LIBYAN ENVOY RECEIVES HIGH-LEVEL RECEPTION IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 TOKYO 000397 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/RSA JOHN KELLEY E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2018 TAGS: PREL XA LY JA SUBJECT: LIBYAN ENVOY RECEIVES HIGH-LEVEL RECEPTION IN TOKYO, SHARES PROPOSAL FOR AFRICAN UNION GOVERNMENT TOKYO 00000397 001.2 OF 004 Classified By: Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer for reasons 1.4(b) and (d ) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Prime Minister Fukuda and other high-ranking Japanese officials recently received a Special Envoy from Libyan Leader Muammar Qahdafi, who was sent to seek Tokyo's support for Qahdafi's "African Union Government" plan. The proposal calls for a single government for all of Africa and predicts that such an arrangement would allow Africa to become less dependent on others and more capable of dealing with its own internal problems. According to press reports, the envoy hinted that Japan's support in pushing the plan would make it easier for Japanese firms to do business in Libya. The text of the memorandum the envoy left is below at paragraph 6. Japanese officials politely complimented Qadhafi's broad long-term vision but believe his plan is divorced from reality. Separately, MOFA contacts do not think it likely Qadhafi will choose to attend the Tokyo International Conference on African Development IV (TICAD IV) this May in Yokohama, and seem to hope that he stays away. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Libyan Special Envoy Mohammad Tahir Siala, who we understand holds a rank comparable to a vice foreign minister, was received separately by Prime Minister Fukuda, Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Koumura during a January 28-29 visit to Tokyo. He also met with former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori (who is Japan's Special Envoy for TICAD),former Minister of Defense Yoriko Koike, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Koji Kakizawa (who in 1998 headed a Japan-Libya Friendship Association Mission to Libya and in 1999 led a Japanese trade and investment mission to Libya),and Diet member Tetsuro Yano, the vice-chairman of the Japan-African Union Parliamentary Friendship League. -------------- - SEEKING SUPPORT FOR "AFRICAN UNION GOVERNMENT" -------------- - ¶3. (C) MOFA First Middle East Division Principal Deputy Director Akihiro Tsuji told Embassy Tokyo Political Officer that notice of Siala's visit was received only days before it took place. The purpose of the visit was to deliver a letter from Libyan Leader Muammar Qadhafi seeking support ahead of the January 31 African Union summit for Qadhafi's "African Union Government" plan. Prior to visiting Tokyo, Siala had stopped in Beijing, where, according to Tsuji, he was received by his counterpart, Vice Minister Wu Dawei. MOFA duly submitted Siala's request for a meeting with PM Fukuda to the Prime Minister's office, never expecting that it would be granted given Siala's sub-ministerial rank and because Libya is not considered to be a major country among Japan's bilateral counterparts. However, MOFA was subsequently surprised to learn the meeting request had been granted. According to Tsuji, this was because former ministers Koike and Kakizawa had personally intervened with the Prime Minister's staff to urge Siala be received at the highest levels. (COMMENT: It is likely Koike and others played on the government's desire to have a better turnout at TICAD than the Chinese obtained at their recent conference on development in Africa, and probably argued that Japan would look good if it received Siala at a higher level than the Chinese had. END COMMENT.) ¶4. (C) Regarding Qadhafi's proposal, Tsuji said the Japanese officials Siala met with listened to his presentation and, out of politeness, complimented Siala on Qadhafi's broad-ranging vision for Africa. However, Japan does not believe the proposal is realistic, but rather a "dream not based on reality." According to press reports, Siala hinted that in return for Japan's support for the plan, Libya would open oil fields and mining areas to Japanese firms, and would also hope for Japanese participation in large development projects. Siala also reportedly hoped Japan, with no TOKYO 00000397 002.2 OF 004 colonial history in Africa, could help convince African countries and others to support the Libyan plan. Tsuji suspects that Siala departed thinking he had Japan's support. -------------- QADHAFI TO TICAD? -------------- ¶5. (C) Separately, Tsuji reported MOFA believes it unlikely Qadhafi will attend the TICAD IV meeting to be held this May in Yokohama. Tsuji told Political Officer that former Prime Minister Mori had encountered Qadhafi at the African Union summit and had invited him to TICAD, to which Qadhafi had simply nodded. Tsuji says MOFA assesses that Qadhafi does not like to attend large, multilateral meetings and added that, personally, he thinks it would be a "nightmare" for Japan if Qadhafi elected to come to TICAD or, for that matter, decided to visit any other time. -------------- TEXT OF "AFRICAN UNION GOVERNMENT" PLAN -------------- ¶6. (C) Tsuji agreed "on a personal basis" to share with Political Officer a copy of the letter Siala presented, but emphasized his doing so was not officially sanctioned. Accordingly, please protect the source of the below: BEGIN TEXT: Title: An Explanatory Memorandum: The Necessity for Accelerating the Process of Establishing an African Union Government. Since African nations achieved political independence they have continuously sought to confront the economic and political challenges that appeared before them, but their efforts were of limited success because of numerous internal and external impediments, some of which were: internal conflicts, regional wars, an unfavorable international economic environment, and a world polarized between the militarily and ideologically competing Eastern and Western blocs. Due to the increasing awareness of African leaders for the need for collective work to tackle issues of mutual concern to Africa, the Organization of African Unity was established in 1963 as an African framework to synchronize cooperation between the countries of the continent, and in spite of the organization's contribution in ridding Africa of the remnants of colonialism and racist regimes, its inability to carry out an effective and decisive role to combat the challenges that