Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09RABAT178
2009-02-27 17:18:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Rabat
Cable title:  

MAURITANIAN POLITICIAN CALLS ON U.S. TO RESTORE

Tags:  PREL PINS PTER ECON PGOV SNAR MO MR 
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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9751
INFO RUEHNK/AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT PRIORITY 3829
RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE
RUEHBP/AMEMBASSY BAMAKO 0118
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RUEHPG/AMEMBASSY PRAGUE 0236
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 1623
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 0412
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHDS/USMISSION ADDIS ABABA
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RABAT 000178 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/W AND NEA/MAG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2029
TAGS: PREL PINS PTER ECON PGOV SNAR MO MR
SUBJECT: MAURITANIAN POLITICIAN CALLS ON U.S. TO RESTORE
PRESIDENT

REF: A. RABAT 0172 (NOTAL)

B. RABAT 0165 (NOTAL)

C. NOUAKCHOTT 0159

RABAT 00000178 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: CDA Robert P. Jackson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RABAT 000178

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/W AND NEA/MAG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2029
TAGS: PREL PINS PTER ECON PGOV SNAR MO MR
SUBJECT: MAURITANIAN POLITICIAN CALLS ON U.S. TO RESTORE
PRESIDENT

REF: A. RABAT 0172 (NOTAL)

B. RABAT 0165 (NOTAL)

C. NOUAKCHOTT 0159

RABAT 00000178 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: CDA Robert P. Jackson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: On February 24, 2009, Mauritanian National
Party for Development (PND) President and current opposition
coalition leader Abdelkoudouss Abeidna, at his and Embassy
Nouakchott,s request, called on Charge at the Embassy to
discuss the ongoing political crisis in Mauritania. As
leader of a political party opposed to the August 2008 coup
d,etat in Mauritania, Abeidna thanked that United States for
its strong opposition to the coup. He urged U.S. pressure on
Morocco, other African countries, and to adopt a similar
posture. The Mauritanian party leader asserted that without
restoration of ousted Mauritanian President Abdellahi to
power, democracy in Mauritania might never take full root.
He added, if Mauritania proceeds with June 6 elections
organized by the junta, they will be illegitimate and will be
precooked by the ruling military authorities. He accused
junta leader General Aziz of massive corruption and called
him the worst leader that Mauritania had seen in a long time.
Abeidna delivered the same message to the embassies of UN
Security Council and EU members during the remainder of his
week in Rabat. End summary.

--------------
Pressure Morocco to Oppose Mauritanian Junta
--------------


2. (C) On February 24, 2009, the President of the
Mauritanian National Party for Development (PND)
Abdelkoudouss Abeidna, at his and Embassy Nouakchott,s
request, called on Charge at the Embassy to discuss the
ongoing political crisis in Mauritania. Abeidna offered deep
thanks for the United States, condemnation of the coup in
Mauritania and support for restoration of President Abdellahi
to power. In his interactions with various political leaders
and diplomats in recent months, Abeidna said that the

&Anglo-Saxon countries," Algeria, and Mali were unambiguous
in criticism of the coup and the junta, and in calling for
the restoration of democracy. He added that most African
Francophone countries and European countries, by contrast,
were unhelpful in accommodating the junta. Abeidna added
that Morocco,s posture of placing stability above democracy
as a policy priority in Mauritania had been especially
disappointing. Abeidna appealed to Charge for the United
States to apply greater pressure on Morocco to more strongly
condemn the coup and to support restoration of President
Abdellahi to power, adding: &The United States can have a
big impact on Morocco,s position.8 Adeidna said that
Morocco was deluding itself if it thought that Aziz could
&deliver the Sahara.8 He asserted that the Mauritanian
population is divided on the question of whether or not the
Western Sahara should be integrated into Morocco or become
independent. He added that most Mauritanians benefit from
the status quo, owing to the economic activity gained from
smuggling in the region, and adding, "Whether or not Aziz is
in power, this dynamic will not change."

--------------
Appeal to Restore President to Power
--------------


3. (C) Abeidna said that he knew that restoring Abdellahi to
power was the &tougher road.8 He said, however, it was the
only thing that President Adbellahi would accept. Abeidna
added that President Abdellahi has stated that if, upon
returning to power, he is unable to &bring the parties
together,8 then he would call for early elections. Abeidna
asserted that he knows President Abdellahi well. While he
allowed that President Adbellahi had made mistakes in office,
Abeidna asserted that they were mostly made in naivete or
because of lack of experience. Abeidna added that there were
still many nefarious holdovers from former President Taya's
regime still in positions of power, contributing to
government mismanagement. However, Adeidna asserted,
"Everyone knows the politicians that like money in

RABAT 00000178 002.2 OF 003


Mauritania, and Abdellahi was not one of them."


