more than "institutions created to receive international aid" (which is largely true here),adding that "political action is the monopoly of political parties, not independents or civil society" (which is an opinion far from universally shared here). -- Later, UN System Coordinator Cecile Molinier told the delegation over dinner that "the Mauritanian authorities have taken every step necessary to leave power at the end of the transition process," an assessment that, on the whole, the Embassy shares. -- The UN, which is currently training census workers on how to properly conduct the census, has run into several problems, including antiquated maps...and tight timelines, UN reps told the delegation. -- Mauritania's public and private press associations say they are enjoying greater press freedom following the coup. The Embassy agrees. -------------- (C) Comments -------------- -- The proper conduct of the census and the subsequent creation of a new voter list are key to Mauritania's successful transition to democracy. -- All later actions, every referendum and election, hinge on an accurate voter list. The UN is right to focus intensely on the census and voter list. They are crucial. -- And the Mauritanians have already stumbled out of the gate. They had to postpone the start date for the census by two weeks because the transitional government and electoral commission weren't ready. Sticking to the timeline is already proving difficult. End Key Points and Comments. ¶1. (U) During a three-day visit to Mauritania February 7-9, an eight-member interagency delegation headed by AF PDAS Bobby Pittman and including members from S/CT, DRL, AF, NSC, OSD and USAID met with political party and civil society representatives to assess Mauritania's transition to democracy. -------------- POLITICAL PARTIES WANT A SEAT AT THE TABLE -------------- ¶2. (C) The delegation met with Mauritania's 31 recognized political parties over two days to discuss parties' roles and concerns regarding elections. Parties continued to voice suspicion about the US role in the IMF's decision to forego Mauritanian debt relief and expressed anger towards the NOUAKCHOTT 00000152 002 OF 004 decision to remove Mauritania from the African Growth and Opportunity Act. "The US has made problems against Mauritania," Social Democratic Union President Isselmou Ould Hanefi said, asking "is this action against the Mauritanian government or the Mauritanian people?" Despite Pittman's repeated efforts to explain that the IMF decision was based on failures in transparency and performance and was not a political decision stemming from the coup, widespread suspicion remained. ¶3. (C) Political party leaders strongly believed that the government and electoral commission needed to establish a regular forum for consultations with the parties during the run-up to elections. "The government met with us when they were selecting the electoral commission members, but the commission did not consult with us when they were selecting their regional representatives," SAWAB President Cheik Ould Sidi Ould Hanena said, adding that "there is essentially no relationship between the political parties and the electoral commission." National Union for Democracy and Development President Koita Tidjane added "we deplore the government's -- and commission's -- practice of not communicating with us or involving us in their discussions." "Without a regular process of consultations with political parties, nothing will be to our satisfaction," Union for Democracy and Progress President Naha Mint Mouknass said. ¶4. (C) In a passionate response to DRL DAS Krilla's question about cooperation between political parties and civil society, Popular Progressive Alliance President Messaoud Ould Boulkheir said "civil society should be non-political...and when we see it trying to be political that is wrong and we will fight against it and destroy it." Boulkheir's sentiment was shared by many other party representatives who added that "political action is the monopoly of political parties, not independents or civil society," and "he who wants to be engaged in political action must join or create a political party." Party members went on to say that the vast majority of Mauritania's civil society organizations are little more than "institutions created to receive aid." -------------- CIVIL SOCIETY ASKS FOR USG ASSISTANCE -------------- ¶5. (C) In a meeting with civil society representatives, attendees expressed the strong need for political, technical, and financial support from the USG. While the groups appeared to be pleased with the transitional government's engagement with civil society, they were adamant that Mauritania lacked the resources and know-how to carry out a successful transition. "The task of transition is not easy, and there are no guarantees," international development NGO representative Jamil Khan said. Attendees also noted the transitional government's lack of "confidence and capabilities" to effectively conduct the census and voter registration. -------------- UN EXPERT SEES MANY CHALLANGES