Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06PRETORIA782
2006-02-23 13:33:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Pretoria
Cable title:
SOUTH AFRICA TO DEPLOY 400 TROOPS TO COMOROS FOR
how-toVZCZCXRO6503 RR RUEHMR DE RUEHSA #0782 0541333 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 231333Z FEB 06 FM AMEMBASSY PRETORIA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1799 INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 1803 RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0906 RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L PRETORIA 000782
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2016
TAGS: PREL CN SF
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA TO DEPLOY 400 TROOPS TO COMOROS FOR
ELECTIONS
REF: MCGREARY-BITTRICK EMAIL OF 2/9/06
Classified By: PolCounselor Gayleatha B. Brown
Reasons 1.4(b) and (d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L PRETORIA 000782
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2016
TAGS: PREL CN SF
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA TO DEPLOY 400 TROOPS TO COMOROS FOR
ELECTIONS
REF: MCGREARY-BITTRICK EMAIL OF 2/9/06
Classified By: PolCounselor Gayleatha B. Brown
Reasons 1.4(b) and (d)
1. (C) In response to an AU request, South Africa will deploy
400 troops to Comoros for the upcoming elections, according
to Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Deputy Director for
Peacekeeping, Wooter Zaayman. Zaayman told PolOff February
23 that the AU wants to send a 436-person force to Comoros
(reftel) and has asked South Africa to contribute 400 troops,
with Pretoria bearing the costs of its deployment. The AU
mission will arrive in Comoros two weeks before the
elections, and depart two weeks after the poll. Zaayman said
that the mandate of the AU mission is "quite vague" at this
stage. France has also agreed to provide limited military
support for the operation.
2. (C) Zaayman said that the South African National Defense
Force (SANDF) is stretched thin, but that the limited
deployment timeframe made the Comoros operation possible.
DepFM Pahad sent the formal inter-government request for the
AU Comoros mission to DefMin Lekota the week of February 13,
and the Department of Defense is working on its deployment
plan.
3. (C) The South African Government plans to send an election
observation mission to Comoros. Zaayman said that South
Africa will also deploy personnel as part of a separate AU
election observation delegation, but that it hopes to
identify a non-South African to lead the mission (even though
the SAG will likely fund much of the cost).
4. (C) Separately, DFA Director for the Horn of Africa and
the Indian Ocean Islands, Graham Maitland, told PolOff
February 16 that Comoros is an important priority for South
Africa. Pretoria is working on plans to expand its
"cooperation" programs with the Comoros Government following
the elections. Maitland said that a joint tourism project,
with the SAG Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
and its Comoros counterpart, is the most developed at this
stage, but that South Africa is looking at a range of
possible programs.
TEITELBAUM
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2016
TAGS: PREL CN SF
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA TO DEPLOY 400 TROOPS TO COMOROS FOR
ELECTIONS
REF: MCGREARY-BITTRICK EMAIL OF 2/9/06
Classified By: PolCounselor Gayleatha B. Brown
Reasons 1.4(b) and (d)
1. (C) In response to an AU request, South Africa will deploy
400 troops to Comoros for the upcoming elections, according
to Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Deputy Director for
Peacekeeping, Wooter Zaayman. Zaayman told PolOff February
23 that the AU wants to send a 436-person force to Comoros
(reftel) and has asked South Africa to contribute 400 troops,
with Pretoria bearing the costs of its deployment. The AU
mission will arrive in Comoros two weeks before the
elections, and depart two weeks after the poll. Zaayman said
that the mandate of the AU mission is "quite vague" at this
stage. France has also agreed to provide limited military
support for the operation.
2. (C) Zaayman said that the South African National Defense
Force (SANDF) is stretched thin, but that the limited
deployment timeframe made the Comoros operation possible.
DepFM Pahad sent the formal inter-government request for the
AU Comoros mission to DefMin Lekota the week of February 13,
and the Department of Defense is working on its deployment
plan.
3. (C) The South African Government plans to send an election
observation mission to Comoros. Zaayman said that South
Africa will also deploy personnel as part of a separate AU
election observation delegation, but that it hopes to
identify a non-South African to lead the mission (even though
the SAG will likely fund much of the cost).
4. (C) Separately, DFA Director for the Horn of Africa and
the Indian Ocean Islands, Graham Maitland, told PolOff
February 16 that Comoros is an important priority for South
Africa. Pretoria is working on plans to expand its
"cooperation" programs with the Comoros Government following
the elections. Maitland said that a joint tourism project,
with the SAG Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
and its Comoros counterpart, is the most developed at this
stage, but that South Africa is looking at a range of
possible programs.
TEITELBAUM