INTERIOR MINISTER: ARGENTINA GEARING UP TO WIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 001710 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER AR IR SUBJECT: INTERIOR MINISTER: ARGENTINA GEARING UP TO WIN INTERPOL SUPPORT ON AMIA CASE REF: BUENOS AIRES 1685 Classified By: AMBASSADOR E ANTHONY WAYNE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) At a meeting August 27 (septels),Ambassador asked Argentine Minister of the Interior (MOI) Anibal Fernandez about the GOA's preparations connected to the AMIA case in advance of the November Interpol General Assembly Meeting in Marrakech. (At that meeting, the General Assembly will vote on the executive committe's recommendation to issue red notices for five Iranian indictees connected to the atack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires in 1994.) Fernadez assured the Ambassador that the case remains "very important" to the GOA, and that the GOA is working "behind closed doors" to line up support for the Marrakech meeting. ¶2. (C) He thanked the Ambassador for past USG support and noted the importance of continued coordination with the United States, given the large number of governments whose support is required. He particularly noted the challenges in building support in Africa, where Argentina has little diplomatic presence. He said the GOA is working with South Africa, where it does have an Embassy, to try to build African support. MOI Fernandez also noted that close ties between the U.S. Jewish community and AMIA in Argentina have been helpful to the GOA in pursuing the case. KELLY