AGADEZ: THE KHADAFI SHOW

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NIAMEY 000531

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y - TRIPOLI ADDED

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL LY NG
SUBJECT: AGADEZ: THE KHADAFI SHOW

REF: A. NIAMEY 403

B. NIAMEY 123

C. NIAMEY 401

NIAMEY 00000531 001.2 OF 002


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SUMMARY
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1. (U) As reported reftel A, Libyan leader Mouammar El
Khadafi celebrated Mouloud with regional heads of state in
the northern Nigerien city of Agadez. While avoiding the sort
of controversial pronouncements -- on, inter alia, an
independent Tuareg state in the Sahel -- that characterized
his 2006 Mouloud address in Timbuktu, Mali, Khadafi still
managed to turn in a vintage performance. Promises of
development assistance flowed freely, while Agadez was
cleaned up by an estimated 1,500 Libyan workers in the week
prior to the visit. Locals responses were ambivalent, as they
ever are when Niger's eccentric and powerful neighbor is
concerned. Nigeriens at all levels seemed content to get what
they could from the Mouloud event while expressing skepticism
about the nature and reliability of their VIP guest. END
SUMMARY

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RELIGION & POLITICS / BREAD & CIRCUSES
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2. (U) Accompanied by Niger President Mamadou Tandja, Khadafi
visited ongoing Libyan aid projects and unveiled more. While
one project -- a $2 million effort to irrigate the Ighazer
valley north of Agadez -- seems practical, other initiatives
such as a 1,427km highway from the Libyan town of Toumour to
Agadez via Bilma / Dirkou, Niger seem speculative at best.
Many Nigeriens remember Khadafi's promise to build an even
more impractical north - south axis along the eastern border
of their country from Libya to Lake Chad. Nothing ever came
of that plan.


3. (U) Most Agadezians are traditional Sufi Muslims who
follow the Sultan and his senior Imam, the Khadi, in a
restrained form of worship (reftel B). Many considered the
larger-than-life images of Khadafi and Tandja placed around
town to be a politicization of religion. Khadafi also broke
convention by preaching himself during the celebration. His
hour-long address compared Islam and Christianity; the
teachings of Mohammed and Jesus; and, concluded that
Christianity was intended for the consumption of the Jews
alone, while Islam was and is a religion for all persons. He
punctuated his remarks by inviting a group of animists from
Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Togo to come forward and publicly
convert to Islam. Approximately 30,000 Agadezians were
treated to this performance, as were Sudanese President Omar
Al Bashir, Ahmed Tedjan Kaba of Sierra Leone, Idriss Deby Ito
of Chad, Amadou Toumani Toure of Mali, and Mohammed Ould Val
of Mauritania. Nigeria and Burkina Faso sent delegations led
by presidential advisors.


4. (U) Whatever the crowd thought of Khadafi's theology, they
loved his furniture. In a scene captured on Nigerien
television, a virtual riot broke out as Nigeriens grabbed up
Libyan supplied prayer rugs, fans, and other furnishings as
the proceedings adjourned. While some Nigeriens traveled
across the country to see the Khadafi show, many Agadezians
stayed at home to avoid the carnival atmosphere. Kiota, a
small town in southern Niger, seat of the traditional
Tidjaniya Sufi Sheikh, and usual focus of Nigerien Mouloud
festivities was bypassed entirely as national media focused
exclusively on Agadez.

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KHADAFI: KING OF THE TUAREGS?
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5. (U) The word on the street in the lead up to Khadafi's
visit held that he had chosen Agadez because his mother
hailed from there. Whether by virtue of family associations
or the city's rich Islamic heritage (an old caravan town,
Agadez was a center of Islamic scholarship in the 16th
century and still boasts a 200 year-old mud mosque),Agadez
succeeded Timbuktu, where Khadafi celebrated Mouloud in
similar fashion in 2006. However, the city and region of
Agadez have history with Libya that put some on edge.
Nigeriens' ambivalence toward Khadafi derives partly from the
perception that Libya laid the groundwork for the 1991--1995
Tuareg rebellion, and that Khadafi continues to inspire
secessionist aspirations among the Nigerien Tuareg, who
comprise 11% of the country's population. During the 1980s,
many unemployed Tuaregs received military training in Libya.
Intended for inclusion in Khadafi's "Islamic Legion," they
returned to Niger with guns, training, and ideas after he

NIAMEY 00000531 002.2 OF 002


abandoned the legion concept in the late 1980s. Many of these
men were later involved in the rebellion.


6. (SBU) Khadafi's 2006 Mouloud call for an independent
Tuareg state in northern Niger and Mali brought this
uncomfortable history up again. Mission contacts indicate
that the GON sought to avoid the Government of Mali's
embarrassment by keeping tighter reins on Khadafi and his
program this year. They seem to have succeeded. Khadafi's
public remarks, while theologically eccentric, didn't cross
any political trip-wires.


7. (U) As in 2006, this Mouloud event coincided with a
"Meeting of Tribes of the Greater Sahara," which in theory
included representatives of tribal communities from Syria to
Senegal. Most participants seemed to be Sahelian Tuaregs. On
behalf of the group, the Sultan of Agadez presented Khadafi
with a royal drum and shield and three honorary titles:
"Sarkin Abzinawa," (Chief of all Sahara Tuaregs); "Sarkin
Yakin Musulumci," (Chief Defender of Islam; and, "Sarkin
Makiyaya," (Chief of all Herders' Communities). While some
local media indicated that Tuaregs had thereby "pledged
allegiance to Khadafi, submitted to his commandments, and put
their future in his hands," this seems an exaggerated
rendering of a symbolic gesture. The Sultan of Agadez was
loyal to the Nigerien state even during the rebellion, and
his court denied that the honorifics had any political
implications. Such commentary does illuminate both Tuareg
aspirations -- for an association with a rich patron in Libya
-- and Nigerien concerns about their loyalty and Khadafi's
meddling.

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COMMENT: ONE MORE DELICATE DANCE
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8. (U) Khadafi is a frequent visitor to Niger. Yet, his
unpredictable behavior and history of foisting "big ideas" on
his African neighbors must put his hosts on edge. Given
recent security incidents in northern Niger (reftel C),the
GON undoubtedly hoped for a drama-free visit, which they got.
Nigeriens continue to balance conflicting images of their
eccentric northern neighbor: a source of vital development
assistance, Khadafi's Libya also has a track record of
stirring up tensions between Tuaregs and Niger's black
African majority; a source of employment and material gain to
which impoverished Nigeriens aspire, the country also deals
brutally with illegal African migrants and trafficking
victims; a "defender of the Islamic faith," Khadafi also
weaves that faith into a cult of personality in ways that
Niger's traditional Sufi authorities find troubling. Rational
self-interest and local traditions of hospitality ensured
that Khadafi got a warm Agadez welcome, even as his departure
inspired a collective roll of the eyes and sigh of relief
from many quarters. END COMMENT


9. (U) TRIPOLI: Minimize considered.
KORAN