Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09RABAT584
2009-07-08 19:09:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Embassy Rabat
Cable title:
WESTERN SAHARA: ACTIVIST CONFIRMS HUMAN RIGHTS
how-toVZCZCXYZ0000 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHRB #0584/01 1891909 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 081909Z JUL 09 FM AMEMBASSY RABAT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0380 INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE RUEHVI/AMEMBASSY VIENNA IMMEDIATE 0143 RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM IMMEDIATE 0227 RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA IMMEDIATE 0263 RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS IMMEDIATE RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE IMMEDIATE RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0943 RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA IMMEDIATE 1158
C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 000584
NOFORN
SIPDIS
STATE FOR DRL/NESCA, NEA/MAG AND IO/UNP
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2034
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL WI MR MO
SUBJECT: WESTERN SAHARA: ACTIVIST CONFIRMS HUMAN RIGHTS
IMPROVEMENTS, NOTES POLITICAL EVOLUTION
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Robert P. Jackson for reasons 1
.4 (b) and (d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 000584
NOFORN
SIPDIS
STATE FOR DRL/NESCA, NEA/MAG AND IO/UNP
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2034
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL WI MR MO
SUBJECT: WESTERN SAHARA: ACTIVIST CONFIRMS HUMAN RIGHTS
IMPROVEMENTS, NOTES POLITICAL EVOLUTION
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Robert P. Jackson for reasons 1
.4 (b) and (d).
1. (C) Summary: Fresh news borne by a Sahrawi-American
activist confirms other reports that the human rights
situation in the Western Sahara continues to stabilize;
serious violations are not occurring; and there seems to be
somewhat more open political space. This was also observed
by Rabat)resident European diplomats, who recently met with
both Moroccan officials and pro-independence human rights
activists. Our contact told us that recently, more known
police abusers have been transferred out, and those left
behind increasingly behave themselves. A Sahrawi local MOI
official confirmed the transfers and indicated the Government
was looking at additional steps to open up. The Embassy has
pushed for such actions in our Human Rights Dialogue. We
assess that the Moroccans can now be persuaded to continue
their opening, and in the current environment think it worth
trying. Our contact said pro-self determination Sahrawis on
both sides of the berm were looking to a favorable evolution
of USG policy away from support for the autonomy plan. End
Summary.
-------------- --------------
A Simultaneously Sahrawi and American Perspective
-------------- --------------
2. (C/NOFORN) On July 7, PolCouns and D/PolCouns met with
U.S.-Moroccan dual national and Sahrawi activist Saleh
el-Bachra (strictly protect) to discuss current events in the
Sahara. Bachra, who has worked for the U.S. military, is
well plugged into -- and has supported from the U.S. -- the
pro-self-determination human rights activists in the
territory, where all his family lives. In his biannual or
annual visits to Embassy he has been a generally credible
reporter and most of what he has told us has panned out. He
said the Sahrawis in Western Sahara, southern Morocco,
Tindouf, Mauritania, and the diaspora living abroad are well
acquainted with each other. Security officials had kept him
under surveillance but not harassed him.
-------------- --------------
Sahara is Quiet -- Human Rights Situation Improving
-------------- --------------
3. (C) Bachra said that the Sahara has been quiet lately.
He confirmed what we have heard from other sources that
serious human rights violations, like unlawful arrests or
beatings, have essentially ceased in the territory. He
reported that activists confirmed to him that in recent weeks
numerous additional security personnel have been transferred
out of Western Sahara to locations all over Morocco. These
include most, but not all, of the well-known human rights
violators in the security forces. The Police Prefect (i.e.,
a Wali-level official responsible for police throughout
Western Sahara and Morocco,s most southern provinces -- not
just the Laayoune region) was also transferred. Authorities
have effectively disbanded the infamous "Firqa al mawt" or
"Brigade of Death," an appellation going back to the days of
mortal repression under King Hassan II. Replacements
apparently have very clear instruction not to act abusively.
Bachra recounted one incident where well known human rights
violator Aziz Annouche (still there) hauled in a youth for
some protest, slapped him, and released him. This is a far
cry from harsher practices in the relatively recent past, he
said.
4. (C) The police transfers, which we had not heard about,
were confirmed to PolCouns by a high ranking local Ministry
of Interior (MOI) official. The official, himself a Sahrawi,
also told us that the Wali recently wrote the MOI asking for
permission to legally register the non-governmental
organization (NGO) the Sahrawi Association of Human Rights
Victims (ASVDH).
