LATEST ROYG THINKING ON BADAWI, FORUM

S E C R E T SANAA 002325

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2017
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL YM
SUBJECT: LATEST ROYG THINKING ON BADAWI, FORUM

Classified By: Ambassador Stephen A. Seche for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. Taking advantage of scheduled meetings at
the MFA for visiting Special Envoy for Monitoring and
Combating Anti-Semitism Rickman, Ambassador met privately
with Foreign Minister Qirbi and Deputy Foreign Minister
al-Dhabbi December 17 to reinforce the message delivered last
week to ROYG Ambassador al-Hajjri by APHSCT Fran Townsend
regarding our demand for custody of Jamal al-Badawi. End
Summary.


2. (C) Noting his return to Washington this evening and
expectation that he would be able to discuss Badawi and a
rescheduled Forum for the Future with senior officials while
there, the Ambassador met separately with Foreign Minister
Qirbi and Deputy Foreign Minister al-Dhabbi on December 17.
In response to Qirbi's direct question regarding plans for
the Forum, the Ambassador stated that in the absence of
resolution of the Badawi case ) which in our view required
surrendering him to our custody - it appeared extremely
unlikely that the Secretary would be able to attend a
re-scheduled Forum. The Ambassador added that the tentative
date of February 5 has been offered with the expectation that
the ROYG will use the intervening time to come up with a
proposal for surrendering Badawi, thus enabling the Secretary
to attend the event, as she would like to do. Qirbi
responded by noting that it is impossible for the ROYG to
begin to invite other foreign ministers with "a question
mark" surrounding the Secretary's participation, because that
would quickly produce the same set of problems that plagued
the planning for the first Forum. Qirbi also bemoaned the
fact that Germany continues to resist requests to co-chair a
rescheduled Forum, calling its insistence that the
responsibility falls to Japan "unfair." He added that the
Sana'a Movenpick Hotel has presented the ROYG with a bill for
$258,000 for expenses resulting from the postponed Forum,
noting that the USG had agreed to pay $100,000 of those costs
and to solicit support from other G-8 member states to make
up the balance. Qirbi asked the Ambassador to follow up on
this reimbursement.


3. (S) On the issue of surrendering Badawi to US custody,
Qirbi said that "there is nothing much that can be done,"
given the constitutional prohibition against extradition,
although he noted that APHSCT Townsend's suggestion of
returning Sheikh al-Moayad to Yemen in some sort of prisoner
exchange for Badawi might be worth pursuing if it "would not
violate the (Yemeni) Constitution." He added that the ROYG
was fully prepared to ensure Badawi's continued incarceration
in Sana'a, with a mutually agreed-upon mechanism for
monitoring his whereabouts. He also expressed willingness to
travel to Washington himself to discuss these issues, and to
welcome a USG delegation in Sana'a for direct talks,
including with President Saleh.


4. (C) In a subsequent meeting, D/FM al-Dhabbi was more
pointed in his assessment that Yemen's current political and
security situation makes it "impossible" for the President to
surrender Badawi to US custody. Noting the continuing
hostilities in Saada Governorate, political unrest in the
south, and increasingly sharp criticism from the opposition
Islah Party, al-Dhabbi said that President Saleh had to be
particularly scrupulous that he did nothing to further
agitate the domestic political situation, which surrender of
Badawi to US custody would almost certainly do. Al-Dhabbi
acknowledged that the way the ROYG managed the Badawi affair
has led to a loss of trust on the part of the USG, but urged
Washington to avoid allowing Badawi to define our C/T
dialogue. "We are working hard to apprehend al-Qaeda
extremists and foreign fighters going to Iraq," he asserted,
adding, "these are the issues we should be discussing."


5. (S) Comment. Today's conversations produced little new in
terms of any serious consideration by the ROYG regarding a
mechanism that would allow it to send Jamal al-Badawi to the
US to stand trial. For his part, the Foreign Minister almost
seemed resigned to the fact that the Secretary will not/not
attend the rescheduled Forum and that, given her absence and
other impediments, the event itself might not even take
place. The one inkling of ROYG consideration of a possible
solution, Qirbi's remark regarding Sheikh al-Moayad, presents
a raft of legal issues in both countries that would have to
be resolved before it might ever become a viable vehicle
through which to gain custody. End Comment.
SECHE