USAU: MAURITANIA'S ASSEMBLY SPEAKER URGES MORE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 003240

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/FO, AF/W, AND AF/RSA FOR WHALDEMAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/27/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL MR AU
SUBJECT: USAU: MAURITANIA'S ASSEMBLY SPEAKER URGES MORE
PRESSURE ON JUNTA

REF: A. ADDIS ABABA 3185

B. ADDIS ABABA 3066

Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN A. SIMON, REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) Summary: Mauritania's National Assembly Speaker
Messaoud Ould Boulkheir told the Ambassador on November 27
that sanctions targeting select members of the military junta
and their supporters, including business owners, government
ministers, and other government officials, will likely be
required to persuade them to withdraw support from junta
leader General Ould Abdel Aziz and restore the legitimately
elected President Sidi Mohamed Ould Abdallahi. The Assembly
Speaker, who is leading a delegation to several African
states this week calling for stepped up pressure against the
junta, was concerned that the junta might try to exploit any
apparent weakness in the international community's unified
stand against it. End Summary.


2. (C) On November 27, a delegation of the National Front for
the Defense of Democracy (FNDD) led by Mauritanian National
Assembly Speaker Messaoud Ould Boulkheir, met with the USAU
Ambassador and Pol/Econ Chief to discuss the deepening
political crisis in Mauritania and to urge greater
international pressure to force the military junta to
relinquish power and restore democratically elected President
Sidi Mohamed Ould Abdallahi. The Speaker thanked the U.S.
for doing its part to keep the pressure on the junta.
Without the U.S., he said, it is possible that the Europeans
and the Arab League would not have adopted strong positions
against the junta.


3. (U) While in Addis Ababa, the delegation also met with
African Union Commission Chairperson Jean Ping, some European
and African embassies, and the International Organization of
the Francophonie's Ambassador in Addis. From Addis, the
group was due to travel to Tanzania on November 28, to South
Africa on November 30, and then on to Nigeria. At each stop,
the delegation's goal is to win support for President
Abdallahi's release from detention and return to power.
Other delegation members are MP Kadjata Malick Diallo (Vice
President of the Union of Forces of Progress),Sidi Mohamed
Ould Amajar (Minister in charge of investment under President
Abdallahi),Abdelkoudouss Abeidna (President of the National
Party for Development),and Sidney Sokhona (a former
government minister).

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Keeping the pressure on the junta
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4. (C) In his meeting with the Ambassador, the Assembly
Speaker cautioned the international community about appearing
to decrease its pressure on the junta. The junta will
exploit that and further consolidate their power through a
campaign of "demagoguery and lies," he warned. According to
delegation members, the junta is arresting many opponents in
the government and replacing them with friends and supporters
of the coup. They reported that opponents are being accused
of bribery and embezzlement and treated like common criminals.


5. (C) The Ambassador asked if the November 21 communique
issued by the AU and its international partners (ref A)
helped keep the pressure on the junta. The Speaker said the
communique was interpreted differently in Mauritanian
political circles. Some said it brought no change since the
AU's November 10 communique (ref B) while others saw pressure
attenuating. Ping reportedly told the delegation that the
conciliatory tone of the November 21 communique was intended
to "bring people together" to discuss a resolution of the
crisis, the Speaker said.

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Effect of targeted sanctions
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6. (C) Unless the communique is followed by targeted
sanctions against junta leaders and their supporters, it will
have no effect on the junta, the Speaker asserted. If
sanctions are imposed on these individuals, "I am sure their
forces will quickly fragment," he said. The Ambassador asked
if Ping had spoken to the delegation about the AU's plan for
sanctions. The Speaker said the AU sanctions were "not as
efficient" as sanctions imposed by the U.S., and especially
by the Europeans. "The military in Mauritania have more ties
with Europe than they do with Africa or the U.S.," he added.
Junta members and their backers need to be denied recognition

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as well as travel to Europe for business, health care, or
pleasure. "We need U.S. help to lean on France and keep
pulling them along," the Speaker said. (Note: Delegation
members said Spain was supportive of the junta because of its
crackdown on Africans attempting to immigrate to Spain. End
note.)


7. (C) Comment: Ambassador spoke with delegation member Sidi
Mohamed after the delegation's meeting with the French and EU
Ambassadors. Sidi Mohamed indicated strong French and EU
support for restoration of democracy and constitutional
order, something French Ambassador confirmed in a
conversation with Ambassador later. The French Ambassador
said the coup leaders could not be allowed to benefit from
their actions. End Comment.


8. (C) The Ambassador inquired about the potential for UN
sanctions. This was a question the Assembly Speaker said he
raised with Ping, and Ping told him that if the AU-led
international delegation scheduled to travel to Nouakchott on
December 5-6 makes no progress, then the AU (and its partners
the UN, EU, Arab League, Francophonie, and Organization for
the Islamic Conference) will seize the UNSC about imposing
sanctions on the junta. The Speaker said he would explore
the feasibility of having President Abdallahi or his
designate occupy Mauritania's seat at the AU Summit in
January, an idea that AU Peace and Security Commissioner
Ramtane Lamamra shared with the Ambassador recently. Another
avenue the Speaker and opponents of the junta are considering
is the International Criminal Court in The Hague. "There are
many reasons to file a complaint," said the Speaker, citing
the jailing of President Abdallahi, arbitrary detentions, and
placing Mauritania in jeopardy.


9. (C) The Ambassador also asked if the generals were afraid
of sanctions, and if there were any generals and certain coup
supporters who regretted participating in the coup d'etat.
From the start, the Speaker said, coup leader General Ould
Abdel Aziz did not consult with other generals, but now that
he is in power, his strategy is to get other generals to
"take ownership" of the putsch so that they will feel the
same pressure as him. At least one general has been
marginalized, he said. Meanwhile, business owners who
supported the coup may also have reason to fear for their
business interests should sanctions be imposed, but at the
same time, there are more business owners siding with the
junta out of fear of reprisals from the junta.
YAMAMOTO