5. (C) Bachra said this laissez-faire atmosphere was
particularly evident during the hard-fought campaign for the
June 12 local elections. Pro-Polisario activists held a
demonstration just before election day in the Sahrawi
neighborhood of Matala to promote the Polisario,s call for a
boycott of the local elections. They carried some Polisario
banners and shouted slogans. Police were present in force,
but in a near unprecedented fashion, did nothing. The
Polisario boycott fizzled, with Sahrawis turning out in force
to re-install CORCAS president Kalihenna Ould er Rachid and
his family in control of the Laayoune City Hall. (Note: Some
half of Western Sahara's population lives there, more than
double the population of the refugee camps. End Note.)
-------------- --------------
Tribes Turn Out High Local Election Participation
-------------- --------------
6. (C) Bachra said the local elections were mostly about
tribal affiliations. Turnout in the Western Sahara and in
the south was higher than the rest of Morocco and double that
in Casablanca. Bachra said that part of the reason that
voter participation rates in Sahara were among the highest
"in the country" was because many pro-independence Sahrawi,s
are trying to facilitate political changes regarding the
independence of Western Sahara from within the existing
mechanism of local government. In any case, he confirmed
others, observations that the Sahrawis voted mostly along
tribal lines, with voters from the dominant Rguibat tribe
split along clan lines between the Ould er Rachid family and
the Joumani clan, with the Constitutional Union (UC),an
out-of-government party traditionally associated with
pro-palace urban political machines. Bachra reported that on
the night that election results were announced, there was a
riot between supporters of Ould er Rachid and Joumani.
(Note: A Joumani gained control of Dakhla, despite not being
from the dominant local tribe, the Ouled Dhlim. End Note.)
7. (C) Bachra noted that victories of both families and of
Hassan Derham, another wealthy Sahrawi, who won on the USFP
ticket from the port area, meant that efforts to plant Fouad
Ali El Himma,s Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM)
were crushed, winning no seats in Laayoune itself. The PAM
did succeed in organizing opposition to Kalihenna to join
forces in the council vote for mayor, but they fell short by
three votes. This is widely viewed as a failed attempt by
the Palace to move Kalihenna aside from the Sahara
negotiations. The Wali of Laayoune region, i.e., a
MOI-nominated Royal Governor, new this year, is perceived as
close to El Himma. (Note: Wali Mohammed Jalmous did
postpone the mayoral vote for a few days, a move foiled when
the Ould er Rachid spirited their supporters to some desert
hideaway. End Note.) Nonetheless, the foes of the Ould er
Rachid, many from the minority Izerguine tribe, won in the
areas surrounding Laayoune city; so the leadership of the
councils of the province and of Laayoune region still
remained in play. The PAM,s major success was in Samara,
where party leader Mohammed Sheikh Biadillah, from yet
another Rguibat clan, was elected deputy mayor.
8. (C) A Swedish diplomat who just returned from her first
visit to the territory with a Belgian counterpart (another
ground-breaking diplomatic visit carried out with our
encouragement) had told us earlier in the week that Polisario
sympathizers defied their own boycott to vote, many for the
Ould er Rachid, because, according to one, "as corrupt as
they are, they stood up to Rabat,s machinations." They also
heard from local activists that abuses have ceased, but
intensive police presence continues as do restrictions on
speech and assembly. They described the overall situation in
the territory as unexpectedly calm.
--------------
Sahrawis Confident in U.S. Policy Shift
--------------
9. (C) Bachra said the many Sahrawis inclined toward
referendum/independence were hoping for changes in U.S.
policy toward the Western Sahara under the Obama
Administration. Expectations are running high because of
what is being perceived as a new U.S. tilt toward
referendum/independence and away from U.S. support for
Morocco's "autonomy plan," he said. The diplomatic visitors
also saw this as a factor in the recent calm.
-------------- --------------
Mauritania Unlikely to Play a Part in Sahara Solution
-------------- --------------
10. (C) Bachra said that he could not see a major role being
played by the Mauritania in the peace negotiations on Western
Sahara among Morocco, the Polisario and Algeria. He said
that Mauritania actually benefits from the status quo of an
incomplete peace. He said that many Sahrawis carry
Mauritanian passports and can travel freely in Mauritania.
Pro-self determination Sahrawis are numerous in Mauritania
and have settled in places like the village of Zouarate
Sahrawi. The Mauritanian Government and locals welcome the
Sahrawi presence because Sahrawis have a reputation for
honest business.
--------------
Comment
--------------
11. (C) We believe this is solid confirmation of the
continued improvement of human right situation in the
territory, as documented in Embassy submission to the Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices, and updates the 2008
report. Transfer of abusers away from the Sahara, where many
have been stationed for years has been a key objective of our
human rights dialogue. (Note: They remain on our Leahy
vetting watch list. End Note.) It tends to fit in with
Morocco's post-"years of lead8 approach to transitional
justice as signaled by the Instance for Equity and
Reconciliation (IER),which compensated victims but did not
name abusers. We have lobbied for over a year for the
recognition of the ASVDH, which has won in court and on
appeal an order for the Government to recognize it.
