(C) NIGER: TESTY FOREIGN MINISTER (FM) MEETS WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NIAMEY 000605

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/W
PARIS FOR AF WATCHER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/13/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAGR EAID NG
SUBJECT: (C) NIGER: TESTY FOREIGN MINISTER (FM) MEETS WITH
DIPLOMATIC CORPS; UN OFFICIAL SAYS ONLY ONE SECURITY
CONFERENCE PLANNED FOR SAHEL REGION

REF: A. 07 NIAMEY 1418

B. NIAMEY 559 AND 546

C. NIAMEY 81

Classified By: AMBASSADOR BERNADETTE M. ALLEN, REASONS: 1.4 b/d


1. (U) Summary. Responding to a diplomatic corps request of
several weeks ago for an update on the security situation in
the north, the status of 2009 election preparations and a
review of food security issues, Government of Niger (GON) FM
Aichatou Mindaoudou convoked the resident ambassadors and
representatives of international institutions accredited to
Niger to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a June 10
closed-door meeting. Most of the FM's remarks on security
were a rehash of statements made last November (reftel); that
is, travel in the north (aka Agadez region) is safe except
for a small area around the Air Mountains. She reported that
preparations for the 2009 elections remain on track. She
stated that more donor support is needed for irrigation
projects to permit an increase in production of basic
staples, especially rice, and to improve food security in the
Sahel region. End summary.



2. (C) Initial questions centered around security in northern
Niger and two regional security conferences, reportedly to be
hosted by Mali and Niger, respectively. FM Mindaoudou
insisted there is no problem traveling in the north, that for
the most part people in Agadez manage their daily affairs
without incident. After a foreign assistance cooperation
representative mentioned difficulty his organization is
having delivering goods to vulnerable communities in the
north (given vehicle hijackings, landmines, etc.),Mindaoudou
acknowledged the embassies', international institutions' and
non-governmental organizations' (NGOs) right to scale back
activities or travel in the north, but at the same time
questioned the reasoning behind such decisions. She said
that as far as she is concerned it is safe to operate in the
north, that she'd be willing to go with the diplomatic corps
to Agadez at anytime. (Note: The week of June 2, 2008, the
Ministry of Interior circulated a notice to NGO
representatives in Zinder, an adjacent region south of
Agadez, requiring that NGOs pay for security escort to travel
from Tanout (location of two kidnappings per ref B and C)
northward to Agadez. The notice cited hijackings of five
vehicles in the past month as justification for the
requirement. End note.)


3. (C) As for the venue, date and who may be invited to
participate in the security conferences, Mindaoudou replied
that she lacked details on the proposed conferences because
they fall under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Interior.
Nevertheless, she said there has been discussion of a
"Conference of West Africa" in Mali before the end of June as
a preparatory session for a second Sahel conference to be
hosted by Niger at a date to be determined and to include six
Heads of State (Mali, Niger, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania and
Chad) to discuss smuggling, banditry and counterterrorism .
(Note: United Nations Office of West Africa (UNOWA) Special
Representative of the Secretary General, Said Djinnit, in
Niamey (June 11-13) to discuss security issues with GON
President Tandja and other GON officials, visited USEmbassy
Niamey on June 11 to ask for the Ambassador's assessment of
matters in northern Niger. In that meeting Djinnit reported
that he understood there would only be one conference for
seven countries (with Burkina Faso as an addition to the six
countries named by Mindaoudou),to be hosted by the
Government of Mali, at a date to be determined in July
because of the number of meetings on the continent already
calendared through the end of June (e.g., CENSAD, ECOWAS,
Niger River Basin Authority). He said the United Nations has
not been invited to participate in the Mali conference and
that he was informed that no other countries or institutions
outside the region would be invited, that this would be a
"neighborhood" event. End note).


4. (C) Mindaoudou took offense at the mention of "Tuareg
issues", adamantly stated that there is no political nor
"Tuareg issue" in the north, that the real problem is
security, notably banditry and smuggling (arms, drugs). She
added that the GON only lacks means to protect the entire
span of the country from growing criminal activity. On a
question related to negotiations with MNJ, the FM reiterated
the GON position that it cannot accept negotiations with
criminals. She emphasized that in a democracy bearing arms
is not the manner by which one pursues one's demands. She

NIAMEY 00000605 002 OF 002


added that if bearing arms is the correct way to pursue one's
demands, then women in Niger should do so to demand their
rights (Comment: A remark she has made in the past. End
comment.). Turning to the discussion of the 1995 Peace
Accords, Mindaoudou stated that 90 percent of the former
rebels' demands have been delivered, that there only remains
the issue of about 200 jobs that Areva (French uranium firm)
was unable to offer due to the rebels' lack of expertise.
Reiterating a comment she's made in the past, she remarked
that thousands of diplomaed youth around the country remain
unemployed and aren't taking up arms to demand jobs. She
questioned the amount of attention given to the approximately
200 persons not hired by Areva. She then ranted about
nationals in some countries who are leading protest marches
on behalf of Tuaregs and complained about false information
in the press concerning the plight of Tuaregs. (Comment:
These presumably are references to nationals in France and
the United States. End comment.)


5. (C) An international financial institution representative
asked for clearer guidance on what partners should do to
address the GON funding shortfall for the 2009 elections.
Mindaoudou questioned why it was news that the GON would need
funding support for elections. She said governments and
institutions already should have prepared for this, since it
has been common knowledge since 2004 that the next
legislative and Presidential elections in Niger were
scheduled for 2009. There was acknowledgment that the
elections were not news, but it was pointed out that the GON
decision to conduct a new voter registration campaign and the
funding requirements for the campaign had not been
anticipated. Mindaoudou recognized that as a valid point and
said she'd raise the matter with the President. She opined
that she didn't want elections in Niger to turn out like
elections in some other countries on the continent, such as
Kenya and Zimbabwe. Further, she stated older, democratic
nation partners need to recognize that newer democracies in
Africa are not cut from the same mold as older democracies,
that officials who have been accredited to Niger for more
than a year and know the local situation should be able to
explain such matters to their governments.


6. (U) On food security, Mindaoudou urged partners to support
more funding for irrigation projects, to decrease Sahel
region reliance on food imports. She said Niger has lots of
untapped water underground, that countries like Mali can
produce more rice with the right support. She mentioned a
possible regional meeting on rice to take place in Mali at a
date to be determined. She added that Niger was working on
its need assessment, given its place as one of 19 countries
on the food assistance priority list.


7. (U) The meeting closed on a lighter note with a question
about the African development conference held in Tokyo.
Mindaoudou reported that the primary areas of discussion at
the conference were climate change, food security and the UN
Millennium Development Goals, but she provided no specific
details.

(C) (Comment: Attendees left the session baffled about the
FM's demeanor and without clarity on several issues. End
comment.)


ALLEN