NIGER: MNJ Rebel Leader Reported to Have Announced

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NIAMEY 000800 STATE for AF/W (Heflin/Dennison) PARIS for AF Watcher SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL MOPS SOCI PGOV CASC ASEC NG LY SUBJECT: NIGER: MNJ Rebel Leader Reported to Have Announced Intention to Lay Down Arms, But Situation Remains Murky NIAMEY 00000800 001.2 OF 002 REFTEL: 07 Niamey 1184 ¶1. Summary. On August 18, a late evening announcement on Tele-Sahel public television reported Mouvement Nigerien pour la Justice (MNJ) leader Agali Alambo had decided to have MNJ rebels lay down their arms. Alambo reportedly arrived at the decision at a meeting in Libya with "Great Sahara" community leaders, notably Libyan leader Muammar Khaddafi. The Government of Niger (GON) Spokesperson, Minister of Communications (MOC) Ben Omar, welcomed Alambo's announcement as good news and expressed, on behalf of GON President Mamadou Tandja and the people of Niger, appreciation to the Libyan leader. End summary. ¶2. Late night August 18, GON MOC Ben Omar announced on Tele-Sahel public television the MNJ's decision to lay down arms, effective August 18. MNJ leader Alambo is reported to have announced this decision during a meeting of the "Great Sahara" leaders hosted by Libyan leader Khaddafi on August 17 in the southwestern Libyan town of Ubari. Tele-Sahel aired footage of the meeting covered by Libyan television, featuring Alambo's remarks in Tamacheq (the local Tuareg language) translated into Arabic, in which the MNJ leader reiterated the Tuareg communities' allegiance to the "Great Amghar", an honorary title the Tuareg leaders have conferred upon Khaddafi. Alambo, who also claimed to have been delegated to speak on behalf of Malian rebel leader Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, declared that Malian and Nigerien rebels are receptive to Khaddafi's call for peace. He said both rebel leaders recognized Khaddafi as the sole mediator for the conflict and that they will abide by Khaddafi's advice to voice grievances and demands through political means. Alambo is reported to have announced that the Tuareg rebel movements will release about 60 hostages to Khaddafi. ¶3. GON MOC Omar summarized Khaddafi's intervention in the August 18 newscast, stating that Khaddafi called attention to the dangers of arms, drug and cigarette trafficking, banditry and other criminal activity in the region. Omar added that Khaddafi stressed the trafficking and criminal activity must be controlled before it gets out of hand and is exploited by "foreign powers." He further reported that Khaddafi told Tuareg leaders that "taking arms to make political claims was obsolete." Moreover, Omar stated that Khaddafi acknowledged that the "far-fetched dream of a Tuareg state should be dropped" because the African Union Charter and the Community of Sahel-Sahara States' (CENSAD) instruments would not allow it and individual states would not accept it. ¶4. Omar emphasized that Khaddafi's remarks confirm the GON's consistent position that those who take up arms against their own country are wrong. He reiterated that the GON would not negotiate unless the conditions to lay down arms were met. He added that rule of law provides mechanisms to voice political grievances, such as participation in political parties, associations or nongovernmental organizations and/or through the legal/judicial process in courts of law. He called on "wayward compatriots who made the mistake of taking up arms" to join all Nigeriens in the building and development of Niger. ¶5. Omar welcomed Alambo's announcement as good news and expressed on behalf of GON President Tandja and the Nigerien people appreciation to Libyan leader Khaddafi. He said he hoped for a lasting peace, a "complete, final resolution" of the security situation in northern Niger. ¶6. However, on the afternoon of August 19, BBC Hausa conducted followup interviews on the report of the MNJ's decision to lay down its arms with GON MOC Omar and MNJ representative Boutali Tchiwaren. Omar confirmed the statement he made on August 18, but added the GON would wait and see if the MNJ would be true to its word. Tchiwaren denied the GON's announcement that the MNJ was willing to disarm, stating that Ben Omar misrepresented Alambo's statement. He said that Alambo mentioned in his announcement having submitted to Kaddhafi a document listing MNJ demands and the MNJ's attempt to "secure through Khaddafi the release of all civilians held in connection with the conflict." Tchiwaren indicated MNJ will not lay down arms because they do not trust the government and will not do so until there first is agreement on holding negotiations on a peace settlement. ¶7. Radio France International (RFI) reported that Alambo stated the MNJ peace offer is not unconditional and that a full halt to hostilities will depend on GON actions. ¶8. Some Nigerien citizens' reactions have been guarded, and others have labeled the latest development "a circus that only confirms Libya as an instigator of the conflict in the north." Some citizens have called for the GON to reject any preconditions from the rebels. NIAMEY 00000800 002.2 OF 002 ¶9. In September 2007, the MNJ announced a "cease fire" leading up to and through Ramadan (reftel),but hopes of a lasting peace were dashed when hostilities resumed after Ramadan. This year Ramadan is expected to begin the first week of September, consequently the true test may not be GON and MNJ actions over the next few weeks, more telling will be the period after Ramadan. Minimize considered. ALLEN