MAURITANIA: POLITICAL ROUNDUP FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE

C O N F I D E N T I A L NOUAKCHOTT 000414

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/24/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM MR
SUBJECT: MAURITANIA: POLITICAL ROUNDUP FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE
21-25

REF: A. NOUAKCHOTT 406

B. NOUAKCHOTT 408

C. DAKAR 792

D. DAKAR 793

E. NOUAKCHOTT 411

F. NOUAKCHOTT 413

Classified By: CDA DENNIS HANKINS FOR REASONS 1.4 (B AND D)


1. (C) Summary: This week, the parties to the crisis
traveled to Dakar to negotiate the future of the High State
Council (HSC),an issue that has been blocking the
implementation of the Accord for the past two weeks. The
parties were unable to reach a consensus, obliging President
Wade to rush to Nouakchott to try and save the Accord.
General Aziz's interim government unilaterally signed a
decree convening the electoral college for a July 18 election
and the decree was rejected by the Constitutional Council.
AQIM claimed responsibility for the June 23 murder of
American citizen Christopher Leggett and Taqadoumy journalist
Hannavi Ould Daha remained in jail. End summary


2. (C) Charge meets with Prime Minister Waghef: Charge met
with President Abdallahi's Prime Minister Waghef for the
first time since his release from prison (Ref A).


3. (C) Charge meets with Ely Vall: Charge met with
Presidential candidate Ely Vall to discuss his outlook for
the election (Ref B).


4. (C) No results after Dakar talks: US Ambassador to
Senegal Bernicat and PolOff attended Dakar talks from June
20-23. Parties to the Mauritanian political crisis were
unable to find a consensus regarding the status of the HSC
(Ref C and D).


5. (U) Water shortages in poor Nouakchott neighborhoods:
Residents of the "Cinquieme" neighborhood in Nouakchott told
PolOff they had not had water since June 22. The price of
water barrels has skyrocketed from 300 UM ($1 USD) to 1,500
UM (over $5 USD).


6. (U) The government moves forward with unilateral
elections: Despite disagreements over the HSC issue and the
ongoing negotiations, the interim President of the Republic
Ba M'Bare issued a communique on June 24 stating elections
will be held on July 18 "in accordance with the Dakar
Accord." A decree has been passed convening the electoral
college for that date. The deadline for candidacies is June
26 and the electoral campaign will start on July 2. This
announcement came as a surprise to the opposition as the
Government of National Unity, which according to the Dakar
Accord is supposed to oversee the elections, has not been
formed. Rumors state that the HSC forced a reluctant M'Bare
to sign the decree. The FNDD and RFD published on June 24 a
joint press release condemning the passing of the decree as a
violation of the Dakar Accord.


7. (C) Constitutional Council rejects decree: The
Constitutional Council has rejected the June 23 decree
convening the electoral college for the July 18 elections.
The Council stated the decree is anti-constitutional as the
Dakar Accord mandates that the elections be organized by the
Government of National Union. The response was well received
by opposition parties who were somewhat surprised by the
Constitutional Council's willingness to stand up to the
regime.


8. (C) Ould Maouloud says FNDD and RFD remain united:
Charge and PolOff met with FNDD co-President Mohamed Ould
Maouloud to seek clarification about the FNDD's position
regarding President Abdallahi (Ref E).


9. (U) Hannavi still in jail: Mauritanian journalist
Hannavi Ould Daha, director of the Taqadoumy website, was
arrested on June 18. The police, who did not have an arrest
warrant, held him in custody for days without charges and
without allowing him to call his lawyer or family. Hannavi
has been accused of defamation by AJD presidential candidate
Ibrahima Moctar Sarr. Taqadoumy published an article in May

accusing Sarr of buying a house with the money General Aziz
gave him to run his campaign.


10. (U) AQIM claims responsibility for the murder of an
American citizen: Christopher Leggett, an American working
for Nouakchott-based NGO Noura, was brutally murdered by two
gunmen in the morning of June 23. Al-Jazeera TV reported on
June 25 they received an audio statement from Al Qaeda in the
Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claiming responsibility for Leggett's
murder for allegedly trying to convert Muslims to
Christianity.


11. (C) Nouakchott prepares for Wade's visit: Senegalese
President Wade is scheduled to arrive in Nouakchott in the
afternoon of June 25 for continued talks with the Mauritanian
parties to the political crisis. Charge attended a meeting
with the Oversight Committee in preparation for Wade's visit
(Ref F).


12. (SBU) PolOff conversation with Aziz's negotiator Ould
Horma: On the flight back from Dakar, PolOff sat next to
Ould Horma, who was blunt about negotiation techniques such
as stalling and walking away, which were used by his
delegation in Dakar. Horma, a campaign strategist for Aziz,
also shared his interest in "storytelling" and rumor
spreading as campaign weapons. Horma told PolOff Mauritania
was interested in increased cooperation with the US but found
the US elusive. PolOff brought home the message that
cooperation would remain "elusive" as long as the regime
insisted on doing coup d'etats, repressing freedom of speech
and refusing the basic principle of military accountability
to a civilian government.


13. (C) Donors getting ready for the future. Both the World
Bank and the European Commission have started reaching out to
other donors to discuss economic and development priorities
should the political crisis be resolved. Most economic
observers see the outlook as bleak no matter who wins.
Prices for Mauritania's main exports are low and is expected
that most mineral and oil companies will limit themselves to
exploration now -- holding of investments in production until
world prices have risen and a modicum of political stability
has been demonstrated. The assumption is that the regime has
emptied the government's coffers in an attempt to garner
domestic support. Those donors like the EC that had
substantial development funds in the pipeline prior to the
coup have suspended those programs and transferred the money
elsewhere. Most donors assume at least a year-long gap
before substantial development funds will be able to come
back on stream -- resulting in effectively two "lost years"
for Mauritania.
HANKINS