Additional quiet Embassy/USG advocacy at the strategic level
might help move forward this next step toward the political
opening that may be Morocco's best bet to enhance its
prospects for an acceptable political solution. The
improvement of human rights situation in the Western Sahara
brings it closer to, but not yet quite equal with the
situation in Morocco, where there is greater freedom of the
press and of expression, but where the recent trend has not
been so favorable. End Comment.
*****************************************
Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website;
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Moro cco
*****************************************
Jackson
NOFORN
SIPDIS
STATE FOR DRL/NESCA, NEA/MAG AND IO/UNP
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2034
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL WI MR MO
SUBJECT: WESTERN SAHARA: ACTIVIST CONFIRMS HUMAN RIGHTS
IMPROVEMENTS, NOTES POLITICAL EVOLUTION
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Robert P. Jackson for reasons 1
.4 (b) and (d).
1. (C) Summary: Fresh news borne by a Sahrawi-American
activist confirms other reports that the human rights
situation in the Western Sahara continues to stabilize;
serious violations are not occurring; and there seems to be
somewhat more open political space. This was also observed
by Rabat)resident European diplomats, who recently met with
both Moroccan officials and pro-independence human rights
activists. Our contact told us that recently, more known
police abusers have been transferred out, and those left
behind increasingly behave themselves. A Sahrawi local MOI
official confirmed the transfers and indicated the Government
was looking at additional steps to open up. The Embassy has
pushed for such actions in our Human Rights Dialogue. We
assess that the Moroccans can now be persuaded to continue
their opening, and in the current environment think it worth
trying. Our contact said pro-self determination Sahrawis on
both sides of the berm were looking to a favorable evolution
of USG policy away from support for the autonomy plan. End
Summary.
-------------- --------------
A Simultaneously Sahrawi and American Perspective
-------------- --------------
2. (C/NOFORN) On July 7, PolCouns and D/PolCouns met with
U.S.-Moroccan dual national and Sahrawi activist Saleh
el-Bachra (strictly protect) to discuss current events in the
Sahara. Bachra, who has worked for the U.S. military, is
well plugged into -- and has supported from the U.S. -- the
pro-self-determination human rights activists in the
territory, where all his family lives. In his biannual or
annual visits to Embassy he has been a generally credible
reporter and most of what he has told us has panned out. He
said the Sahrawis in Western Sahara, southern Morocco,
Tindouf, Mauritania, and the diaspora living abroad are well
acquainted with each other. Security officials had kept him
under surveillance but not harassed him.
-------------- --------------
Sahara is Quiet -- Human Rights Situation Improving
-------------- --------------
3. (C) Bachra said that the Sahara has been quiet lately.
He confirmed what we have heard from other sources that
serious human rights violations, like unlawful arrests or
beatings, have essentially ceased in the territory. He
reported that activists confirmed to him that in recent weeks
numerous additional security personnel have been transferred
out of Western Sahara to locations all over Morocco. These
include most, but not all, of the well-known human rights
violators in the security forces. The Police Prefect (i.e.,
a Wali-level official responsible for police throughout
Western Sahara and Morocco,s most southern provinces -- not
just the Laayoune region) was also transferred. Authorities
have effectively disbanded the infamous "Firqa al mawt" or
"Brigade of Death," an appellation going back to the days of
mortal repression under King Hassan II. Replacements
apparently have very clear instruction not to act abusively.
Bachra recounted one incident where well known human rights
violator Aziz Annouche (still there) hauled in a youth for
some protest, slapped him, and released him. This is a far
cry from harsher practices in the relatively recent past, he
said.
4. (C) The police transfers, which we had not heard about,
were confirmed to PolCouns by a high ranking local Ministry
of Interior (MOI) official. The official, himself a Sahrawi,
also told us that the Wali recently wrote the MOI asking for
permission to legally register the non-governmental
organization (NGO) the Sahrawi Association of Human Rights
Victims (ASVDH).
5. (C) Bachra said this laissez-faire atmosphere was
particularly evident during the hard-fought campaign for the
June 12 local elections. Pro-Polisario activists held a
demonstration just before election day in the Sahrawi
neighborhood of Matala to promote the Polisario,s call for a
boycott of the local elections. They carried some Polisario
banners and shouted slogans. Police were present in force,
but in a near unprecedented fashion, did nothing. The
Polisario boycott fizzled, with Sahrawis turning out in force
to re-install CORCAS president Kalihenna Ould er Rachid and
his family in control of the Laayoune City Hall. (Note: Some
half of Western Sahara's population lives there, more than
double the population of the refugee camps. End Note.)