4. (C) Second, but more importantly, Abeidna said that
restoration of Abdellahi is a critical condition to meet if
democracy is to take root again in Mauritania. &Defending
the principle of democracy is more important than any
individual.8 Abeidna likened the coup to a physical wound:
&We cannot simply put cream on it and hope for the best; the
wound must be cleaned (by returning President Abdellahi to
power),bound and allowed to heal.8 As a side bar, Abeidna
considered recent Libyan mediation in the impasse to be a
&waste of time,8 because &Libyans do not know the meaning
of democracy.8 When Libyan negotiators asked why Abeidna
was clinging to democratic options, derisively adding that
&democracy is just a word,8 Abeidna retorted, &But I like
that word.8 Abeidna said that if Mauritania had elections
under military rule, one might as well not have the elections
at all. &You cannot expect people to vote freely when a gun
is pointed at their head," said Abeidna. He added that even
if the scheduled June 6 elections provide a fig leaf for the
Europeans to restore assistance to Mauritania, long-term
stability in Mauritania would not be served if the coup is
allowed to stand.

--------------
Popular Support for the Junta Exaggerated
--------------


5. (C) Abeidna told Charge that he was &making the rounds8
of embassies in Rabat (especially Security Council and EU
members) not only to pressure Morocco, but to tell the
diplomatic community what is &really going on in
Mauritania.8 He said the junta had conducted a good
disinformation campaign regarding the degree of popular
support it had, issuing lies to build domestic and
international legitimacy. Abeidna asserted that junta leader
General Abdul Aziz was the worst leader that Mauritania had
had in a long time and was more corrupt than President
Abdellahi,s wife had ever been. He said that the 96 million
Euros the junta received from the European Union for fishing
rights in late September had completely disappeared by
November. He also claimed that the USD 50 million that Saudi
Arabia recently gave to the junta had disappeared. Abeidna
added that while the junta asserts it lowered the price of
fuel, it is simply taking credit for softening world market
conditions. "In reality," he added, "gas is more difficult
to get because Aziz has restricted importation licenses to
crony family members and allies in exchange for kickbacks."


6. (C) Abeidna also accused Aziz of having connections with
powerful drug rings and that the reason for the coup was
mainly tied to financial and tribal interests, adding that
only when President Abdellahi decided to move against the
drug lords did Aziz launch his coup. However, after the
international backlash from the coup, Aziz,s tribe decided
that the &world had rejected Aziz8 and that returning
Colonel Vall to power would be the best course of action.
Abeidna described Aziz as self-absorbed, suffering from a
&god complex,8 i.e., "He thinks that he is the only one who
can save Mauritania;" and he is out of touch with reality.
His policies are populist in nature, and he is making no
preparations for the coming economic problems that will hit
Mauritania when the world financial crisis begins to bite.
Additionally, Abeidna claimed that the General is a chameleon
that cannot be counted on for principled policies. As an
example, Abeidna insisted that Aziz was prepared to trade
away Mauritanian recognition of Israel at the recent
Palestinian Gaza donor conference in Qatar until he
discovered that the money he thought he could get for it from
Qatar, and other unnamed countries, was too low.


7. (C) Charge assured Abeidna that the U.S. Government had
already engaged the Government of Morocco (GOM) at the
highest levels and that the U.S. would continue to press the
GOM to voice opposition to the coup and the scheduled June 6
elections. Charge thanked Abeidna for delivering his message
and invited him to engage in continued dialogue with the
Embassy in Nouakchott.


RABAT 00000178 003.2 OF 003



8. (C) Comment: It is apparent from Abeidna,s appeal and
the recent junta Foreign Minister,s visit to Morocco (Ref B)
that Morocco is seen by both sides in Mauritania as a
critical player. However, given Morocco's early support for
the junta, likely foreknowledge of the coup, and the Moroccan
Foreign Minister,s recent comments, we doubt that additional
U.S. pressure, beyond what has already been applied, will
make a difference in Morocco's posture. End comment.


9. (U) Tripoli minimize considered.


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Jackson