MOROCCO'S EFFORTS TO INFLUENCE ITSO DIRECTOR

UNCLAS RABAT 000527 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/MAG - S WILLIAMS AND EEB/CIP/TS - S LETT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECPS PREL KTIA MO SUBJECT: MOROCCO'S EFFORTS TO INFLUENCE ITSO DIRECTOR GENERAL REF: A. RABAT 420 ¶B. STATE 52173 ¶1. (SBU) Charge and EconOff consulted with the Secretaries General of Morocco's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Department of Post-Telecommunications (DPT) on June 11 - 12 regarding the Government of Morocco's efforts to facilitate a resolution to the disagreement between the International Satellite Telecommunications Organization (ITSO) Director General and the Government of United Kingdom (HMG) and USG (reftels). The Charge thanked MFA Secretary General Youssef Amrani for the interest of Morocco's Ambassador in Washington in seeking to find a solution, and noted the strong USG interest in cancelling the planned Extraordinary Assembly, and particularly in avoiding arbitration of the dispute. Amrani took note of the USG interest, and indicated that Ambassador Mekouar is still engaged in seeking a solution, despite the lack of any particular Government of Morocco (GOM) responsibility for the issue. ¶2. (SBU) DPT Secretary General Taieb Debbagh told EconOff that, based on his recent conversations with ITSO Director General Ahmed Toumi, the DG is "flexible" and willing to compromise with the USG and HMG. ITSO's interest in the dispute, Debbagh stated, is to return the information sharing arrangements to the status quo before the sale of Intelsat in ¶2005. Since that sale, according to Toumi, satellite system coordination information that was previously provided to ITSO had been cut off. Since the new owners of Intelsat decline to provide information that relates to the "Common Heritage" under ITSO's responsibility, ITSO seeks to obtain those details from the USG and HMG as Notifying Administrations. However, Debbagh insisted, Toumi does not seek to obtain "confidential information" from private operators. "If there is something that Toumi needs to give up, he'll give it up," Debbagh predicted. ¶3. (SBU) Debbagh pointed to Item 5.1 in the report of the Ninth Meeting of the ITSO Advisory Committee, recommending the use of a "mutually agreed facilitator" to define an agreed procedure for the Notifying Administrations and ITSO, and proposed that the two sides agree on such a facilitator who could draw up an agreement identifying which information would be passed to ITSO, and which would remain confidential. It would be in everyone's interest to have such a document prepared before the July Extraordinary Assembly, Debbagh suggested, at which point it could be signed by the Notifying Administrations and the incoming Director General to serve as the basis for future information sharing. It is too late to try to cancel the Rome Extraordinary Assembly, stated Debbagh, arguing that the Assembly is the option prescribed by the ITSO Parties should the DG and Notifying Administrations fail to reach an agreement. ¶4. (SBU) Comment: The GOM has likely done all that it can to influence Toumi to reach an agreement with the USG and HMG on this issue, but has no authority over him. While Debbagh was initially very open to USG perspectives on the dispute following our first interaction with him (Ref A),his position appears to have aligned more with Toumi's as he has researched the subject more closely. The Mission does not believe that further demarches to the GOM will change Toumi's course of action. End Comment. ***************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Moro cco ***************************************** Jackson