Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09NOUAKCHOTT635
2009-10-01 12:22:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Nouakchott
Cable title:  

MAURITANIA: POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ROUNDUP FOR

Tags:  PGOV PREL PHUM PTER MR KDEM 
pdf how-to read a cable
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RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0860
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RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHDS/USMISSION USAU ADDIS ABABA
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1286
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 NOUAKCHOTT 000635 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PTER MR KDEM
SUBJECT: MAURITANIA: POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ROUNDUP FOR
SEPTEMBER 2009

REF: A. NOUAKCHOTT 607

B. NOUAKCHOTT 611

C. NOUAKCHOTT 608

D. NOUAKCHOTT 577

Classified By: CDA Dennis Hankins for reasons 1.4 (b and d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 NOUAKCHOTT 000635

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PTER MR KDEM
SUBJECT: MAURITANIA: POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ROUNDUP FOR
SEPTEMBER 2009

REF: A. NOUAKCHOTT 607

B. NOUAKCHOTT 611

C. NOUAKCHOTT 608

D. NOUAKCHOTT 577

Classified By: CDA Dennis Hankins for reasons 1.4 (b and d)


1. (C) Summary: In the month of September, the
International Contact Group visited Mauritania to take stock
of the post-election political situation. Delegations from
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank also
visited and renewed programs with Mauritania. President Aziz
traveled to Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. President Chavez
talked about funding an oil refinery in Mauritania and
Venezuela signed hydrocarbon agreements with Mauritania.
Nouakchott, flooded by heavy rains, suffered from constant
power failures and the price of fruits and vegetables
skyrocketed. The opposition issued statements criticizing
the government and the public debate on corruption,
counter-terroristm, torture and detention conditions of
terrorist suspects continued. End summary.


2. (U) International Contact Group visits Mauritania: See
ref A.


3. (SBU) Aziz travels to Saudi Arabia: President Aziz was
invited to Jeddah for the inauguration of King Abdallah
University. During his visit, he met with Sudanese President
Oumar Bechir to explore cooperation opportunities between
Mauritania and Sudan. Rumor has it that the king refused to
meet with Aziz.


4. (U) Nouakchott - flooded and in the dark: Nouakchott
experienced heavy flooding and constant power failures during
the month. The streets were filled with displaced persons
and the everyday life of populations in poor neighborhoods
became increasingly difficult due to constant lack of water
and electricity compounded by an increase in water and food
prices. Nouakchott suffers nearly a 40% gap between demand
and production capacity. In addition to run down facilities
in Nouakchott, the problem is aggravated by lack of funds.
Last year Mauritania leased a number of portable 1-megawatt
generators to supplement capacity. Those units have since
gone. It is understood that power imports from Senegal were

stopped for lack of payment.


5. (U) Fruit and vegetable prices skyrocket: The price of
fruits and vegetables in Nouakchott increased considerably
taking a further toll on the already stretched population. A
kilo of oranges went from 200 UM (74 cents) to 700 UM (USD
2.60),while the kilo of tomatoes increased from 300 UM (USD
1.10) to 1000 UM (USD 3.70). The increase in prices is due
to heavy floods in the agricultural Valley Region as well as
reduced supply from Morocco.


6. (U) Opposition criticizes government: Opposition leader
Ahmed Ould Daddah's RFD issued a communique criticizing the
government and stating that "all the sectors of the economy
are nearly paralyzed due to the international economic
crisis, the mismanagement of state resources, which are
treated as if they were personal resources, and the
government's lack of vision for the economy." On September
7, Mohamed Ould Maouloud's opposition party UFP published a
declaration stating the elections were neither free nor
democratic and denouncing the conditions in which the
constitutional council pronounced Aziz's win. The communique
called for a consensual solution to the crisis following the
spirit of the Dakar Accord. It also denounced the inaction
and amateur attitude of the government and criticized the
international community, particularly France, Germany and
Spain, for failing to fulfill its responsibilities and
delivering its promises. These countries, according to the
communique, "renounced the respect of democratic principles
for the preservation of their own interests."


