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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 NOUAKCHOTT 000151 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2016 
TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV PHUM PINR EAID MR
SUBJECT: HIGH-LEVEL US DELEGATION DISCUSSES DEMOCRACY AND 
COUNTERTERRORISM -- DELEGATION'S GOVERNMENT MEETINGS 
 
REF: A. NOUAKCHOTT 87 
     ¶B. 05 NOAKCHOTT 1451 
 
Classified By: Amb. Joseph LeBaron, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d) 
 
-------------- 
(C) Key Points 
-------------- 
 
-- A high-level interagency mission led by AF PDAS Pittman 
met with Colonel Fal for 2 1/2 hours, called on the Prime 
Minster, the Foreign Minister, and the National Independent 
Electoral Commission, and met with members of the Military 
Council responsible for security matters, during a busy 
three-day visit to Mauritania February 7-9. 
 
-- As is his wont, Fal gave a lengthy (59-minute) 
justification for the coup, but then laid out a clear sense 
of direction and personal commitment to the electoral 
timeline. That said, he demurred on discussing ways for 
Mauritanians to return to vote, including black African 
Mauritanians in Senegal and Mali. 
 
-- Both the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister assured the 
delegation that ministers were given autonomy to run the 
government following the general directives of the military 
council given following the coup. 
 
-- Members of the National Independent Electoral Commission 
strongly agreed that the commission was completely 
independent from the government. 
 
------------ 
(C) Comments 
------------ 
 
-- The visit of the high-level delegation was extremely 
useful, still timely, and well-received.  It received 
extensive media coverage and press play (see septel). 
 
-- Two overriding dangers continue to threaten the process: 
(a) an exogenous shock such as an assassination or coup 
attempt that derails the process, and (b) inexperience, 
inefficiency, and inadequate resources that combine to delay 
the timeline.  Any significant delay would threaten the 
already-shaky confidence among Mauritanians here that the 
country will actually be able to pull off the ambitious 
transition to democracy that it has set for itself. 
 
End Key Points and Comments. 
 
¶1. (U) During a three-day visit to Mauritania February 7 - 9, 
an eight-member interagency delegation headed by AF PDAS 
Bobby Pittman and including members from S/CT, DRL, AF, NSC, 
OSD and USAID met with transitional government and election's 
officials to assess Mauritania's transition to democracy. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
COLONEL FAL EXPLAINS THE COUP AND TRANSITION TO ELECTIONS 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶2. (C) Fal began the meeting by explaining at length to the 
delegation the reasons for "the events of August 3rd."  In 
response to Pittman's statement that the coup had put 
US-Mauritanian relations on "unstable footing," Fal said that 
"the Mauritanian people, like the American people," were 
uncomfortable with coups.  "We completely understand your 
position," Fal said, adding "but it is impossible for you to 
understand our position, because thank God you haven't lived 
through our situation."  "If you had, you would understand 
why this change was needed," Fal concluded. 
 
¶3. (C) In discussing the military council and transitional 
government's actions, Fal said "we have created a truly 
independent electoral commission...we have liberalized the 
press and made it more available to all Mauritanians...we 
have reformed the justice system and implemented a good 
governance campaign...and we have established a National 
Independent Commission on Human Rights", adding that 
"everything we have done, and everything we will do is in 
close coordination with political parties and civil 
 
NOUAKCHOTT 00000151  002 OF 004 
 
 
society...they have been involved in every step." 
 
¶4. (C) At the close of the meeting, Ambassador asked Fal 
about a UNHCR proposal to allow Mauritanian refugees living 
in Senegal and Mali to return and participate in elections 
(Ref A).  In a spirited response, Fal said the return of 
these people "was an important question for the Mauritanian 
people, and would be taken on at the appropriate time, but it 
would throw the election process offline and jeopardize the 
transition if we tried to take it on now."  "I'm not trying 
to run away from the issue," Fal said, "but we have a hard 
enough task registering those Mauritanians whose citizenship 
is established, let alone those whose citizenship is in 
doubt."  Fal added that he was unaware of the UNHCR proposal, 
which according to Head of Mission for UNHCR Didier Laye, had 
been passed to Mauritania's ambassador in Geneva two weeks 
earlier (Ref A). 
 
¶5. (C) In closing, Fal reiterated his commitments to the 
delegates that no member of the military council or the 
transitional government would run in the coming elections, 
that the Military Council would relinquish power by May 2007, 
and that the government was committed to fighting terrorism. 
 
------------------------------------ 
ELECTORAL COMMISSION BEGINS ITS WORK 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶6. (C) The delegation met with all 15 members of the National 
Independent Electoral Commission including its president, 
Cheikh Sid'Ahmed Ould Babamine, a former ambassador and 
military officer.  Babamine explained that the commission 
began operations only two months ago, and that commission 
members "are not election experts...rather we were chosen for 
our independence and integrity," he said, adding that "we are 
all trying to learn our roles and we will need help from our 
friends, particularly the U.S., if we are to be successful." 
 