-------------- --------------
Tribes Turn Out High Local Election Participation
-------------- --------------
6. (C) Bachra said the local elections were mostly about
tribal affiliations. Turnout in the Western Sahara and in
the south was higher than the rest of Morocco and double that
in Casablanca. Bachra said that part of the reason that
voter participation rates in Sahara were among the highest
"in the country" was because many pro-independence Sahrawi,s
are trying to facilitate political changes regarding the
independence of Western Sahara from within the existing
mechanism of local government. In any case, he confirmed
others, observations that the Sahrawis voted mostly along
tribal lines, with voters from the dominant Rguibat tribe
split along clan lines between the Ould er Rachid family and
the Joumani clan, with the Constitutional Union (UC),an
out-of-government party traditionally associated with
pro-palace urban political machines. Bachra reported that on
the night that election results were announced, there was a
riot between supporters of Ould er Rachid and Joumani.
(Note: A Joumani gained control of Dakhla, despite not being
from the dominant local tribe, the Ouled Dhlim. End Note.)
7. (C) Bachra noted that victories of both families and of
Hassan Derham, another wealthy Sahrawi, who won on the USFP
ticket from the port area, meant that efforts to plant Fouad
Ali El Himma,s Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM)
were crushed, winning no seats in Laayoune itself. The PAM
did succeed in organizing opposition to Kalihenna to join
forces in the council vote for mayor, but they fell short by
three votes. This is widely viewed as a failed attempt by
the Palace to move Kalihenna aside from the Sahara
negotiations. The Wali of Laayoune region, i.e., a
MOI-nominated Royal Governor, new this year, is perceived as
close to El Himma. (Note: Wali Mohammed Jalmous did
postpone the mayoral vote for a few days, a move foiled when
the Ould er Rachid spirited their supporters to some desert
hideaway. End Note.) Nonetheless, the foes of the Ould er
Rachid, many from the minority Izerguine tribe, won in the
areas surrounding Laayoune city; so the leadership of the
councils of the province and of Laayoune region still
remained in play. The PAM,s major success was in Samara,
where party leader Mohammed Sheikh Biadillah, from yet
another Rguibat clan, was elected deputy mayor.
8. (C) A Swedish diplomat who just returned from her first
visit to the territory with a Belgian counterpart (another
ground-breaking diplomatic visit carried out with our
encouragement) had told us earlier in the week that Polisario
sympathizers defied their own boycott to vote, many for the
Ould er Rachid, because, according to one, "as corrupt as
they are, they stood up to Rabat,s machinations." They also
heard from local activists that abuses have ceased, but
intensive police presence continues as do restrictions on
speech and assembly. They described the overall situation in
the territory as unexpectedly calm.
--------------
Sahrawis Confident in U.S. Policy Shift
--------------
9. (C) Bachra said the many Sahrawis inclined toward
referendum/independence were hoping for changes in U.S.
policy toward the Western Sahara under the Obama
Administration. Expectations are running high because of
what is being perceived as a new U.S. tilt toward
referendum/independence and away from U.S. support for
Morocco's "autonomy plan," he said. The diplomatic visitors
also saw this as a factor in the recent calm.
-------------- --------------
Mauritania Unlikely to Play a Part in Sahara Solution
-------------- --------------
10. (C) Bachra said that he could not see a major role being
played by the Mauritania in the peace negotiations on Western
Sahara among Morocco, the Polisario and Algeria. He said
that Mauritania actually benefits from the status quo of an
incomplete peace. He said that many Sahrawis carry
Mauritanian passports and can travel freely in Mauritania.
Pro-self determination Sahrawis are numerous in Mauritania
and have settled in places like the village of Zouarate
Sahrawi. The Mauritanian Government and locals welcome the
Sahrawi presence because Sahrawis have a reputation for
honest business.
--------------
Comment
--------------
11. (C) We believe this is solid confirmation of the
continued improvement of human right situation in the
territory, as documented in Embassy submission to the Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices, and updates the 2008
report. Transfer of abusers away from the Sahara, where many
have been stationed for years has been a key objective of our
human rights dialogue. (Note: They remain on our Leahy
vetting watch list. End Note.) It tends to fit in with
Morocco's post-"years of lead8 approach to transitional
justice as signaled by the Instance for Equity and
Reconciliation (IER),which compensated victims but did not
name abusers. We have lobbied for over a year for the
recognition of the ASVDH, which has won in court and on
appeal an order for the Government to recognize it.
Additional quiet Embassy/USG advocacy at the strategic level
might help move forward this next step toward the political
opening that may be Morocco's best bet to enhance its
prospects for an acceptable political solution. The
improvement of human rights situation in the Western Sahara
brings it closer to, but not yet quite equal with the
situation in Morocco, where there is greater freedom of the
press and of expression, but where the recent trend has not
been so favorable. End Comment.
*****************************************
Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website;
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Moro cco
*****************************************
Jackson