EMBASSY SANA'A WELCOMES CODEL MCCAIN AUGUST 16-17

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 001487

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/ARP:AMACDONALD AND H/EX AMACDERMOTT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/09/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL OVIP YM
SUBJECT: EMBASSY SANA'A WELCOMES CODEL MCCAIN AUGUST 16-17

REF: STATE 77170

Classified By: Ambassador Stephen A. Seche for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Embassy Sana'a warmly welcomes CODEL McCain to Yemen.
The poorest country in the Arab world, Yemen and its
government continue to face multiple, serious challenges. We
have seen little if any improvement in the political,
security, and economic situations facing the country in
recent years. Parliamentary elections scheduled for April
were delayed by two years, exacerbating existing unrest in
the South to the point that there are now regular and
continuing public demonstrations. Violence has ramped up in
the northern governorate of Sa'ada, making the onset of the
sixth round of that continuing conflict a real possibility.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has continued with
its operational planning, and appears to be responsible for
the recent kidnapping of nine foreign aid workers (and the
murder of three) in Sa'ada. The whereabouts and well-being
of the remaining six hostages is still unclear. Falling oil
prices have forced the ROYG to recalculate its budget to
account for drastically reduced revenues, and the Yemeni
rial, after being stable for a long period, has begun to
waiver.

BILATERAL RELATIONS
--------------


2. (S) On the positive side, the election of President Obama
and his speech in Cairo were both well-received by the ROYG
and Yemenis in general, creating a modest but noticeable
increase in confidence in U.S. policy in the region.
President Saleh himself has not been immune to this trend,
and has made it known that he is eager to develop a strong,
personal relationship with President Obama along the lines of
that which he enjoyed with President Bush. He may well use
the occasion of your visit to raise his interest in visiting
Washington once again. If he does, I suggest you reply that
you understand that the White House is looking into the
timing of the visit in order to schedule it in such a way as
to maximize its success and highlight our close and
productive bilateral relationship.

GUANTANAMO
--------------


3. (S) The return of convicted terrorist financier Sheikh
Mohamed Moayed on August 11 has generated a positive response
among the Yemeni population. At the same time, his release
has put new attention on the return of Yemeni detainees
currently held at GTMO. As of this writing, the Obama
Administration still has no concrete plan for the disposition
of the Yemeni detainees in GTMO, who constitute nearly 40
percent of the population there. The Saleh's regime's
failure to secure their repatriation continues to be used by
the President's critics against him. Earlier this year,
President Saleh - in an unexpected about-face - agreed to
allow Yemeni nationals to be turned over to the Saudi
rehabilitation program until a facility to house and
rehabilitate them in Yemen can be prepared. The ROYG has
designated a site for the rehabilitation center near Aden and
is waiting for financial assistance to prepare it. (Note:
Saleh continues to ask for this assistance, which is being
discussed in Washington. The Saudis have offered to fund
this facility, which will provide Saleh with important cover
against his domestic critics, and enable Yemen to securely
house and provide job training and religious re-orientation
for not just GTMO returnees, but also for the large,
radicalized population already present in Yemen. End Note.)

SOCOTRA
--------------


4. (U) Socotra, a small archipelago of four islands in the
Indian Ocean, is so isolated that a third of its 800 species
of plants are found nowhere else on the planet. The main
island has three geographical terrains: the narrow coastal
plains, a limestone plateau permeated with karstic caves, and
the Haghier Mountains. Botanists rank the flora of Socotra
among the ten most endangered island flora in the world. The
archipelago is a site of global importance for biodiversity
conservation and a possible center for ecotourism. The
island was recognized by the United Nations Educational,

SANAA 00001487 002 OF 002


Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a world
natural heritage site in July 2008. Almost all inhabitants
of Socotra's 50,000 inhabitants live on the main island. The
Yemeni government, and in particular the Ministry of Water
and the Environment, have made great efforts recently to
preserve Socotra's ecological and cultural heritage and
promote eco-tourism on the island. The use of qat, the
narcotic leaf chewed daily by most Yemenis, was banned on the
island in 2009.
SECHE