IN CENSUS -------------- ¶6. (C) Delegates met with local UN Head of Mission Cecile Molinier, UN Principal Technical Advisor Mathieu Bile, UN Census Expert Clement Aganahi, UN Electoral Training Expert Christine MacCallum, as well as National Democratic Institute (NDI) representative Eric Duhaime. Molinier said "the Mauritanian authorities have taken every step necessary to leave power at the end of the transition process." She said the EU and UN were currently developing a memorandum of understanding with the Mauritanians for a basket fund to pay for the election effort. "The fund would be controlled by UNDP...and we expect that of the estimated 20 million USD cost for elections we can raise between 8 - 12 million USD, leaving the Mauritanians to pay the remainder," she said. ¶7. (C) Aganahi, who days earlier began assisting the transitional government and electoral commission with preparations for the census, said "we are currently training census workers on how to properly conduct the census, but we NOUAKCHOTT 00000152 003 OF 004 have run into several problems, including antiquated maps...and tight timelines." Aganahi said he did not believed it would be possible for census workers to properly account for all Mauritanians in one month through a door-to-door approach, "many people will not be home, and census workers will have to return multiple times to get an accurate count," he said, adding that "the government has added a 15 day registration period at the end of the process to allow those who were not registered to go to regional offices and be processed." ¶8. (C) According to Ministry of the Interior estimates, there are currently 1,380,000 eligible Mauritanian voters with National ID cards, and between 150,000 and 200,000 eligible voters without them. As the government has required National ID cards to register, they have opened 66 regional offices to accelerate the issuance process. According to Molinier, "you need only show your birth certificate to receive a National ID card...but if you don't have a birth certificate, no one seems to know how you can get one." (Embassy Note: This issue is particularly important for the Afro-Mauritanian community which constitutes a majority of those eligible voters without National ID cards or in many case birth certificates. End Note.) -------------- PRESS FREEDOMS ON THE RISE -------------- ¶9. (C) In a meeting with members of Mauritania's public and private press associations, attendees discussed increased press freedoms following the coup, and the responsibilities of an independent press. "The coup has opened the press and the press has more freedom and impact than political parties," CRED representative Abderrahmane Ould Horma said. ¶10. (C) Attendees discussed the newly-formed Press Reform Commission which is currently investigating further press liberalization, with a report due to the transitional government March 31. The objectives of the commission are to propose laws and best practices to allow for a credible, self-regulated press. Attendees discussed a need for training and a "professionalization" of the Mauritanian press. Representatives said the U.S. press served as a role model, and they thanked the U.S. press for not having published the recent cartoons depicting the Prophet in a negative manner. -------------- -------------- IMAMS: TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT HAS HONORED ITS COMMITTMENTS -------------- -------------- ¶11. (C) During a meeting with some of the most prominent religious figures in Mauritania, imams shared the view that the Military Council and transitional government "had honored their commitments" so far, and that they should be allowed to finish their efforts toward democratization. This was reinforced with subtle suggestions that diplomacy and political cooperation between the USG and Mauritania provided a better guarantee of success than the use of force. The imams noted that since the coup, the Mauritanian people had gained confidence in the Military Council and looked forward to elections. ¶12. (C) In terms of recommendations on combating terrorism, the imams said the USG can play a pivotal role in addressing cultural misunderstandings by encouraging US-Mauritania exchanges. Imam Hamden Tah seized on this point to note that exchanges between religious groups such as the Oulema would "build bridges of understanding" between Western and Muslim communities. As a final note, the imams emphasized the importance of education as a key to countering extremist teachings. -------------- BUSINESS COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE -------------- ¶13. (C) The delegation had a luncheon with representatives from the Mauritanian business community representing the NOUAKCHOTT 00000152 004 OF 004 fishing, transportation, shipping and insurance sectors. This provided delegates an opportunity to individually discuss the challenges and opportunities faced by businessmen in Mauritania. ¶14. (U) This cable was prepared after the departure of the delegation. The delegation has not cleared the text. LeBaron