SOUTH AFRICA TO PROVIDE LIMITED AID FOR COMOROS

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRETORIA 001535 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/01/2017 TAGS: PREL MOPS KDEM SF CN SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA TO PROVIDE LIMITED AID FOR COMOROS ELECTION REF: A. TRENKLE-NEUBERT EMAILS OF 4/25/2007 ¶B. ANTANANARIVO 0419 Classified By: Political Counselor Raymond L. Brown. Reasons 1.4(b) an d (d). ¶1. (C) The Government of South Africa (SAG) will provide assistance for the upcoming Union of the Comoros Presidential election. Acting under an AU mandate, the SAG will deploy a small number of troops and/or police to train Comoran security personnel, an election observation team, and limited air assets, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Director Graham Maitland told PolOff April 25. The Government of Comoros requested two South African battalions, but the SAG is not willing to provide that number of troops. Maitland reported that the various South African technical teams from the military, police, and Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) were returning from their assessment missions and would make recommendations on the final SAG plan in the next two weeks. ¶2. (C) Maitland noted that the South African military/police trainers will focus on "Comoran ownership," so that the SAG "doesn't have to send troops for every election." He also suggested that the SAG will likely deploy at least one helicopter both to transport ballots and other election materials and another to send a political signal to potential troublemakers ("the sound of a whirling helicopter has a big impact in the Comoros context"). ¶3. (C) Maitland expressed frustration with the press articles (Ref A),in which Comoran officials claimed South Africa would deploy 100 troops for the elections. He said this was "just another game" the leadership in the Comoros was playing. Asked about the Arouan President Bacar, Maitland did not have a detailed view, only commenting that he was "corrupt . . . as are most of the other island leaders." ¶4. (C) Separately, SANDF sources indicated to DAO that the SANDF will send 20 personnel to conduct an assessment of how many military personnel are needed. The SANDF sent over 120 personnel last year to support local elections in the Comoros. TEITELBAUM