MAURITANIA: POLITICAL ROUNDUP FOR THE WEEK OF MAY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NOUAKCHOTT 000321

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/06/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM
SUBJECT: MAURITANIA: POLITICAL ROUNDUP FOR THE WEEK OF MAY
3-7

REF: A. NOUAKCHOTT 315

B. NOUAKCHOTT 312

Classified By: Ambassador Mark Boulware for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: This week in Nouakchott the authorities
surprised everybody by authorizing protests. Demonstrations
were overall peaceful except for two incidents of violence by
FNDD and RFD supporters against the journalist who published
the Ould Daddah interview and an Aziz supporter. Mauritanian
FNDD supporters occupied the Mauritanian Embassy in Paris and
switched presidential portraits. The Senegalese declared
themselves interested in continuing mediation efforts and
extradited the leader of a drug-trafficking network to
Mauritania. General Aziz became president of a new pro-coup
party that many compare to President Taya's monolithic PRDS
one-party system. The U.S. Embassy and FNDD were under
verbal attack following RFD president Ahmed Ould Daddah's
accusations of Embassy funding, and the FNDD responded by
accusing French intelligence agents of interfering in
Mauritanian politics through its "neo-colonial mafia." The
AU's Peace and Security Council met to discuss Mauritania,
while the UN Security Council issued a President Statement
strongly condemning recent coup d'etats in Africa, including
Mauritania's. End summary.


2. (U) FNDD and RFD mobilize for press freedom: On the
occasion of International World Press Day on May 3, the FNDD
and the RFD organized a joint protest in front of
state-controlled TV Mauritania to denounce "the confiscation
of public media by General Aziz." Police set up a security
cordon in front of the building but did not repress the
demonstration. The demonstration was covered in Al Jazeera's
nightly "Maghreb Roundup" broadcast.


3. (C) President Wade declares himself neutral and
Senegalese mediation continues: At the May 2 opening of the
first Inter-African Mauritanian - Senegalese Islamic Forum,
Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade denied that he had taken
sides on the Mauritanian conflict. He stressed that he was
on the side of the Mauritanian people and was disposed to
helping Mauritania find a solution to the crisis. The
Senegalese showed a willingness to continue negotiations (Ref
A).


4. (U) Jean Ping issues press release: On April 30,
President of the African Union Commission Jean Ping issued a
statement saying that he "continues to closely monitor the
Mauritanian situation." This release follows the visit to
Nouakchott, two weeks ago, of Secretary Ali Triki,
representative of the President of the African Union and the
Commissioner for Peace and Security Ramtane Lamamra. In what
many Mauritanians perceive as a softening of the AU position,
Ping stated that he "encourages Mauritanian actors to
finalize bringing their positions closer through an inclusive
gesture, respecting the country's constitution and animated
by a sincere desire to find a consensual solution to the
crisis."


5. (C) Senegal extradites drug dealer to Mauritania: On
April 30, Senegalese authorities extradited to Nouakchott
Megan Eric Walter (AKA Eric M'Benga),alleged leader of one
of the biggest cocaine trafficking networks in the region.
M'Benga's network included police officer Sid'Ahmed Ould
Taya, a former Interpol agent in Mauritania. It is expected
that M'Benga's testimony will shed light on the involvement
of high-level Mauritanian officials in drug-trafficking.
PolOff and PolAsst met with French Internal Security Officer
Jean-Luc Peduzzi on May 4 to inquire about the extradition.
Peduzzi stated that M'Benga, a French citizen, had
outstanding arrest warrants in France for murder and in
Mauritania for drug-trafficking. The French favored an
extradition to Mauritania because the Mauritanian case was
more solid. According to Peduzzi, General Aziz's willingness
to cooperate in M'Benga's case is a sign that the junta is

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not involved in drug-trafficking. Comment: Given persistent
rumors of Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall's involvement in the
drug trade, if Peduzzi's hunch is true and Aziz is not
involved in drug trafficking, this could be a way for him to
weaken his biggest (and most powerful) rival. End comment.


6. (U) Mauritania excluded from the AU's North African
military brigade: Algeria will have the first presidency of
the North African force and Mauritania will not participate
due to its unstable political situation.


7. (U) Demonstrations: May 4, the FNDD and RFD organized a
march in the center of Nouakchott to protest the military's
unilateral electoral agenda and call for an election boycott.
The march was authorized by the Wali and police were present
but did not repress it. The journalist who published the Ould
Daddah interview after the RFD president denied his
statements was threatened and beaten up in retaliation by RFD
members. May 6, the FNDD and RFD youth organized a
demonstration promising to boycott the election. An Aziz
supporter was beaten up at the march.


