TUNISIA: SARKOZY HIGHLIGHTS MEDITERRANEAN UNION,

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 000949 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/16/2016 TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV TS SUBJECT: TUNISIA: SARKOZY HIGHLIGHTS MEDITERRANEAN UNION, LAYS GROUNDWORK FOR STATE VISIT, AND RAISES HUMAN RIGHTS REF: A. ALGIERS 1004 ¶B. RABAT 1128 ¶C. TUNIS 938 Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: French President Sarkozy's July 10-11 working visit to Tunisia, a preview to a State Visit that is planned to take place in early 2008, was focused largely on Sarkozy's proposed Euro-Mediterranean Union. The visit gave the GOT a taste of post-Chirac French foreign policy, which several observers here have predicted will be characterized by a more pragmatic approach. Breaking with tradition, Sarkozy raised the question of human rights with President Ben Ali, although there are contradictory reports about whether Sarkozy raised specific cases. End Summary. -------------- A Bilateral Boost... -------------- ¶2. (C) Before, during, and after the July 10-11 visit of French President Sarkozy, the Tunisian media was awash with laudatory coverage, just as the major thoroughfare between the Tunis airport and the palace in Carthage was aflutter with French and Tunisian flags. The GOT -- and the media it controls -- trumpeted the visit as a great success, and evidence of the importance of the bilateral relationship. Like the Algerians (Ref A),Tunisians took pride in being part of the newly elected President's first visit outside the EU. The local press also made much of the fact that the two presidents had both served as Ministers of Interior prior to assuming their current positions. -------------- ... With an Eye on the Neighbors -------------- ¶3. (C) While several Tunisian contacts considered Tunisia "above" the Government of Morocco's "juvenile" reaction when it learned that Sarkozy's first stop would be Algeria (Ref B),the Tunisians engaged in their own brand of one-upsmanship, according to the French PolCouns. He described how the GOT had jealously guarded Sarkozy's overnight stay, which was in danger of being lost, once the Moroccan stop was taken off the itinerary. (Note: Sarkozy arrived in Tunisia at about 18:00 local time on July 10; he met with President Ben Ali and attended an official dinner that evening; he had no official meetings on July 11th, although Foreign Ministers Kouchner and Abdallah did share a 30-minute breakfast. End Note.) In addition, he said, the GOT changed its plans for Sarkozy's arrival ceremony, in an apparent attempt to not be outdone by the Algerians: whereas it had previously been envisioned that Minister of State and Presidential Advisor Ben Dhia would meet/greet the French President, when the TV cameras showed Algerian President Bouteflika doing the honors in Algiers, it was decided that Ben Ali and Ben Dhia would both greet Sarkozy in Tunis. -------------- State Visit Envisioned for Early 2008 -------------- ¶4. (C) Much of the visit was devoted to laying the groundwork for a State Visit. The French proposed that the visit take place at some point during the first three months of 2008. While they have not yet received Tunisian agreement on exact timing, the GOT did agree to hold a joint preparatory commission at the ministerial level in early November. Asked about any other bilateral deliverables the visit had produced, the French PolCouns confirmed that Sarkozy had announced a decision to reinforce bilateral cooperation. He noted, however, that the decision is very much a "decision in principle," and that the details would have to be ironed out. In addition, the French have noted that the GOT has taken a positive tone since the visit. Citing an encouraging message from Ben Ali on the occasion of Bastille Day, the French Embassy's assessment is that the GOT is signaling a willingness to work cooperatively with Sarkozy. -------------- Mediterranean Union: An Idea Whose Time Came ... in 2003? -------------- ¶5. (C) The other main theme of the visit was Sarkozy's vision for a Mediterranean Union. In addition to briefing the Tunisians on the concept, the French president called for a meeting of Mediterranean Heads of State during the first three months of 2008. Sarkozy explained that he would like this summit to take place before France assumes the rotating EU Presidency next July. The French PolCouns said the Med Union idea was well-received, with the Tunisians indicating that they want to play a role in fleshing out the concept. While the Tunisian press gave credit to President Ben Ali for coming up with the idea many years ago (Note: Tunisia, together with Libya, Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania, first floated the "5 5" proposal during a 2003 conference in Tunis that was also attended by representatives of France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Malta. End Note.),the French PolCouns said there was no linkage between "5 5" and the Mediterranean Union, which was "Sarkozy's baby." Meanwhile, several leaders of loyal opposition parties told the Ambassador that they were skeptical that the Med Union idea would go anywhere, absent resolution of Algerian-Moroccan frictions over Western Sahara and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Ref C). -------------- Human Rights: Did He or Didn't He? -------------- ¶6. (C) The only controversy surrounding the visit concerned human rights. There were dueling accounts in the international versus the local press as to whether Sarkozy had raised specific human rights concerns with Ben Ali. (Note: Sarkozy had been scheduled to give a press conference before the 70 members of the traveling press, together with the local press, at the conclusion of the official dinner. That appearance was canceled. Instead, Sarkozy gave an impromptu press conference after returning to his hotel, where only French journalists were present. End Note.) On the one hand, Sarkozy was quoted in AFP and several international publications as saying that he had talked with President Ben Ali about human rights, and that he had raised specific cases, including that of jailed activist Mohamed Abbou. On the other hand, French Ambassador Degallaix gave a press conference to Tunisian press after the visit in which he said that it was "altogether normal" that the two Chiefs of State would discuss all questions, including that of human rights, but that the French president had not raised particular cases. When asked which account was correct, the French PolCouns, who appeared to be repeating rehearsed talking points, stated, "I cannot contradict what the president said: He did raise human rights." He continued, however, that Sarkozy had not specified how he raised the issue. He added that Sarkozy "did not discuss specific cases." When asked if perhaps it was FM Kouchner had taken up the issue of specific cases in his meeting with FM Abdallah, the French PolCouns pleaded ignorance. "These were very restricted meetings," he said. He also noted that the first 20 minutes of the Sarkozy-Ben Ali meeting had been one-on-one. ¶7. (C) In addition, civil society groups complained both publicly and privately that French Secretary of State for Human Rights Yade, who accompanied Sarkozy, did not meet with them. One such civil society representative told A/DCM at the French National Day celebration on July 14 that the human rights community as a whole was upset, but that he personally was not so angry that he would boycott the French festivities. He added that independent activists took little solace in the fact that Yade had subsequently met with Souhayr Belhassen, the Tunisian President of the International Federation for Human Rights, now resident in Paris. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶8. (C/NF) On balance, the GOT is happy with the visit, which, in its eyes, underscored the importance both countries place on the bilateral relationship. We were not surprised to hear that the Mediterranean Union concept was well-received, albeit with some skepticism, given the GOT's penchant for self-promotion under the guise of multilateralism and regional cooperation. Of course, the GOT would have preferred that the French not raise the sensitive issue of human rights cases. Indeed, their displeasure may be behind the fact that Sarkozy's public discussion of the matter was limited to the foreign press. At any rate, the visit gave the GOT a taste of the post-Chirac French foreign policy, which several observers here have noted will be characterized by a more pragmatic and less personal approach. At the very least, we are not likely to be hearing a repeat of the now infamous words of former President Chirac during a 2003 visit to Tunisia, when he dismissed human rights concerns in Tunisia, asserting that "the most important human rights are the rights to be fed, to have health, to be educated and to be housed." End Comment. GODEC