WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS, JUNTA STYLE

C O N F I D E N T I A L NOUAKCHOTT 000001

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D COPY DELETING SECSTATE AS INFO ADDEE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2018
TAGS: EAID ECON MR PREF
SUBJECT: WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS, JUNTA STYLE

REF: NOUAKCHOTT 683

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Dennis Hankins for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d)


1. (C) Summary. Since the August 6 military coup, little
has filled the state-run media besides promises that the
self-proclaimed Chief of State Ould Abdel Aziz will make life
better for all Mauritanians and public declarations of
support for the junta. In an effort to sway public support,
Mauritania,s High State Council (HSC) has attempted to
create the public image of coming to the assistance of the
poor and down trodden. This image is based upon little
premise and many unfulfilled promises. End summary.

Smoke and Mirrors
--------------


2. (SBU) In the face of international rejection, the junta
is attempting to win popular support by portraying itself as
coming to the aid of the neediest of Mauritanians. For
example, during a recent public meeting in Kiffa town, Assaba
region, the self-declared president reportedly stated: "We
(the junta) have not come for power, we came to defend the
interests of the country." Their methodology to date has
been to: (1) make promises and take no action; (2) conduct
small-scale assistance projects with high-level media
coverage; and (3) take credit for the actions of others.


3. (SBU) The military authority's most popular tactic to win
public support is to make promises of a better life for its
citizens. Days after usurping power, the junta sent a
parliamentary delegation to visit returnee camps in the Rosso
area. The event was highly publicized, and the junta made
general declarations that assisting these returnees, who were
largely victims of ethnic discrimination during the "Passif
Humanitaire" crisis in 1989 through 1992, would be a top
priority for the new leadership. However according to human
rights activists, the situation in the returnee camps has not
really changed except that now there are a few hundred new
returnees, and in a recent symbolic gesture by the junta, two
of the more than 5,000 returnees have recently received their
national identity papers. Without papers, returnees cannot
travel and have difficulties sending their children to
Mauritanian schools (Reftel).


4. (SBU) The average Mauritanian will say the quality of life
in Mauritania has not significantly changed since August 6.
Some credit the junta with the decrease in gasoline and
cement prices, however they will also say that little
progress has been made to provide greater economic
possibilities, better healthcare and education as they would
like.


5. (SBU) At the junta's December 25 cabinet meeting, it was
decided to create two new Nouakchott-based hospitals: a
Women's and Children's hospital and a Cardiology hospital.
This announcement in government media included a blaring
headline in French, "The Chief of State orders the government
to ensure the lowering of health costs," when in effect, the
article only mentions the anticipated creation of the two new
hospitals and nothing about lowered costs for health service
delivery.


6. (C) The public health sector in Mauritania is neither
developed nor strong. 2008 was the planned start of
increased decentralization of public health service delivery,
with the creation of department-level hospitals instead of
the existing regional hospitals. That decentralization,
however, has been slow to start due to lack of resources.
The National Hospital's facilities are antiquated and lacking
in basic necessities. The national HIV and AIDS treatment
center is reportedly struggling to obtain the medical
supplies and medications it needs to continue to treat the
nation's HIV positive population. It is unknown what donor
support, if any, these new initiatives will receive. Israel,
for example, is already launching a new oncology hospital,
and Qatar is temporarily sponsoring the operations of a
regional hospital in Boutelimit.
Small-scale but well publicized assistance
-------------- --------------


7. (SBU) To date, the military administration has
implemented numerous small-scale projects about which
government media has publicized. Some of these initiatives
have been more successful than others.


8. (C) On December 3, coup leader Abdel Aziz presided over a
water pumping ceremony in Tintane village. The state run
newspaper Horizon ran the story on its font page with the
headline, "The Visit of Hope." In 2007, Tintane suffered
significant flooding for which the Abdallahi Administration
did little to alleviate. The junta's pumping of the Tintane
water was symbolic for many, however an eye witness reported
to USAID rep that the water pumping effort was not successful
because the water was simply pumped from one location in
Tintane to another, without addressing the larger
infrastructure problem.


