OIC SYG PRAISES PRESIDENT,S CAIRO SPEECH, URGES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000266 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/ARP, IO, EAP E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/18/2014 TAGS: KISL PGOV PHUM PREL CH SA SUBJECT: OIC SYG PRAISES PRESIDENT,S CAIRO SPEECH, URGES "MORE ASSERTIVE" STANCE ON THE UIGHURS, HOPES TO MEET SECRETARY AT UNGA REF: JEDDAH 0257 Classified By: CG Martin R. Quinn for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) During July 13 meeting with Charge (Ambassador Erdman),Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu praised the President,s Cairo speech and the new tone set by his administration toward the Muslim world; hoped to see the Secretary at this fall's UNGA; and expressed his desire to work with us and others at the UN on a broadly acceptable resolution on defamation of religion. He also expressed disappointment that the U.S. had not reacted more strongly to Chinese violence against Muslim Uighurs. Charge said that we had publicly expressed concern about violence against the Uighurs and that, with China, quiet dialogue on human rights was often more effective than sharp public criticism. On a defamation of religion resolution, Charge noted the "no"s and abstentions had outweighed "yes" votes at the 2008 UNG; said this reflected genuine and growing concern that such a resolution could be used to justify limits on freedom of speech and religion; and urged that any new resolution focus positively on the need for tolerance, mutual respect, and religious freedom. End Summary. OIC SYG PRAISES PRESIDENT'S CAIRO SPEECH, HOPES FOR MEETING WITH SECRETARY AT UNGA -------------- ¶2. (C) In a July 13 meeting with Charge, OIC Secretary General Ihsanoglu praised the President's Cairo speech, the tone set by the new administration, and the President's support for a fresh approach to the Muslim world. He underscored the OIC's wish to see the appointment of a new U.S. special envoy to the OIC, noting the U.S. was aware of what his organization was looking for in such an envoy. He also hoped it would be possible to meet with the Secretary on the margins of the UN General Assembly this fall. OIC HAD HOPED FOR MORE ROBUST U.S. RESPONSE TO VIOLENCE AGAINST UIGHURS -------------- ¶3. (C) Ihsanoglu expressed disappointment that the U.S. had not taken a "more assertive" stance in the face of Chinese government violence against Uighurs in China. He specifically requested more USG assistance to facilitate access of the religious minority to mosques, which have been closed (reftel). Charge told OIC Secretary General that the U.S. had expressed concern over the situation, in response to the violence. While noting that he was not an expert on the issue, he said we were looking at the situation in the context of a government using violence against its own citizens, rather than through a religious prism per se. The U.S. supported freedom of worship and minority rights as a matter of principle, Charge added, and almost certainly had covered these issues in its annual Human Rights and Religious Freedom reports. ¶4. (C) Ihsanoglu said he was worried that the U.S. "regularly reports on human rights violations though does not always take action." Charge said he would convey this concern to Washington, while noting that it was also true there were times, in dealing with human rights and religious issues, when "quiet diplomacy," pursued over time, was more effective than sharp public criticism. Charge pointed to the 1975 Helsinki Agreement, which endorsed human rights issues as a legitimate subject for bilateral discussion (i.e., not "interference in internal affairs"),as an example of an approach that over time had led to concrete progress in addressing human rights concerns in the Soviet Union. IHSANOLGU FIRST ELECTED HEAD OF OIC -------------- ¶5. (C) Ihsanoglu discussed the development of the OIC as an institution since its inception in 1969, emphasizing its ability to move its 57 member countries on different issues. He said he was only the ninth OIC Secretary General, was now serving his second term, and was the first "elected" leader of the organization. For his first term beginning in 2005, he had originally been appointed, having been nominated by then Turkish Foreign Minister Gul. Since there had been no JEDDAH 00000266 002 OF 002 consensus as to who should lead the organization at the end of his term, he had recommended a democratic electoral process and had been elected in 2009 to serve a second four-year term. OIC-SUPPORTED UNGA RESOLUTION ON DEFAMATION OF RELIGION PROBLEMATIC -------------- ¶6. (C) Charge, noting he had served as the senior advisor for the Middle East with US Mission USUN during the 2008 General Assembly, recalled OIC efforts, along with those of Egypt and Pakistan, to pass the Defamation of Religions resolution. While their efforts had succeeded, it was notable that the combined "no"s and abstentions during the 2008 vote had outweighed the positive votes. This outcome reflected genuine and growing concern in much of the world that governments would find justification in this kind of resolution to limit freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Ihsanoglu dismissed this idea, arguing that governments that took this kind of action did not need to rely on a UN resolution. Nonetheless, it was important to establish that insults and defamation against Islam were not acceptable, and the OIC wanted to work with the U.S. and others to find suitable language for a new resolution at the 2009 UNGA. Charge dryly noted that we had heard the same message last year, but only very minor changes had been made and the resolution in the end had contained highly problematic language. OIC SHOULD FOCUS ON POSITIVE RESOLUTION ENCOURAGING TOLERANCE, MUTUAL RESPECT -------------- ¶7. (C) Charge said the U.S., as a multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-faith society, found insults to any religion or group offensive. Without tolerance and mutual respect, U.S. society simply would not work. That said, we had an equally strong commitment to freedom of speech and a very high legal standard as to what constituted "incitement." Namely, there had to be an "imminent" likelihood of violence stemming from inciteful or defamatory language. Under the circumstances, rather than focusing on "defamation," where it would be hard to find common ground, it would be far better to have a positive resolution that focused on the need for religious freedom, tolerance and mutual respect. Ihsanoglu seemed to take the point but avoided a direct response, noting only that the OIC wished to cooperate on this year's resolution. RESPONSE TO MUSLIM RADICALS--HELP THE MODERATES -------------- -- ¶8. (C) Ihsanoglu expressed regret that Muslim "radicalization" over the past few years "had moved from being an anomaly to presenting a huge setback in the development of modern Islam." He complained that Mahmoud Abbas was "trying so hard" to maintain his credibility with Palestinians, but needed "a push from the U.S. to help him." The situation with the Palestinians, he said, was one in which Arab sons no longer believe in their fathers and strongly urged "America to talk seriously to Israel." Charge said the U.S. agreed on the need to support Palestinian moderates, especially Abbas, so there would be a Palestinian partner able to negotiate peace with Israel. In passing, he also commented disparagingly about Iranian President Ahmadinejad's particularly negative behavior at the 2008 OIC Summit in Dakar. ¶9. (U) Ambassador Erdman has cleared this cable. QUINN