AEP 15 MEETING WITH AU PEACE AND SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NOUAKCHOTT 000505

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/14/2013
TAGS: PGOV PREL MR
SUBJECT: AEP 15 MEETING WITH AU PEACE AND SECURITY
COMMISSIONER LAMAMRA

Classified By: Ambassador Mark M. Boulware for reasons 1.5 (b and d)


1. (C) AU Peace and Security Commissioner Lamamra asked UN
Resident Coordinator Maria Ribeiro to invite repesentatives
of the international community to meet with him on September
15 prior to his meeting with various Mauritanian figures.
Commissioner Lamamra noted that he had asked to meet to
discuss his mission and to seek guidance and insight in
carrying out his responsibilities. He expressed pleasure
with the strong unity demonstrated by the international
community, noting that clear principles were at stake. At
the same time he noted that the international community was
extending a hand of friendship to Mauritania in the hope that
a solution to the crisis could be found that we could all
support. He recalled the AU's statements reminding the junta
of its engagements and calling for it to refrain from actions
that would complicate a solution. Declining to define such
"complications," he said that obviously reinforcing the
irreversibility of the coup would be an example. Lamamra
said he had requested and expected to meet with President
Abdallahi, General Aziz, the Presidents of the National
Assembly and the Senate, the President of the Economic and
Social Commission, Opposition Leader Ould Daddah, and former
President Vall. Lamamra said that he had managed to arrange
on his own to meet Vall and Ould Daddah the previous evening,
characterizing Vall's stance as closest to the AU position
and Ould Daddah's as focusing on demands for an election
timetable and a guarantee on junta non-participation and
non-interference.


2. (C) Lamamra noted that on September 22 in New York he
would be called upon to report back to member states on
progress with Mauritania and that if after "47 days and 3
visits" it would not be pleasant to report that the AU's
demand for Abdallahi's liberation had not been met. Lamamra
opined that considering the Zimbabwean settlement, there was
no reason that a solution to Mauritania could not be reached
and that there was no reason to wait to take decisions later
that could be taken now. He noted the irony of Mauritania's
position as the first and only African country to deposit
instruments of ratification to the African Charter on
Democracy, Elections and Governance.


3. (C) In general remarks to Lamamra, Spanish Ambassador
Alejandro Polanco applauded the solidarity of the
international community in affirming democratic principles
but noted that arriving at a solution would require
compromise on both sides to get a settlement that left
"neither victor nor vanquished." Reiterating the strong
French position, Ambassador Vandepoorter said the 2007
elections must be respected and Ould Daddah's RFD party must
be reminded what the D stands for (Democracy). He said that
Abdallahi's supporters in the FNDD also needed to appreciate
that the political crisis in the country was larger than the
just the coup d'etat. EU Commission representative Geza
Stammer underscored the importance of the release of the
President and noted that the EU's letter requesting Article
96 consultations would be going out very soon. If
representatives of the junta show up at that meeting and
President Abdallahi has not been freed, the meeting would
likely be a very short one.


4. (C) World Bank Resident Representative Francois Rantrua
lamented that Mauritanian actors were taking positions
without realizing the potentially dangerous consequences
those positions entailed. He noted that the economic
situation could go very bad, very quickly, with disastrous
results for the country. Moreover, he said under the current
circumstances we did not even have the means to adequately
monitor what was happening in the economy. Senegalese
Ambassador Mahmoudou Cheikh Kane praised international
solidarity on Mauritania and said that it was welcome and
natural for Mauritania's friends and neighbors to become
engaged but all should recall that this is a complex and
fragile society. Acknowledging that democratic principles
required Abdallahi to be released but, speaking personally,
he wondered if the junta feared a replay of the Waghef
release which was followed by "agitation."


5. (C) Tunisian Ambassador Abderrahmane Belhadj Ali said
that the situation was deteriorating from economic, social
and governance perspectives alike. Noting that this was the

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type of atmosphere that terrorists could use to their
advantage, he said that he feared that the situation could
slip beyond the control of authorities. He said that it was
imperative that the junta understand that a fait accompli
would not be accepted. He urged Commissioner Lamamra to
consider engaging experienced and credible Mauritanian elder
statesmen to help mediate.


6. (C) Ambassador Boulware joined others in applauding
international solidarity but strongly associated himself with
the need for the junta to grasp the urgency of the situation.
Given the obvious risks of the situation spinning out of
control, the Ambassador noted that it was all the more
imperative not to lose time working on a roadmap that would
be a dead letter for the international community. The
liberation and restoration of the President and the Prime
Minister were essential to regaining the legitimacy which
would permit moving forward from a constitutional point of
departure.


7. (C) Comment: Although, the group seemed genuinely
impressed with the degree to which the international
community and its various institutions had come together on
the issue, national nuances were evident. Nonetheless,
France, the EU Commission and the US all articulated strong
positions in favor of liberating the President and restoring
constitutional order. Although Lamamra played his cards
close, it is apparent that he believes that it is past time
for the junta to begin engaging seriously or risk even
greater isolation by an increasingly impatient international
community.

Boulware