9. (SBU) The government newspaper reported on December 9
that thanks to General Abdel Aziz, the Assaba regional
hospital received a dialysis machine and a CT scanner. The
article did not include details relative to staff training
for equipment operation and maintenance. The media
subsequently discussed the fact that the dialysis machine was
procured outside of normal channels through a company run by
an Aziz relative and that the machine cost more than standard
cost and was delivered with less capability than promised.


10. (SBU) The week of December 10, the junta reportedly
distributed 14,000 tons of rice to families in the
economically disadvantaged suburb area around Nouakchott.
However, independent on-line news source Taqadoumy quickly
reported that the rice was on the verge of expiration, only
two weeks after its distribution. Also this month, the
junta distributed seeds and farming implements to a handful
of farmers in the Rosso area on December 11.


11. (SBU) On December 15, the junta announced that it will
provide 35 of the more than 5,000 returnees from Senegal with
a 15-day veterinary training and skills development.
Comment: Although this is a positive step, it is a drop in
the bucket of returnee skills training and resource needs.
End comment.


12. (SBU) In a December 15 article titled, &The Great
Manipulation8, independent newspaper L'Eveil reported that
four days prior, the junta convened citizens from Kaedi
department, Gorgol region, to attend a workshop on community
development needs, however the event was instead a ceremony
to endorse the junta leader and to publicly declare the
department's pro-coup standing.


13. (SBU) On the Tabaski holiday, the junta's prime minister
provided one "boubou," the traditional men's outfit, to each
of the prisoners at Nouakchott's central prison.

You did what???
--------------


14. (C) In several instances, the military administration
has been taking credit where credit is not necessarily due.
For example, the December 16 issue of Horizon reported that a
Mauritanian delegation to the United Nations, recent Climate
Change conference in Poland successfully negotiated $8
million USD for various climate change initiatives in
Mauritania. However UNDP-Mauritania informed USAID rep that
the article was incorrect, and that it was rather a new $5
million USD UNDP-funded climate change project that was
announced at the conference. This is a project that has been
planned since 2006 and will be fully managed by UNDP, not the
junta. The article also featured photographs of the
Mauritanian delegate with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon
and French Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo.
According to World Bank-Mauritania staff persons who were
following the event, these photographs are merely hallway
shots meant to give credibility to the regime and a false
perception of actual proceedings of the conference.

15. (SBU) On December 14, Horizons ran a front page story on
the creation of a national fund for local development, "Fonds
d'Assistance et d'Intervention pour le Developpement (FAID)."
According to the article, the FAID was conceived by the
Junta chair Aziz following public meetings he attended in
various locations around the country. The article does not
mention if and how this initiative will be funded and that
similar national development funds have existed in previous
years under different names.


16. (C) Also this month, Government media reported that on
December 17, the National Assembly voted to modify the 2009
national budget and allocated 884 million Ouguiyas ($3.4
million USD) for a rural development vocational training
program, two billion Ouguiyas ($7.7 million USD) for the next
presidential election, and one billion ($3.8 million USD) for
eradication of the vestiges of slaveQ According to
Horizons newspaper, thesQhanges were possible due to a
reduction in the government operations line items. Comment:
It is difficult to understand how funds could be re-allocated
in this manner. Actual government budget figures are not
available, and IMF and World Bank representatives believe
that what little budget information is available, is not
accurate. End comment.

Only time will tell
--------------


17. (C) Comment: There continues to be a great need for
humanitarian and development assistance in Mauritania, and it
will grow. The European Union, Mauritania,s largest donor,
will wait until February before making a determination on
sanctions. Until then, it is business as usual for on-going
projects, while new projects remain frozen. If the European
Union and other donors apply sanctions, the junta will need
to make a more concerted effort to provide evidence that it
is doing more for the Mauritanian people than empty promises
and symbolic micro-projects. Money will be tighter, and
public interest will suffer. Donors have indicated that,
even in cases where the political decision is made to
continue or initiate programs, the lack of financial
transparency in government accounts will create significant
doubts. Whereas before the coup, some donors (notably the
European Union) were prepared to expand budget support
assistance based on significantly improved government
financial transparency, funding will now likely either be
channeled through expensive international contractors or be
subject to extensive accounting oversight. End comment.
HANKINS