8. (U) One thousand teachers expelled in 1989: According
to the May 4 edition of "L'Authentique" newspaper, the
Ministry of National Education finalized the census of
Mauritanian teachers fired in 1989 during the purge of
Afro-Mauritanians from the administration and found that
close to 1,000 teachers were expelled. This information
still needs to be verified.


9. (U) U.S. "Activist Diplomacy" comes under fire:
Following RFD President Ahmed Ould Daddah's statements
accusing the U.S. Embassy of drafting the Coordination of
Democratic Forces (CFD) Charter and offering financial
support to the RFD for signing it, local media was full of
articles condemning the U.S. for interfering in domestic
matters and calling for Charge d'Affaires Dennis Hankins'
expulsion (Ref B). The U.S. Embassy re-stated its position
in a press release May 5 and denied the accusations. Looking
at blog entries in the various Mauritania websites, the
majority of respondents were generally supportive of the
"principled" U.S. position against the coup. The more
serious of those displeased with the U.S. position claimed
that the U.S. was being inconsistent with its claimed intent
to be more open to dialogue in its foreign relations
suggesting the U.S. should be more open to working with the
coup leaders than condemnatory. President Abdallahi's
spokesman told DCM that the President very much appreciated
the Embassy's re-statement of its firm anti-coup position.


10. (SBU) FNDD denounces French interference and junta
campaign: In a communique released May 5, the FNDD reacted
to what it considers "a negative media campaign launched by
the junta" against RFD President Ahmed Ould Daddah and the
U.S. Embassy. The FNDD accused the French "neo-colonial
mafia" -- referred to in French as "La Francafrique" -- of
supporting the coup d'etat and sabotaging international
community efforts to bring the country back to constitutional
order. The communique was a source of conflict within the
FNDD as Tawassoul president Jemil Ould Mansour said that it
did not reflect the views of the FNDD, but of its sole
drafter UFP president Mohamed Ould Maouloud. Note: FNDD
communiques are typically circulated around the major
constituent parties (e.g., Tawassoul, APP, UFP) for clearance
before public release. Apparently, that did not happen this
time, leading to Mansour's displeasure. As president of an
islamist party that remains deeply critical of U.S. policy in
the Middle East, Mansour may have been reluctant to go
overboard in praising the U.S. At the same time, Tawassoul
was the only FNDD party to quickly come out to deny charges
the Embassy ad "created the CFD charter" stating that was
their work. They also noted the long-term contributions of
NDI to all parties over the years. End note.


11. (U) General Aziz becomes party president: The Union

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for the Republic (UPR) political party, which assembles
pro-coup parliamentarians, elected Ould Abdel Aziz as interim
president on May 5. Observers compared the UPR to Ould
Taya's monolithic PRDS state party.


12. (U) Ghazouany in Sudan: According to press reports,
junta number two and President of the High State Council
General Ghazouany traveled to Sudan on May 4. The reasons
for the trip are unclear; some media outlets claimed it was
for a regional meeting of senior military commanders.


13. (U) Aziz's supporters buy votes among the poorest:
Sebkha Senator and Mayor Dia Rabiyatou Haidara has given over
one million ouguiya (approximately $3,700) to womens'
cooperatives that support General Aziz's candidacy. Another
influential Aziz supporter gave the village of Douboungue one
and a half tons of cement to finish construction of their
mosque.


14. (SBU) Demonstrators occupy Mauritanian Embassy in
Paris: According to various press sources, the Mauritanian
Embassy in Paris was occupied by FNDD demonstrators on May 7.
The demonstrators replaced General Aziz's portrait with
President Abdallahi's and denounced the alleged support
provided to the coup by Jean-Michel Antona. Note: Antona is
a First Secretary in the French embassy in Nouakchott.
According to local media outlets, he is also a member of the
DGSE (French intelligence service),and a supposed "advisor"
to Aziz. End note.


15. (C) AU Peace and Security Council meets and UN Security
Council condemns coups in Africa: AU Peace and Security
Council met May 6 and, according to State Department sources,
it decided to send a delegation to Mauritania in the next few
weeks. Comment: Mauritanian media announced at the
beginning of the week the imminent arrival of a joint
AU/Senegalese delegation headed by Ping himself and Gadio.
These reports turned out to be false. End comment. On May
6, the UN Security Council issued a Presidential Statement
condemning coups in Africa and welcoming the AU's strong
condemnation of the coup in Mauritania.
BOULWARE