MAURITANIANS DIVIDED OVER SETTLEMENT OF "PASSIF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 NOUAKCHOTT 000237 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/01/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM MR SUBJECT: MAURITANIANS DIVIDED OVER SETTLEMENT OF "PASSIF HUMANITAIRE" Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Dennis Hankins for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Almost twenty years after the "passif humanitaire" -- the state orchestrated persecution of Afro-Mauritanians that resulted in summary executions, arbitrary detentions, torture, layoffs, expropriations and deportations -- the Mauritanian government, led by junta leader General Abdel Aziz, recognized the abuses and "turned the page" during a ceremony in memory of the victims. The March 25 memorial in Kaedi opened General Aziz's two-day visit to the Brakna and the Gorgol regions in what many described as the beginning of his electoral campaign. The framework agreement for the resolution of the "passif humanitaire" was signed the same day in Nouakchott with 244 victims, all widows and children of murdered military officers. Nevertheless, the agreement's specifics remained undisclosed and victims' associations privy to the modalities described it as a "work in progress." While the junta worked with the Committee for Victims of Repression (COVIR),other victims and human rights organizations were excluded. COVIR is satisfied (albeit aware Aziz is playing politics with the actions) but the others resent the regime's unwillingness to form an independent commission and to bring to justice those responsible. They feel justice cannot be made by those who committed the crimes. Furthermore, there are little guarantees that the junta will deliver its promises after the election. End summary. -------------- COVIR AND THE JUNTA -------------- ¶2. (C) PolOff met March 30 with Sy Abou, president of COVIR -- an umbrella organization that groups seven NGOs representing victims of the "passif humanitaire." Abou was accompanied by Gaide Abdoul Bacar and Sidibe Abou, vice-president and secretary general of the Circle of Military Survivors (COREMI). Abou and the others declared themselves satisfied with the settlement. They stated that the regime had adopted a five point plan designed by COVIR that called for recognition, apologies, restitution, remembrance, and reconciliation. They explained that COVIR wanted the government to recognize the events and apologize first before they offered the victims any restitution. ¶3. (C) Abou said that, after stalled negotiations under the government of President Abdallahi, General Aziz had contacted COVIR stating he was keen on settling the issue quickly. Aziz charged his chief of staff, Colonel Dia Adama Oumar, with starting negotiations with the victims. According to Abou, COVIR dealt directly with Dia. (Bio Note: Colonel Dia is an Afro-Mauritanian himself. Among Afro-Mauritanians he is a contentious figure who, during the height of the abuses of the late 80's did not rebel against his military leaders but, at the same time, did his best to get potential victims out of harm's way and into Senegal.) They traveled to the valley region to consult victims about a potential solution. (Note: The valley region is located along the Senegal river between Rosso and Selibaby. End note.) He said victims unanimously agreed with the plan. Imams and marabouts were also consulted. Abou stated that General Aziz had the political will to settle the matter and that everything had been done in the most transparent and consensual manner. ¶4. (C) Many questions about the modalities of the agreement remain unanswered. Thousands of victims were persecuted during the "passif humanitiare" but Abou said that, for the moment, only the widows and children of 380 officers who were killed would receive compensation. Abou explained the government will provide them with land, pensions, health care and education as well as a monetary compensation according to the victim's rank. Nevertheless, Abou could not provide further details and said the settlement was still "a work in progress." According to Abou, the regime said it would also reintegrate those civil servants, soldiers and policemen who lost their jobs or provide them with pensions but was still NOUAKCHOTT 00000237 002 OF 004 working on the specifics. -------------- WE JUST WANT TO MOVE ON -------------- ¶5. (C) Abou stated COVIR's motivations to settle with the junta were not political. He explained the victims had waited too long and just wanted the government to deal with the problem and move on. "We would have settled with the devil if he had been the one in power and willing to address this issue," he intimated. He recognized that Aziz' motives were purely political, but nonetheless saw the need to seize the opportunity to gain a formal apology when it presented itself. Comment: On March 30, La Tribune quoted Abou as saying that now that Aziz has solved the passif humanitaire "other presidential candidates fear elections because they do not have results as impressive as Aziz's." This statement is an obvious politicization of the "passif humanitaire" and casts a doubt on Abou's motivations. End comment. ¶6. (C) PolOff asked Abou why some victims were not satisfied with the settlement. He became agitated and started screaming at PolOff "who are those people?; tell me who those people are!" PolOff stated they were quoted in the press and he responded "those people are not even victims, they are ideologues, activists, people who have political and intellectual agendas." According to him, COVIR "had a specific grievance and wanted the problem addressed whereas the others are in for the long run, as a matter of principle," he said. ¶7. (C) Abou explained COVIR "was after the state, not individuals." He said the government and the administration were responsible for what happened and that the real villain was now exiled in Qatar. (Note: He was referring to former President Maaouiya Ould Taya, who remains in exile in Qatar. End note.) He stated COVIR wanted to achieve social peace, not create a new problem by launching legal actions against individuals. -------------- SECOND CLASS CITIZENS -------------- ¶8. (C) Though in agreement with Abou, COREMI Vice-President Gaide Abdoul Bacar wore his resentment towards the government like an open wound. He stated he told General Aziz that settling the "passif