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). -------------- Keeping the pressure on the junta -------------- ¶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. -------------- Effect of targeted sanctions -------------- ¶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 ADDIS ABAB 00003240 002 OF 002 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