its members were facing became apparent. Furthermore, new challenges to the world order necessitated a strategic reply from Africa that transcended what the Organization of African Unity could achieve and which led to the Sirte Declaration on 9/9/1999 to establish the African Union as a project that allows the African continent the ability to work in a synchronized and collective manner in step with the fast paced progress around the world. The general goals of the African Union seek to formulate a collective and effective African reply that would place the African nations - individually and collectively - on the path of economic growth and sustainable development, and transform them into effective participants in international political and economic affairs. However, with the passage of time it became apparent that Africa, through her reply, did not reach the level that her peoples had aspired to. The present situation in Africa indicates that food security has not been achieved for the majority of the continent's inhabitants in spite of the abundance of wealth, and the natural disasters that are related to the environment led to cases of chronic shortages of foodstuff and dependence on TOKYO 00000397 003.2 OF 004 foreign food supplies became the rule and not the exception. Dependence on foreign technology, and the export of raw material in return for the import of finished products still constitutes a threat to industrial development, in addition to the fact that diminishing revenues from exports and the increased payments for imports made the financing of developmental plans depended (sic),to large extent, on official development aid, and increased foreign debt, and wars and conflicts and divisions without reaching the goals of collective growth that is self dependent. Africa is depended (sic) on outsiders for its health, especially when confronting diseases such as malaria, cholera, and AIDS, and the shortages in energy, the degradation of the environment, and the substandard state of the infrastructure also caused the impediment of the efforts that sought to achieve broad and sustainable development. In sum, Africa has become a heavy burden on itself, and on other nations. All these challenges created an increasing consensus among African nations for a need for an African mechanism to lead the organized collective effort with the other world and the necessary choice was the establishment of the African Union with the aim of working from a collective strategic perspective to achieve progress for Africa so that it can face the increasing wave of globalization, and take its rightful place among the large political, economic and commercial spaces, and share its responsibilities, and contribute effectively with the rest of countries of the world in the establishment and reinforcement of peace and security. In addition, an African Unity government would be more capable in condensing African efforts to accelerate the establishment of financial, agricultural, and industrial institutions, and in raising the capabilities of the continent's nations in the fields of education, health, energy, commerce, food security, and in facing the dangers of natural disasters, as well as in the collection of the necessary funds to execute what has been placed in plans and developmental programs across the continent enabling it be self dependent instead of over fifty nations resorting to donor nations, who are already exhausted from such requests, and the continuation of these countries in borrowing funds that it is very doubtful that they will be able to repay. And in the field of dealing with the outside world it would also be better for the blocs, as well as individual countries, to deal with a single foreign minister speaking for the continent and expressing its position instead of dealing with the foreign ministers of fifty-three countries, and that dealing with a single defense minister is more feasible for the execution of African policies in the fields of defense and security of non aggression and the collective defense, as stipulated in the African Union Charter and the Protocol of the Peace and Security Council (MAS); all aiming to bolster the sources for internal security, and to control wars and conflicts, and to establish peace on the continent, and the eradication of the pockets of tension and conflicts within its borders. It is also beneficial for the rest of the world's nations to deal with a single African minister for energy to overcome the shortages in that field and better utilize it. Moreover, it is beneficial to deal with a single African minister for transportation and telecommunication to execute transportation projects across the continent that individual states confirmed were unable to accomplish on their own. It is more feasible to deal with a single African minister for the environment to tackle the phenomena of drought and desertification in the continent, which, it has been confirmed individual states are unable to confront. It is also beneficial to deal with a single minister for health to execute collective programs to eradicate fatal diseases, which no individual state can eliminate. Moreover, the interaction with a single minister for trade is more feasible TOKYO 00000397 004.2 OF 004 when coordinating the execution of African policies in this field and especially, during international trade negotiations, and the formulation of appropriate strategies for self-sufficiency in finance, the movement of capital, goods and services in Africa. For all such reasons, and based on the goal that aims to create cooperation that is beneficial for all, necessity calls for all the countries of the world to encourage and push forward the efforts that aim to accelerate the creation of an African Union government as the mechanism most capable of facilitating African cooperation with others, and in such a manner that benefits all. In addition, an African Union government would be more capable to coordinate efforts to eliminate the obstacles that hamper an accelerated and real African integration that will offer the people of the continent peace and security, and place them on the road towards stability and progress, and make Africa an effective partner in the reinforcement of international security, and the achievement of development in countries around the world, and reinforce its efforts to eliminate the destructive phenomena of terrorism, crime, disease and illegal immigration. END TEXT. ¶7. (U) Minumize considered. SCHIEFFER