humanitaire" was not enough, that he also had to "put a stop to everyday human rights violations in the valley." When PolOff asked Abdoul Bacar what he meant, Abou changed the topic. When pressed further, Abdoul Bacar stated that in the valley Afro-Mauritanians did not have access to the civil registry and could not obtain birth certificates and identity cards, which made them ineligible to vote. PolOff asked him if he was talking about the refugees and those who returned from Senegal on their own initiative and he said "no, I'm talking about the Afro-Mauritanian population in the valley." A strong argument erupted between the three men and they finally agreed "yes, every Afro-Mauritanian in the valley." ¶9. (C) Abdoul Bacar went on to explain that Afro-Mauritanian populations had been also stripped of their land by the Moors. Abou corrected him and said, "you mean the state, not the Moors." Another argument ensued. Abou started to explain that these expropriations were still taking place. At this point, somebody opened the conference room door and Abou took the opportunity to finalize the meeting. -------------- WAVE OF CONDEMNATION -------------- ¶10. (C) The settlement has been rejected by victims' associations and human rights groups. Aminetou Mint El NOUAKCHOTT 00000237 003 OF 004 Moctar, president of the Association of Women Heads of Household (AFCF) criticized the junta for rushing a settlement and said the High State Council (HSC) cannot be "both a judge and an interested party." She called for the creation of an independent commission composed of victims and human rights groups and requested that those responsible be brought to justice. Boubacar Messaoud, president of SOS esclaves, echoed her complaints. ¶11. (C) The associations that compose the Forum of National Human Rights Organizations (FONADH) -- including six victims' associations -- also called for an investigation to identify the authors of the crimes and stated that the military is in a bad position to resolve the "passif humanitaire" because many high-level officers, including Aziz, were implicated in the events. ¶12. (C) In an article titled "Apologies by Proxy and an Invitation to Forget" newspaper La Tribune highlighted how General Aziz's Kaedi speech "exhorted the nation to forget and turn the page." ¶13. (C) Other groups excluded from the settlement condemned it. Victims' association OCVIDH demands "truth and justice." The Mauritanian African Forces of Liberation (FLAM) said in a press release that the Kaedi speech "instrumentalized the difficult question of the "passif humanitaire." Comment: Many of these groups have been accused of refusing a settlement as a way of perpetuating their existence. End comment. -------------- THE PASSIF HUMANITAIRE REMAINS UNSOLVED -------------- ¶14. (C) PolOff met March 31 with Ba Mamadou Moctar, representative of the Police Victims Association and with Sy Mamadou Oumar and Sy Mamadou Youssouf of the Association of Civil Political Prisoners that Survived Torture (CRADPOCIT). These men stated that the settlement had been neither transparent nor consensual. ¶15. (C) Oumar said that CRADPOCIT had resigned from COVIR. He denied that all victims had been consulted and stated that COVIR and the junta representative had traveled to the valley in the utmost secrecy. He said that even the final settlement had not been published and that the signature of the framework agreement had been held in secrecy. For Oumar, the agreement targeted the widows because they are so destitute and eager to settle they would have signed anything. He stated the actions in favor of the victims are not well defined and that there are no guarantees that the government will deliver its promises beyond elections. The men accused COVIR president Abou of settling for money. They said Abou has a real estate business that would be involved in land transactions for the settlement with the widows. ¶16. (C) Going forward, COVIR will continue promoting the consensual plan proposed during the Consultation Session of 1997 and propose an independent commission. PolOff asked him how difficult it would be to continue now that Aziz had declared the question settled and he responded that this was not the first time they had to deal with "a reluctant dictator." ¶17. (C) Moctar from the Police Victims Association said that his group was split between those who rejected the settlement and those who wanted to accept it. He stated that many felt this was the widows' only opportunity to get compensation and they did not want to spoil it. ¶18. (C) Comment: The resolution of the passif humanitaire in a period of socio-political crisis and before an election comes across as a "quick fix," a political manipulation of a very complicated and delicate question. The junta's approach was not consensual as it worked exclusively with a few victims' groups. Also, the lack of transparency and NOUAKCHOTT 00000237 004 OF 004 vagueness of the terms is striking and provides no guarantees the government will deliver after the election. Aziz's motivation for resolving the "passif humanitaire" his own way is not only political, but also an attempt to "turn the page" and protect the military from prosecution. ¶19. (C) Comment Continued: The passif humanitaire is an incredibly sensitive and deep issue in Mauritania. The response to Aziz' initiative echoes the positions we had found in the field before the coup. Afro-Mauritanian politicians in the Valley, such as the mayor of Kaedi, tended to want to turn the page, build on the better (but imperfect) access for their community, and avoid reigniting ethnic problems by dredging up the ghosts of the past. National level human rights groups and the Afro-Mauritanian diaspora held to a "no impunity" agenda calling for, at minimum, a "truth and reconciliation" accounting by the perpetrators of past abuses. During last year's National Dialogue on Refugees organized by President Abdallahi. the passif humanitaire proved an issue too difficult to resolve -- passed on to future consultation. At the time, the Abdallahi government quietly advocated for the resolution adopted by General Aziz (calling upon Islamic practice of asking forgiveness and offering compensation/blood money). Abdallahi was unable to find Afro-Mauritanian consensus then. Aziz decided to act unilaterally with a hand-picked partner representing some of the victims -- but certainly he did not resolve the problem. HANKINS