TUNISIA'S ACTING MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS SUGGESTS "FRANK AND UNINHIBITED DISCUSSIONS" TO IMPROVE THE BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TUNIS 000008

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/07/2020
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUMHUPPS KDEM TSPL TS
SUBJECT: TUNISIA'S ACTING MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS
SUGGESTS "FRANK AND UNINHIBITED DISCUSSIONS" TO IMPROVE THE
BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP

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Classified By: Ambassador Gordon Gray for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) Acting Minister of Communications Oussama Romdhani
told the Ambassador on January 5 that although the U.S. and
Tunisia have had a strong bilateral relationship for a long
time, it had become "more uneven over the last decade."
Romdhani, who served for nearly fifteen years at the Tunisian
Embassy in Washington, suggested that "frank and uninhibited"
discussions could improve the bilateral relationship. The
Ambassador agreed, suggesting that the Government of Tunisia
(GOT) and the USG resume the dialogue on human rights issues
initiated during Lorne Craner's tenure as DRL Assistant
Secretary. Romdhani spoke highly of Craner but said that any
human rights dialogue needed to take place in the "proper
framework;" his main concern was public criticism of GOT
practices. The Ambassador also advocated expanding bilateral
cooperation, citing the emphasis in the President's Cairo
speech on science and technology and on entrepreneurship as
two mutually beneficial areas. Romdhani welcomed the idea of
working together in the two fields but did not offer any
specific ideas. End summary.


2. (C) Frankness and cordiality marked the 75-minute
one-on-one meeting. Over and above his responsibilities as
the Acting Minister of Communications, Romdhani is the
long-serving Director General of the Tunisian Agency of
External Communications; he is also President Ben Ali's
preferred translator in bilateral meetings. In addition to
his service at the Tunisian Embassy in Washington, Romdhani
studied in the United States. At the end of the meeting, he
offered himself as a sounding board should the Ambassador
need another channel of communications (although he carefully
worded the suggestion to respect the Foreign Minister's
prerogatives).

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Bilateral Relationship
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3. (C) Romdhani suggested the meeting, which came amid other
GOT efforts to improve the tenor of the bilateral
relationship. Replying to the Ambassador's question about
the state of bilateral relations, Romdhani said that the
traditionally very friendly relationship had become "more
uneven over the last decade." He attributed the erosion to
certain elements in the previous Administration who, he
claimed, preferred public posturing to achieving results.
(Romdhani cited as an example the GOT's surprise and dismay
at being grouped with North Korea in a White House statement
on media freedom.) Continuing, he suggested that Tunisia is
often taken for granted because it is a relatively small and
stable country, with no serious crises. Romdhani thought
that the election of a new Administration provided the
opportunity for reviving the relationship, and said that when
he visited the U.S. last spring he had perceived a sense of
"optimism in the air." He also spoke highly of the
President's June 4 speech in Cairo.

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Human Rights Dialogue
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4. (C) The Acting Minister thought that "frank and
uninhibited discussions" could improve the bilateral
relationship. The Ambassador agreed, suggesting that the GOT
and the USG resume the dialogue on human rights issues
initiated by then-DRL Assistant Secretary Craner. Romdhani
spoke highly of Craner but said that any human rights
dialogue needed to take place in the "proper framework;" he
did not elaborate, although he used the same expression more
than once during the discussion.


5. (C) Comment: Not surprisingly, given his responsibilities
within the GOT, Romdhani's main concern was public criticism
of GOT practices. He praised the manner in which Craner had
conducted the human rights dialogue. End comment.


6. (C) Citing Tunisia's record of social and economic
accomplishments, the Ambassador asked why the GOT had not
shown more confidence during the October elections, and in
particular why it had not allowed opposition parties to
freely select their own candidates. Romdhani replied with a
long and legalistic defense of the GOT,s actions and accused
Najib Chebbi (the leader of the independent Progressive
Democratic Party) of being an anti-Semitic leftist who was
now trying to curry favor with Islamists to succeed.


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Bilateral Cooperation
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7. (C) Shifting back to the bilateral relationship, the
Ambassador noted the discrepancy between the historical
reservoir of good will between the two countries, on one
hand, and, on the other hand, the relative lack of
engagement. Citing the emphasis in the President's Cairo
speech on science and technology cooperation and on
entrepreneurship, the Ambassador suggested that these two
mutually beneficial areas provide fertile ground for enhanced
cooperation. At the same time, he noted that the GOT still
had not ratified the science and technology agreement the two
countries signed in 2004. Romdhani welcomed the idea of
working together on science and technology and
entrepreneurship but did not offer any specific ideas. When
the Ambassador highlighted the upcoming visit of Science
Envoy Dr. Elias Zerhouni, Romdhani asked if the Minister of
Higher Education was aware of the visit; he appeared to make
mental notes on the visit and the GOT's failure to ratify the
science and technology agreement.
GRAY