MAURITANIA: POLITICAL ROUNDUP FOR THE WEEK OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NOUAKCHOTT 000226 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PHUM KPAO MR SUBJECT: MAURITANIA: POLITICAL ROUNDUP FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 22-26 REF: A. NOUAKCHOTT 219 ¶B. NOUAKCHOTT 220 ¶C. NOUAKCHOTT 222 ¶D. NOUAKCHOTT 221 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Dennis Hankins for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: For the week of March 22-26, Charge visited President Abdallahi in Lemden, and met with FNDD Tawassoul members in Nouakchott. The AU reaffirmed sanctions against Mauritania in the wake of Qadhafi's "mediation" visit. The Iranian Foreign Minister visited Mauritania, while the RFD attempted to make a legal case for the junta's ineligibility in upcoming presidential elections. End summary. ¶2. (C) President Abdallahi visit: Charge visited President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi (at his request) in Lemden March 22 (Refs A and B). ¶3. (C) Meeting with FNDD's Tawassoul: Charge and PolAsst met Tawassoul President Jemil Ould Mansour and Mohamed Lemine Ould Mohamed Moussa March 23 at their request. Mansour emphasized that he was speaking for his own party, not the FNDD as a whole, and came to deliver two main points: (1) His party wanted to "renew its relations with its international partners" and exchange points of view, and (2) Reiterate the strong anti-coup position of his party, rejection of any sanctions that would hurt the Mauritanian population as a whole, and the failure of Qadhafi's "mediation." He lamented the "ambiguous positions" taken by some European countries, and once again praised the USG for its strong anti-coup position. He also noted that "most Arab countries are not democratic," and one of the goals of his party was to solidify an anti-coup position among Arab countries. Comment: The moderate Islamist Tawassoul party is one of the strongest anti-coup forces in the FNDD, and Post has maintained regular contact with them at a lower level. However, this was the first meeting between President Mansour and Charge or Ambassador in quite some time. It is unclear why Mansour chose now to initiate a high-level meeting. Perhaps he wanted to be reassured that Post and Tawassoul would maintain contact in the wake of the Israelis' departure from Mauritania (Tawassoul has consistently called for the Israelis to leave Mauritania). End comment. Ould Mansour told the Charge that the FNDD had decided to take advantage of the Arab League splits following the Doha Conference and Aziz' increasing engagement with Iran to seek a stronger anti-coup message from Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco. Charge asked if that would mean Tawassoul would have to lessen its public support for Hamas in favor of more support for Fattah. Ould Mansour danced around the question, but did voice his view that the new U.S. initiative in the Middle East would help resolve the Palestinain problem. ¶4. (SBU) Aziz begins campaign: General Aziz visited several locales in the south of the country, a move widely regarded as the beginning of his presidential campaign. (Note: Aziz has yet to officially announce his candidacy, though it is a foregone conclusion that he is running. End note.) The visits were the usual staged events of "adoring" crowds waving pictures and banners in support of Aziz. Aziz delivered several speeches, putting forth the usual defenses of his "rectification movement" (AKA coup d'etat) and renewed pledges to fight corruption and mismanagement. He also took the opportunity to belittle the anti-coup FNDD as "a minority not exceeding a dozen people." Charge and PolAsst viewed the preparations for Aziz' passage on the way to seeing President Abdallahi in Lemden. Government vehicles we seen every few miles setting up tents and welcome signs to demonstrate the peoples' "spontaneous" support. At the main exit to Lemden (30 kilometers off the main road),police detoured the Charge around the main village. Abdallahi's staff said the village had been cordoned in half the night before with bus loads of "residents" brought in to welcome the General. When the General learned that the warm welcome include nobody from the NOUAKCHOTT 00000226 002 OF 003 actual village, he cut short what was supposed to be a symbolically important sign of support at Abdallahi's doorstep. ¶5. (SBU) "Passif humanitaire resolved": Aziz visited the southern town of Kaedi on March 25 to provide a "definitive resolution" to the so-called "passif humanitaire" (a phrase used to describe government abuses in the late 80s and early 90s, when Afro-Mauritanians were deported, stripped of their possessions and land, or killed). Aziz pledged to compensate the families of victims, and