7. (C) Arrest of Taqadoumy journalist: On September 12,
police arrested Taqadoumy journalist Djibril Diallo, who
remained in detention until September 15, when he was
released without explanation. Diallo had recently written an

NOUAKCHOTT 00000635 002 OF 004


article criticizing Qadhafi. On September 22, PolOff and PAO
met with newly released Diallo, who explained he was arrested
in a cybercafe by a policeman in civilian clothes who
mysteriously approached him and asked "Why did you say that?
Now you will have to come with me." Diallo was brought to
the police station and informed that his arrest had been
ordered by the security services. He was questioned twice by
interrogators who wanted to know his email and Skype address.
Diallo refused to comply stating that the police did not
need to arrest him to obtain that information. When asked
about detention conditions, Diallo stated they had been
normal and he had not been mistreated. Diallo was released
in the morning of September 15 and asked to return in the
afternoon as the investigation was still ongoing. Upon
returning, he was told to come back the next day. The
following day he was informed he had been released but asked
to stay at the police's disposal. Diallo said before his
arrest he traveled to Nouadhibou and, upon his return to
Nouakchott, was harassed by police at road blocks who told
him they knew his name was Djibril Diallo and asked him when
was he planning to travel back to Nouadhibou. Diallo does
not have a lawyer and expects he could be arrested again.


8. (U) General Inspector visits Salafist prisoners: The
Inspector General of the Ministry of Justice and the Prisons
Director visited Salafist prisoners on September 15.
Terrorist suspects have complained about prison conditions
and are requesting the right to see a doctor, to have visits
from their wives, and to engage in group prayer.


9. (U) More on terrorism: On September 15, the public
prosecutor charged two suspects with belonging to Al Qaeda.
On September 27, according to the press, the Mauritanian
military arrested seven AQIM combatants near Lemgheity. The
seven suspects -- two Malians and five Mauritanians -- were
transferred to Nouakchott for interrogation. On October 1,
press said the Malian military questioned the veracity of
Mauritanian military reports about the terrorist suspects,
stating that the individuals -- members of a Touareg family
that lives in Gao and whose vehicle broke down in the desert
-- have no connection to AQMI. The press accused the
military and security services of staging terrorist arrests
to influence public opinion.


10. (U) Torture at the Central Prison: According to local
press, on September 17 Al Jazeera TV showed images national
guardsmen beating and water-boarding Khadim Ould Semane,
leader of the Nouakchott terrorist cell. The images of
torture were followed by a telephone interview with Semane,
in which he explained he is regularly tortured with
electricity and subject to degrading treatments.


11. (C) Jemil Mansour on Tawassoul's role: PolOff met with
Tawassoul President Djemil Ould Mansour to discuss
Tawassoul's role in the opposition. Mansour confirmed that
Tawassoul was still part of the FNDD in theory but not in
practice. He sees Tawassoul as part of the moderate
opposition and plans to promote dialogue between the
authorities and more radical opposition leaders who do not
recognize the government. He still hopes some day Tawassoul
will enter the government. Mansour expressed an interest in
visiting the United States and inquired about the
International Visitors Program. Former President Abdallahi
spoke well of Tawassoul during a September 24 meeting with
Charge. He noted that Tawassoul's moderate policy approach
during their participation in the FNDD demonstrated that he
had not been playing into the hands of extremists when he
authorized the party -- a way of allowing an outlet for
expression by a previously suppressed group, according to
Abdallahi. The former President also noted that Tawassoul's
views of the United States -- outside of discussions of
Israel -- had substantially improved because of U.S. support
for the FNDD.


12. (U) On Corruption: Global Fund money goes missing (See
ref D). On September 17, Sidi Maouloud Ould Brahim, wali of
Nouakchott, and Mohamed Ould Sidaty, hakem of Teyarett were
terminated by the Council of Ministers. No reasons were
given for their dismissal but rumor has it they were involved

NOUAKCHOTT 00000635 003 OF 004


in a land permit corruption scheme. Police arrested on
September 29 the regional director of SOMAGAZ for
mismanagement of 10 million UM (USD 37,000) and falsifying
accounting documents. The SNIM was also at the heart of a
corruption scandal. On September 30, press published reports
that an internal SNIM investigation showed 2 billion UM (over
USD 7 million) had gone missing. Thirteen employees are
implicated in the scandal. The reported crackdown on
corruption in government institutions is earning cautious
praise -- with many still not sure if the crackdown is
sincere or only meant to attack political enemies.


