RADA REHASHES AMBASSADOR CONSPIRACY THEORY

C O N F I D E N T I A L LA PAZ 000747 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/08/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR BL SUBJECT: RADA REHASHES AMBASSADOR CONSPIRACY THEORY Classified By: EcoPol Chief Mike Hammer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) Government Minister Alfredo Rada again accused Ambassador Goldberg of trying to divide Bolivia April 6. Rada said Goldberg was using the same tactics used to divide Kosovo from Yugoslavia to "dismember" Santa Cruz Department (state) from Bolivia. "He knows perfectly well these processes, processes to dismember a country." As proof, Rada said that Goldberg was Chief of Mission in Pristina Kosovo from 2004-2006 and participated in the negotiation of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which Rada cited as the official end of Yugoslavia. Rada claimed Goldberg was engaging in "small things" beyond his official capacities as Ambassador to facilitate the division of Bolivia, citing the Ambassador's "frequent" trips to Santa Cruz where he meets "selectively" with pro-opposition political leaders, civic leaders, and campesinos. And Now, The Good News -------------- ¶2. (U) Rada asserted the government was sharing its "observations" about Goldberg with the State Department and White House. Rada added that despite his accusations regarding Ambassador Goldberg, bilateral commercial relations (citing ATPDEA's recent extension) and anti-narcotics cooperation were "at a good moment." La Prensa Plays Along with Conspiracy Game -------------- ¶3. (U) Instead of offering an alternate view, prominent daily La Prensa seemed to add legitimacy to Rada's accusations by citing Wikipedia concerning conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. La Prensa claimed through six wars fought during Yugoslav breakup, 300,000 people died and millions were forced to leave their homes. It then referred to Embassy La Paz's Web site to confirm that Ambassador Goldberg had served as chief of mission in Kosovo prior to coming to Bolivia. ¶4. (U) La Prensa also featured a half-page ad signed by the Central Workers Union (COB) in the same edition, bashing Ambassador Goldberg, neoliberalism "imposed" by the pro-imperialist oligarchy and ex-President Paz Estenssoro in ¶1985. "It is not a coincidence that three months before his arrival in Bolivia, the current American Ambassador Philip Goldberg was the Chief of Mission in Kosovo, the last region to become an independent republic recognized by the American Government. With that background, there is no doubt that the American Embassy, the multinationals and the business oligarchy and its political parties recycled in PODEMOS, the UN, and the MNR, will not cease in their political attacks until they unleash a civil war and dismember our nation in order to continue looting our natural resources and the work force of the poor. Therefore, it remains clear that the battle of the Bolivian people, of workers, campesino middle class, and indigenous nationalists of the East and West, have to join together to confront the common enemy: American imperialism and its oligarchic lackeys." The communiqu concludes with "death to American imperialism/expulsion of the American Ambassador." Comment -------------- ¶5. (C) Rada is replaying an old conspiracy theory as the government ramps up its campaign to delegitimize the Santa Cruz May 4 autonomy referendum. The government continues to try to demonize the Ambassador and maintain that the Embassy is a rogue element, operating beyond the control of Washington. An MFA contact first told us in December of the government's plan to hammer the Ambassador as a scapegoat until Washington recalled him; apparently they still believe in the efficacy of that plan. La Prensa, although it appeared to imply the charges had merit by linking them with war statistics, did run a photo of Ambassador Goldberg shaking hands with none other than Minister Rada himself. Members of the El Alto chapter of the COB did not mention any displeasure with the United States to POLOFF April 3, and instead complained about President Evo Morales and asked about possible proposals for USAID projects. End Comment. GOLDBERG