MOROCCO: CODEL MARTINEZ MEETS WITH GOM OFFICIALS.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RABAT 000029 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/MAG AND H E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/08/2018 TAGS: OREP MOPS PREL SENV MO SUBJECT: MOROCCO: CODEL MARTINEZ MEETS WITH GOM OFFICIALS. Classified By: Ambassador Thomas T. Riley for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) On January 5, CODEL Martinez met Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi and Speaker of the House-equivalent Mustapha Mansouri among other Moroccan officials. Interlocutors thanked the delegation for U.S. support for the Moroccan Western Sahara proposal and criticized Algeria and the POLISARIO. They highlighted the Government of Morocco's (GOM's) "irreversible" commitment to political, social and economic reform, praised the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), requested continued and increased U.S. assistance, and provided assurances of Morocco's support in the Global War on Terrorism. The Prime Minister said that the GOM had formed an anti-corruption board that included civil society representatives. Delegation members congratulated Morocco on the success of its reforms, and pressed for continued improvement of human rights conditions in Western Sahara. End Summary. -------------- Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi -------------- ¶2. (C) On January 5, a 7-member Congressional delegation led by Senate Armed Services Committee member Mel Martinez (R-FL) met with a variety of high-ranking Moroccan officials including Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, Minister of Economic and General Affairs Nizar Baraka, Minister of State (Deputy Prime Minister equivalent) Mohammed El Yazghi, and President of the Chamber of Deputies (Speaker of the House equivalent) Mustapha Mansouri. At the delegation's first meeting, Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi began by expressing appreciation for President Bush's recent reference to the positive role Morocco played in the Middle East peace process. He hoped the President could visit Morocco in the near future. ¶3. (C) Turning to Sahara, El Fassi harshly criticized Algerian imperial ambitions, which began by its "taking a large chunk of historic Morocco." Morocco had been good to Sahara by providing numerous elements of self government, including representation in Parliament, local councils and local administrations. He claimed that the African governments which supported the Algerian position on Sahara were, like it, all military or one-party states. Morocco's "historic" autonomy proposal was based to a large degree on the status of Catalonia. The GOM proposal would even allow the territory to maintain its own foreign relations with contiguous regions. He saw no hope for an agreement until "the army" no longer governed Algeria. ¶4. (C) On domestic politics, El Fassi pointed out that Morocco has taken irreversible steps toward democracy. The PM insisted that Morocco had complete freedom of the press (Comment: Straining credulity. End Comment) and that there were no taboo subjects. His own priorities were first, judicial independence; second, agricultural and social reform; and third, education, including introducing job-oriented and market-driven curricula. Fifty percent of the budget was dedicated to social affairs, including 30 percent for education. Good governance was important and he would work to put asset declaration laws into effect for public officials. He said the Government has established a Corruption Prevention Board made up of officials, academics and members of civil society. ¶5. (C) The PM praised the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as advantageous to both parties and said that it had helped break the French monopoly on investment in Morocco. He was grateful for the MCA compact and would chair its oversight committee. He appreciated U.S. training and exchange programs, noting their positive long term effect. ¶6. (C) Senator Martinez stressed the importance of the long term relationship. Senator Grassley noted the success of the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement. Senator Thune and others stressed Congressional interest in the Western Sahara issue and the importance of the human rights situation. Senator Martinez followed up by noting that while he supported the Administration's backing for the GOM proposal, those in congress who opposed it did so primarily human rights grounds. Improvements in this area could help win them over. RABAT 00000029 002 OF 003 He appreciated the GOM's commitment to reform, but said that ultimately reforms would have to focus on the constitutional role of the King. -------------- Minister of Economic Affairs Nizar Baraka -------------- ¶7. (C) Minister of Economic and General Affairs Nizar Baraka praised the FTA and MCA Compact as the two most significant U.S./Morocco bilateral events in the past five years. He remarked that they were key elements in Morocco's plan to eliminate the social conditions that foster radical ideas and terrorism. Baraka said Morocco represented a moderate Islam that had clearly chosen democracy over Jihad. Baraka remarked that