AL-QADHAFI BEGINS FOUR DAY VISIT TO TUNISIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 000889

SIPDIS

NEA/MAG (NARDI/HARRIS)
LONDON AND PARIS FOR NEA WATCHER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/05/2018
TAGS: PREL LY TS
SUBJECT: AL-QADHAFI BEGINS FOUR DAY VISIT TO TUNISIA

Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

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Summary
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1. (C) Libyan leader Muammer al-Qadhafi arrived in Tunis on
August 3 for a four-day visit. In a meeting, President Ben
Ali and al-Qadhafi reportedly discussed a range of regional
and international issues, although few details have been
publicly forthcoming. Al-Qadhafi attended a ribbon-cutting
ceremony at Omar El Mohktar City, a low income housing
development he helped fund. Ben Ali hosted a dinner for
al-Qadhafi on August 4 with Tunisian luminaries and African
Ambassadors. While in Tunisia, al-Qadhafi met with civil
society representatives, stressing the importance of African
and Arab unity. He reportedly was dismissive of the proposed
Union for the Mediterranean, saying the African Union and the
Arab Maghreb Union would be better vehicles for cooperation.
End Summary.


2. (C) Upon the Libyan leader's arrival in Tunis on August 3
on a four-day visit, he was met by President Zine El Abidine
Ben Ali, Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, the head of the
Chamber of Advisors, the head of the Chamber of Deputies, and
various government officials. President Ben Ali received
al-Qadhafi on August 4. According to the Tunis Afrique Press
Agency, the official government news agency, President Ben
Ali expressed appreciation about the completion of Omar El
Mokhtar city, a suburb of Tunis where al-Qadhafi donated
money for low-income housing. (Note: The area was re-named
for a Libyan martyr after al-Qadhafi's donation.) Al-Qadhafi
later attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the site with
President Ben Ali on August 5 and received a tour.
Al-Qadhafi and Ben Ali also discussed a Sfax-Tripoli freeway
and a joint-power project. The two leaders also discussed
ways to reenergize the Arab Maghreb Union and a range of
other regional and international issues.


3. (C) Al-Qadhafi spoke to Tunisian intellectuals and the
Minister of Culture and Heritage Preservation Mohamed el Aziz
Ben Achour on August 4. The Egyptian Ambassador, who was
present at Ben Ali's dinner on August 4 and the meeting with
intellectuals, commented that the only substance of note was
with respect to al-Qadhafi's comments on the Mediterranean
Union. In his various meetings, al-Qadhafi stressed the
importance of African and Arab unity, and dismissed the
proposed Union for the Mediterranean, saying the Arab Maghreb
Union would be a better vehicle for cooperation. According
to press reports, al-Qadhafi opined, "In my opinion it (the
Union for the Mediterranean) is simply a new colonization
attempt...if they (the Europeans) really are our friends then
they should compensate us, so that colonization will not
happen once again." "Libya did not accept the Union for the
Mediterranean and (did not accept) to violate the African
summit's resolutions or contribute to the division of
Africa," he concluded.


4. (C) While in Tunisia, al-Qadhafi also met with civil
society representatives. According to press reports, on
August 4, a group of female activists spoke to al-Qadhafi
about the situation of women in Africa and African and Arab
unity. On August 5, Libya's Secretary of the General
People's Committee for External Communication and
International Cooperation Abderrahmen Chalgham met with
Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdelwaheb Abdallah.
The two discussed bilateral relations and cooperation.


5. (C) President Ben Ali hosted a dinner in al-Qadhafi's
honor on August 4. Those in attendance included senior
members of the ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD),
Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, the Secretaries General of
several loyal opposition parties, and the ambassadors of
Maghreb and African countries accredited in Tunisia. On
August 5, while at the National Institute of Applied Science
and Technology, al-Qadhafi received an honorary doctorate in
Arab-Islamic Civilization from Carthage University.
President Ben Ali presided over the ceremony.

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Comment
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6. (C) It is not unprecedented for al-Qadhafi to make
unannounced visits to Tunisia. Asked about the phenomenon,
one Tunisian shrugged, "We're used to it -- that's Qadhafi!"
Conferring the honorary degree seemed to be similarly
last-minute. When EmbOffs tried to contact officials at the
Ministry of Higher Education on another matter on August 4,
we were told that staffers were crashing on the honorary
degree, something al-Qadhafi had reportedly asked for with
little warning. Press reports have indicated that the visit
will last four days, but with al-Qadhafi there is always some
uncertainty, according to informed Tunisians. We will have
further discussions with our contacts about the visit and
report as appropriate. End Comment.
GODEC