participated in a group prayer. The FNDD and other anti-coup groups greeted Aziz's "resolution" of the issue with skepticism, asserting that it was a transparent attempt to gain political support in the South ahead of upcoming presidential elections. Post will canvas Afro-Mauritanian and human rights groups over the next week for a detailed report on Mauritanian public response to Aziz' effort to "resolve" this sensitive and complicated issue. ¶6. (C) French military training: A local media outlet (Taqadoumy),citing a source within the French embassy, claimed that 30 French military personnel arrived in Mauritania March 21. The story went on to claim that the French were here to upgrade the presidential security battalion's (BASEP) capabilities and "install listening devices in several critical centers of government." Comment: The French Charge dismissed the story as total fiction (the accompanying photo of troops getting off an Air France 747-400 was obviously not taken in Nouakchott. The story continues a trend in the anti-coup press suggesting French support for Aziz and implicating the French in the bugging of government offices. Press reports during the time of Abdallahi's administration claimed that the Presidential Palace was bugged so Aziz could keep an eye on Abdallahi. End comment. ¶7. (C) AU reaffirms sanctions: The AU Peace and Security Council reaffirmed sanctions against Mauritania March 24, directly contradicting Qadhafi's statements made while in Mauritania that "there are no sanctions." Additionally, the AU took the additional step of announcing that a list of people targeted by the AU sanctions would be drawn up within a month. Comment: The FNDD was obviously worried that the AU would not openly distance itself from Qadhafi's statement. The AU's reaffirmation of sanctions was a key victory for anti-coup forces reversing a week of pessimism. End comment. ¶8. (C) Iranians visit: In another sign of warming Iranian-Mauritanian ties, Iranian Foreign Minister Menouchahr Mouatki arrived in Nouakchott March 24 and met with General Aziz. Mouatki expressed support for the upcoming June 6 presidential elections, and according to official state-run media, the two discussed increased bilateral cooperation in several domains (e.g., health, oil, energy, etc.). Mouatki was accompanied by a large delegation including deputy ministers of agriculture, energy, industry, social affairs, and health. Comment: The post-coup warming of relations between the two Islamic republics continues at a brisk pace. Several media outlets have reported that an Iranian consulate or embassy will be opened soon, though this is unconfirmed. In any event, the timing of the visit works out well for Iran, coming on the heels of Morocco breaking diplomatic relations. Presumably Iran would like to set up another outpost in North Africa to offset the loss of Morocco. Likewise, Aziz is desperate for international support wherever he can find it. Now that the Israelis are gone, Iran and Libya are only too happy to provide that support and expand their influence in the region. End comment. ¶9. (SBU) Daddah makes legal case for military ineligibility: RFD President Ahmed Ould Daddah made a legal argument for the ineligibility of High State Council members in the upcoming June 6 presidential election (Ref C). ¶10. (C) Difficulty obtaining visas: The military-led government is delaying issuance of visas to European and NOUAKCHOTT 00000226 003 OF 003 American citizens (Ref D). Post contacts at Arab embassies in Nouakchott, however, report no delays or changes in obtaining visas from the Mauritanian government. ¶11. (C) Meeting with FNDD co-leader: Charge and PolOff met on March 25 with FNDD co-leader and UFP President Mohamed Ould Maouloud. Ould Maouloud mentioned an FNDD delegation headed by National Assembly President Messaoud Ould Boulkheir would like to meet with high-level Washington contacts to raise awareness about the Mauritanian crisis. Ould Maouloud said Ould Boulkheir would like to be invited by the U.S. Congress. Charge provided the FNDD with the contact information for the Senate and House Africa Sub-Committees as well as the House Democracy Assistance Commission (that had visited Mauritania shortly before the coup). Charge also said he would advise the Department of the desire to send this high level delegation. Comment: Ould Boulkheir, though not an English speaker, is an effective and engaging representative for Mauritania's democratic movement. Post believes a visit would help bolster FNDD influence in Mauritania. Because of his institutional role at the head of the National Assembly, Ould Boulkheir would prefer an invite from the legislative branch. Should he go to the U.S., Post would recommend senior-level meetings in the Department and at the NSC. HANKINS