T&T FM NONCOMMITTAL ON US-RECOMMENDED BEHAVIOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L PORT OF SPAIN 000272 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CAR, NEA/IPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/02/2016 TAGS: PREL SUBJECT: T&T FM NONCOMMITTAL ON US-RECOMMENDED BEHAVIOR TOWARD HAMAS REF: SECSTATE 27174 Classified By: POL: ARABBY FOR 1.4 (b/d) ¶1. (C) Ambassador called on Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) Foreign Minister Knowlson Gift, on March 1, to present him with Reftel talking points regarding official contact with representatives of the newly-elected Hamas government of the Palestinian Authority. The Ambassador noted the US and EU designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization and stated the US policy of no contact with Hamas representatives as long as Hamas does not fulfill the Quartet,s preconditions: renounce violence, recognize Israel,s right to exist and abide by commitments and obligations already agreed to by the Palestinian Authority. ¶2. (C) The Ambassador urged Gift to avoid political-level meetings with Hamas representatives and to remind any Hamas delegation seeking support and legitimacy that, unless Hamas accepts the Quartet,s preconditions, it will be increasingly isolated and will likely lose all donor support. The Ambassador specifically emphasized that only a united front by the international community against Hamas can ensure the continued viability of the roadmap toward a negotiated two-state solution and can maximize the chances for peace. ¶3. (C) Gift responded coolly. He wondered if the precondition of recognizing Israel,s right to exist was &reasonable8, and asked if the US threat of the loss of donor support included humanitarian relief. The Ambassador said that, as in the case of the admittedly ill-fated oil-for-food arrangement with Iraq, the US will always find ways of maintaining the supply of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, while penalizing their government. Gift said that, although he has heard of some unclearly identified Palestinian group in Belize, there seems to be no organized Palestinian group in T&T, and he has certainly not met with any Hamas representatives. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: Enlisting GOTT support for US positions on the Middle East conflict has always been problematic, possibly because of T&T's traditional status as a non-aligned nation. Alternatively, the difficulty may lie in the country's ethnic profile. T&T,s Muslim minority numbers approximately 60,000 (or some 5% of the total population), and includes very successful Syrian and Lebanese communities as well as the extremist Jamaat-al-Muslimeen group whose leader, Imam Yasin Abu Bakr, is currently in jail, awaiting trial on charges of terrorism, sedition and incitement to violence. The existence of a Muslim/Arab minority does not prevent the GOTT from doing business with Israel: Israel has sold T&T state-of-the-art radar technology for drug interdiction purposes, and in November 2005, Prime Minister Patrick Manning visited Israel on a mission whose purpose has never been entirely clear. Manning was roundly criticized for that trip by certain segments of the political class, so it is possible that the GOTT may have decided to give the Middle East conflict a wide berth, unless an overt demonstration of links with Israel or support for US Middle East policy are clearly in T&T,s national interest. AUSTIN