MAURITANIA: POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ROUNDUP FOR

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