President Bush's upcoming trip through the Middle East represented an "excellent" opportunity to "pull the carpet from under the extremists," by calling for the creation of a Palestinian State. Baraka assured the delegation that both the King and GOM would use their full influence to support fruitful and meaningful peace process negotiations and dialogue. ¶8. (C) Baraka responded to a question from Senator Thune on renewable energy resources by stating that approximately 10 percent of Morocco's current power needs are supplied by renewable sources (solar and wind),but that Morocco hopes to increase this share to 20 percent by 2012. To do this, he said Morocco plans to develop nuclear generated electricity that could be sold to Europe. ¶9. (C) Senator Martinez underlined the significance of the FTA and MCA, applauding the GOM for its investment in human capital. Senator Grassley (Chairman of the Senate committee responsible for the approval of the FTA) reiterated the delegation's desire to increase bilateral commerce, while resolving any FTA implementation issues. Senator Thune expressed a desire to increase U.S. agricultural exports to Morocco, noting a complementarity between this interest and Morocco's MCA-supported effort to move to higher value/lower water crops. -------------- Minister of State Mohammed El Yazghi -------------- ¶10. (C) Minister of State (Deputy Prime Minister equivalent) Mohammed El Yazghi opened by stating that Morocco has a special place in the Arab world as a result of its principled stand on reform and human rights. Unlike other Arab nations, Morocco is moving from a centralized governmental model toward a decentralized federalized state with a "flexible, democratic" system based on rule of law. Yazghi said that the Government must protect human rights in order to allow Moroccans to exercise their rights as citizens. He pointed to the new Labor Act, Family Code and Political Party Law as examples of how the country's legal framework is changing to promote reform. ¶11. (C) Yazghi thanked the delegation for U.S. financial assistance and the MCA compact. The GOM still needed training for its judges and magistrates and sought support in reforming and improving its public health and public health insurance systems. The GOM would also appreciate help in improving forensic laboratory and investigative infrastructure for use in the fight against terrorism. ¶12. (C) In response to a question on human rights in the territory, Yazghi emphasized that there is no difference between the way people in Rabat and Laayoune are treated. He said that there is a "defamation campaign" underway, in which many domestic and international NGOs are complicit, to slander the GOMs' administration of Sahara. However, such issues are allowed to be debated in Morocco, he said, but not "on the other side." ¶13. (C) Senators Martinez and Thune told Yazghi that many members of Congress understood and supported the Moroccan position on Western Sahara, but were critical of human rights issues. He expressed additional interest in exploring renewable energy partnerships and continued cooperation in the War on Terror. -------------- President of the Parliamentary Chamber of Deputies Mustapha RABAT 00000029 003 OF 003 Mansouri -------------- ¶14. (C) President of the Parliamentary Chamber of Deputies (Speaker of the House equivalent) Mustapha Mansouri gathered a panel of caucus heads for a meeting with the delegation and subsequent dinner. Mansouri opened by saying that the bilateral relationship was of utmost importance and that the two countries were separated "only by the Atlantic Ocean." He praised the U.S. and party-based NGOs such as the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) for helping to foster democracy in Morocco - and particularly for assistance in monitoring the 2007 parliamentary elections. He said that foreign direct investment in Morocco was up across the board, not just from the U.S., as a result of U.S./Morocco FTA. Other interlocutors requested help in strengthening the efficiency and effectiveness of Moroccan parliamentary caucuses and sought closer ties with the U.S. Congress. ¶15. (C) Lahcen Daoudi, Vice Chairman of the opposition, Islamist, Party of Justice and Development (PJD) urged the USG to "get serious about countering terrorism." He said that recent cancellation of the Paris-Dakar rally showed that the U.S. must consider the issue comprehensively and seriously, not just from a military perspective. He said that poverty and corruption and the Moroccan political system were part of the problem. He added that the U.S. must help Morocco develop truly independent branches of government. He thanked the delegation for the recent MCA Compact, but said that the U.S. needed to do more. ¶16. (C) The Ambassador pressed Mansouri on the issue of human rights and encouraged the GOM to address complaints constructively to avoid inflaming an already tense situation in Western Sahara. Senator Martinez invited Parliament members to visit Congress. ¶17. (C) CODEL Martinez did not have the opportunity to clear this message before departing from Morocco. ***************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat ***************************************** Riley