Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08NOUAKCHOTT677
2008-11-16 19:29:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Nouakchott
Cable title:  

FNDD STRATEGY FOLLOWING PRESIDENT ABDALLAHI'S

Tags:  PGOV PREL MR 
pdf how-to read a cable
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RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
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RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0741
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 0366
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NOUAKCHOTT 000677 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/15/2013
TAGS: PGOV PREL MR
SUBJECT: FNDD STRATEGY FOLLOWING PRESIDENT ABDALLAHI'S
TRANSFER

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Dennis Hankins for reasons 1.4 (b and
d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NOUAKCHOTT 000677

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/15/2013
TAGS: PGOV PREL MR
SUBJECT: FNDD STRATEGY FOLLOWING PRESIDENT ABDALLAHI'S
TRANSFER

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Dennis Hankins for reasons 1.4 (b and
d)


1. (C) Summary: The FNDD sees President Abdallahi's
transfer as "20% good news." The President's increased
access to political leaders and the media are a plus, but his
physical and communications isolation and an apparent regime
effort to combat the FNDD directly off-set the benefits. The
President is still collecting information and weighing his
options. The FNDD wants him to "act presidential" but have
few specific recommendations. The FNDD is increasingly
interested in the mechanics of a parallel government. End
Summary


2. (C) Charge met November 16 with FNDD co-leader and
"Acting Foreign Minister" Mohamed Ould Maouloud who had been
with President Abdallahi in Lemden over the weekend. Ould
Maouloud said the President was in excellent spirits and
committed to confronting the coup, although Abdallahi is
still gathering opinions and information before setting out a
strategy. Ould Maouloud noted that Abdallahi has limited
communications capability but has been phoning media services
and a number of foreign governments between a steady stream
of visitors. Ould Maouloud said the one phone company with
service in Lemden -- MAURITEL -- installed some extra
equipment on Lemden's transmission tower which he assumed was
meant to allow easier monitoring of the President's calls.
The FNDD is procuring a Thuraya phone to provide the
President more secure communications. In addition to meeting
with his advisors, Abdallahi is trying to reach Arab and
African leaders although finding the right numbers is
difficult (Comment: Charge has asked the OPS Center whether
we can provide contact numbers).


3. (C) Ould Maouloud said he and other FNDD leaders had
briefed President Abdallahi on the events of the past three
months and had made some policy recommendations but he
stressed< "We are just the Front, we recognize he will make
his own decisions as head of state." Ould Maouloud thought
one of the President's first steps would be to make an
address to the nation that they would try to have aired by Al
Jezeera, RFI and other media outlets and via cassettes to be
distributed throughout the country (in French, Arabic and
local languages). Recognizing the President had not done
well in his public outreach before the coup, Ould Maouloud
said the address would be crucial and had to communicate
effectively with both the masses and elites.


4. (C) Ould Maouloud noted the relatively good news of the
President's transfer had been offset by the bad news of Prime
Minister Waghef's arrest for malfeasance related to his time
as director of the now-defunct national airline. Ould
Maouloud saw the investigation as purely political and part
of a post-transfer strategy to dismantle the FNDD at the same
time the regime says Abdallahi is "now in retirement." In a
press conference earlier in the day, Ould Maouloud had
challenged the regime to investigate drug trafficking and the
mistakes leading to the Tourine massacre before investigating
the liquidation of Air Mauritanie. Ould Maouloud claimed a
certain irony in the case claiming Waghef had supervised the
closure of the airline under the assistance of Aziz'
financial backer Mohamed Hamayenne Bouamatou who subsequently
launched his own private Mauritania Airways.


5. (C) Ould Maouloud said he had told President Abdallahi
that there would eventually be the need for someone to help
negotiate an exit strategy. He said the FNDD saw Mali's
Alpha Oumar Konare as someone who could play an effective
Special Envoy role for the African Union.


6. (C) Charge will travel to Lemden on November 17 to meet
with President Abdallahi -- this will be the first diplomatic
visit to the President's home village of some 600
inhabitants. European Ambassadors and the European
Commission representative will visit on November 18. French
Ambassador Vandepoorter told Charge that initial thoughts of
a joint U.S.-European visit were discarded because of
differences within the European envoys. Even the idea of
bilateral European visits proved difficult as one un-named
envoy termed the visit as "seeing if we can resuscitate a

NOUAKCHOTT 00000677 002 OF 002


corpse." The Europeans had agreed to a joint visit finally
under the context of Article 96 Consultations -- giving
President Abdallahi the chance to provide his prospective
prior to the November 20 EU review.
HANKINS