Six Months Of Enhanced Engagement In The Comoros

UNCLAS ANTANANARIVO 000019

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/E, AF/FO, AND AF/PDPA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID ECON EFIN CN
SUBJECT: Six Months Of Enhanced Engagement In The Comoros


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Since July, 2008, Post has had a dedicated
Comoros Officer spending three-quarters of his time on extended TDYs
in the Comoros. This cable highlights the positive reaction from
the Comoros and improved efforts to pursue Mission objectives. END
SUMMARY.

U.S. Presence "Promotes Stability"
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2. (SBU) Former President Azali told us plainly, "U.S. presence in
the Comoros promotes stability." Although he took power in a coup
in 1999, Azali is widely respected for reuniting the country then
peacefully stepping aside after President Sambi's election in 2006.
Echoing this view, Foreign Minister Jaffar told AF/E Director Knight
that the presence of an American diplomat and expected embassy
reopening "moves us from a dream to hope." An American professor
active in the Comoros since the 1960s welcomed the new U.S. policy
of engagement, emphasizing that for Comorans, the United States
represents possibility and opportunity. He lamented the growing
influence of Iran and "other interests" in the Comoros in the last
decade and said many Comoran elders share his views. In particular,
the professor encouraged our efforts, included at the American
Corner and under a USAID-education project, to promote English. He
said for Comorans, English language skills are viewed as opening a
new world of opportunities to improve their livelihoods at home and
abroad.


3. (SBU) As the Ambassador, Comoros Officer, and other Mission
personnel have traveled to communities throughout the three islands,
sharing our ambition to reopen a modest embassy, we have met
universal appreciation. Official and private Comorans felt
"abandoned" by the embassy closure in the mid-1990s and strongly
believe that renewed American engagement bodes well for the
country's future.

Bilateral Relations
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4. (SBU) The "Bilateral Commission" established by AF A/S Frazer
and President Sambi is taken quite seriously by the GOC, who greatly
appreciated the welcome they received at the second session in
Washington in September, 2008. The Comoros Officer has offered GOC
officials opportunity for dialogue, follow-up, and working level
discussion on the many issues on the bilateral agenda, from food
security, to education, health, and security cooperation. Via the
Comoros Officer, GOC officials in many sectors have ready access to
their American counterparts at the Embassy in Antananarivo, at
regional offices, at the Department, and other interested agencies.
A key example was Post's effort to inform Washington about GOC
initiatives to qualify for IMF Emergency Post Conflict Assistance,
with was approved with United States support in December, 2008.


5. (SBU) The Comoros Officer also had the opportunity to advance
the Mission objective to consolidate stable democracy and promote
reconciliation in the Comoros in the African Union-led effort to
organize an "inter-island dialogue." Though this process is
presently stalled by Comoran political maneuvering, the African
Union, French, and UN diplomats praised the United States'
engagement on delivering strong messages to the Union government and
the opposition to reach compromise for the good of the country.
Union government and opposition leaders alike were candid in
acknowledging the legitimacy and weight of United States
participation in this effort. That said, President Sambi is moving
forward with a constitutional referendum and has announced his
desire to extend his mandate one year until 2011; there are limits
to what our enhanced engagement can accomplish.

Public Diplomacy
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6. (SBU) Replacing short and intermittent visits with longer,
three-weeks-per-month TDYs has created time for a more robust public
diplomacy program in the Comoros, taking advantage in particular of
a dynamic American Corner in Moroni frequented by hundreds of young
Comorans each week. The Comoros Officer has supplemented events by
the Ambassador and other visiting Embassy officials with numerous
outreach activities. We conducted multiple "Islam in America"
events to mark Ramadan as well as several events on the U.S.
presidential election. Hundreds of Comorans readily turn up for
these events, eager to learn more and in particular to actively
participate asking questions about the United States. Attendees at
the American Corner asked for repeat events at the main square in
Moroni, which they organized, and where over 200 elders, community
leaders, and other Comorans turned up for an extended presentation
and question/answer session with the Comoros Officer. Extended
staff time in the Comoros has also offered opportunities to reach
the half of the population who live on the islands of Moheli and
Anjouan - remote islands in an already remote country. In short,
Comorans are eager for contact with Americans and the new Comoros
Officer position allows us to reach many moderate and receptive
Muslims in this poor country of some 700,000 people.

U.S. Mission Management
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7. (SBU) The dedicated Comoros Officer position has allowed
increased and more in-depth Post reporting on the Comoros, covering
a wide range of topics including: political reconciliation,
France's efforts on the Mayotte issue, Iran in the Comoros,
challenges for economic development, the investment climate, human
rights issues, and the interests of other diplomatic and
international missions.


8. (SBU) Post has a critical mass of activities in the Comoros that
benefit from day-to-day oversight by the Comoros Officer in Moroni.
In recent months, on-the-ground coordination with Combined-Joint
Task Force - Horn of Africa Civil Affairs teams numbering over 20
men and women has been greatly improved; we participate in each
others' events, meet together with Comoran officials, and work
through challenges. The Comoros Officer is also the "American face"
for the USAID teacher-training project, managed by a locally hired
coordinator and funded at USD 500,000 over the next two years. Our
education partners and the public in general more readily identify
this program with the United States by virtue of official American
participation in events such as workshops and project launches; the
Comoros Officer also serves as the eyes and ears for USAID project
managers based in Antananarivo. The Comoros Officer will play a
similar role for a two-year USD 350,000 microfinance project.
Beyond our major initiatives, extended TDYs in the Comoros have
improved management and impact of the Ambassador's Special Self-Help
Program - which tripled in size this year -- as well as creating an
opportunity to propose a project for the Ambassador's Cultural
Preservation Fund.

Future Outlook
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9. (SBU) Once Department approvals are in place, we expect the GOC
to actively facilitate our efforts to reopen a U.S. diplomatic
facility in the Comoros. Our Comoran counterparts view the embassy
reopening as an acknowledgement that the country is relevant and on
the right track, and our influence is correspondingly large. With
plans for a permanent officer based in the Comoros as of the 2009
summer transfer season, Post expects to build on our successful
first year of intensified engagement in the Comoros. The top
deliverable would be the return of the Peace Corps to the Comoros,
always at the top of President Sambi's -- and virtually every other
Comoran official's -- list of priorities.

MARQUARDT