13. (U) Senate renewal: The Ministry of the Interior
announced that one-third of the Senate (A group) is up for
renewal on November 8. The A group's mandate ended before
the closing of the previous parliamentary session.


14. (U) UPR President in Sudan: The President of UPR, the
majority party Aziz headed until swore in as President, is
currently in Sudan as an official guest for the Sudanese
party in power Congres National.


15. (U) Dadis Camara and Aziz: On September 30, local
press widely covered the massacre of opposition members in
Guinea and drew parallels between Dadis Camara and President
Aziz. Newspaper L'Authentique, in an article entitled
"Captain Dadis Camara: Aziz's bad student" said that Camara
should have followed Aziz's example and face the political
crisis without spilling blood. Newspaper L'Eveil highlighted
that the Mauritanian circles of power were uncomfortable at
Camara's constant allusions to the Mauritanian junta and to
Aziz, who he refers to as his "Mauritanian brother." FNDD,
RFD and UFP published communiques deploring the massacres,
drawing comparisons between the Guinean and Mauritanian
coups, and asking the African Union and the international
community -- particularly France -- to firmly reject coup
d'etats. An opinion piece on (generally pro-Aziz) website
Cridem called on Mauritanians to draw the lessons from Guinea
and dissolve the BASEP.


16. (U) Chinese aid to Mauritania: In a visit to
Mauritania, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister, Zhai Jun,
announced a number of Chinese aid programs, the largest of
which will finance the expansion of the Nouakchott Port
through a USD 295 million 20-year, 2% interest loan from the
Export-Import Bank of China . The project, known as the Port
of Friendship (PANPA),is the second largest Chinese-funded
project in Africa.


17. (U) IMF and World Bank return to Mauritania: A team of
IMF advisors and World Bank officials visited in September,
the first official IMF and World Bank missions to visit the
country since they suspended relations with the GIRM
following the 2008 coup d,etat. The IMF announced an
immediate Special Drawing Right loan valued at USD 80
million, as well as plans for a three-year IMF aid plan to
begin in 2010. The regional country director for the World
Bank visited Mauritania to announce the release of USD 14-16
million in previously suspended developmental assistance.
See ref B.


18. (U) Venezuela and Mauritania sign a hydrocarbon
agreement: During his visit to the South American-African
Summit in Venezuela, President Aziz signed a hydrocarbon
cooperative agreement with Venezuela. The agreement comes two
weeks after President Chavez announced his intent to
construct a refinery in Mauritania. Although President
Chavez' announcement was covered widely in the Mauritanian
press, the GIRM has not confirmed this project. Curiously,
there was no mention of the refinery project in the agreement
signed at the summit. In his public remarks at the summit,
President Aziz spoke about the failure of the financial
institutions of Bretton Woods; a stark contrast to the
prominent domestic promotion lavished upon the re-engagement
agreements signed with both the World Bank and the IMF. See
ref C.


19. (U) African Development Bank approves mining loan: The
Board of Directors of the African Development Bank agreed to

NOUAKCHOTT 00000635 004 OF 004


loan the Mauritanian National Industrial and Mining Company
(SNIM) USD 175 million for the expansion of existing mines
and the construction of a new iron ore enrichment plant.
This project will increase the production of iron ore from a
current 11 million annual tons to just over 15 million annual
tons. The USG representative to the African Development Bank
abstained in the vote, based upon USG Extractive Industry
legislative standards and environmental concerns about the
project.


20. (U) Developments in the hydrocarbon and energy field:
Forte Energy NL, and Australian based minerals company and
Aura Energy, a South African Uranium mining company announced
separate drilling programs to survey for Uranium in
Mauritania. Red Back Mining Inc., a Canadian mining company
announced they received Mauritanian government approval to
immediately commence drilling in their Tasiast gold mine.




HANKINS