¶7. (C) Babamine highlighted two of the commission's early 
successes.  "We have selected regional commission 
representatives who will oversee all aspects of the 
transition."  "These representatives are currently being 
trained in Nouakchott, with the help of a UN elections 
expert, and will be sent out into the field next week to 
oversee the census," he said.  "We also delayed the census by 
two weeks when we saw that the Ministry of the Interior 
needed more time," Babamine said adding that "this is the 
first example of the commission using its power to ensure 
that elections are free and fair." 
 
¶8. (C) In response to a question about how the electoral 
commission would ensure its financial independence, Babamine 
said "we don't believe that receiving our budget from the 
transitional government means we have to answer to the 
government," adding that "the Mauritanian people are our only 
leader and we answer to them alone."  Several commission 
members added to this point by stating that "if we feel our 
independence is being jeopardized we will leave the 
commission," and "we are a completely independent and 
autonomous commission." 
 
¶9. (C) In response to another question concerning the 
relationship between the Ministry of the Interior and the 
commission, Babamine explained that "the Minister of the 
Interior is our main partner in the election process because 
he is in charge of the administration of the elections...that 
the commission will then oversee."  "I can tell you now that 
we have an excellent relationship with the Minister of the 
Interior and with the entire administration," Babamine said, 
adding that "when we bring a problem to their attention they 
solve it right away...we have full oversight."  Babamine 
cited the decision to delay the census as an example of this 
cooperation. 
 
¶10. (C) In response to Ambassador's question as to how the 
commission will respond to the eventual claim by at least 
some Mauritanians that the voter list was as flawed as 
previous voter lists, Babamine said "we plan to involve the 
public in the entire process to show our commitment to the 
fairness of the list."  "Our regional representatives will 
oversee the census to make sure everyone is counted, and no 
 
NOUAKCHOTT 00000151  003 OF 004 
 
 
one is left out or counted twice," he said.  "If any problems 
arise, we will handle them swiftly," Babamine said, adding 
that "in the end, if the list is not fair, we will have the 
government start the process over and make a new list." 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
PRIME MINISTER SAYS DEMOCRACY IS "FIRST PRIORITY" 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶11. (C) PDAS Pittman asked Prime Minister Sidi Mohamed Ould 
Boubacar about the progress of the transition process and 
what issues Boubacar expected to face over the coming year. 
Boubacar highlighted two major themes: the government's 
commitment to the transition process, and the improvement of 
Mauritania's economic health.  Boubacar said the transition 
to democracy was the government's "first priority, even at 
the expense of other programs" adding that "we have a clear 
roadmap and we foresee no delay" to meeting the transition 
milestones.  He said he was satisfied with the process thus 
far, and felt that the active role the government had taken 
in consulting with political parties and civil society had 
maintained strong support for the transition.  However, he 
warned that the transition process would significantly strain 
the government's limited financial resources. 
 
¶12. (C) Boubacar discussed the government's current judicial 
reform and good governance efforts.  In terms of governance, 
he noted that they have implemented "complete transparency," 
both in budgetary matters as well as legislative 
decision-making.  He specifically pointed to the Extractive 
Industries Transparency Initiative agreement recently signed 
by the government as evidence of their commitment.  In terms 
of judicial reform, Boubacar said measures were underway to 
create a fully independent judiciary and provide additional 
training for magistrates. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS URGES USG ENGAGEMENT 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶13. (C) Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Ould Sid'Ahmed 
urged the delegation to press for strengthened 
U.S.-Mauritanian relations.  "We are currently working on our 
transition to democracy with the European Union, the United 
Nations, the Organization of Islamic Conference, the Arab 
League, and the Association of Francophone Countries," 
Sid'Ahmed said, adding that "these other organizations have 
all decided to take an active role in our transition...and we 
need the US' help as well." 
 
¶14. (C) Responding to a question about the balance of power 
between the Military Council, the Council of Ministers and 
Colonel Fal, Sid'Ahmed said "the ministers are responsible 
for the daily operations of the government, while the 
Military Council fills the legislative role.  Fal presides 
over both groups and acts as a bridge between them." 
Sid'Ahmed stressed that the "civilian" ministers run the 
government. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
CT MEETING WITH FIVE MILITARY COUNCIL MEMBERS 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶15. (C) The delegation met with Col. Mohamed Abdel Aziz, 
Chief of Presidential Guard; Col. Mohamed Ould Cheikh Mohamed 
Ahmed (Ghazwany), Chief Of National Security; 
Col. Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh El-Alem, Deputy Chief of 
Defense; Col. Ahmed Ould Bekrine, Chief Of Staff, National 
Gendarmerie; and Col. Sogho Alassane, Chief Of Staff, 
National Guard to discuss Mauritanian counterterrorism 
efforts. 
 
¶16. (C) A recurring theme from each of the military council 
members was that the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat 
(GSPC) terrorist threat was a regional issue and must be 
addressed through regional cooperation among the west African 
countries affected by the GSPC. 
 
¶17. (C) The group also emphasized Mauritania's commitment to 
the counterterrorism effort.  Col. El-Alem specifically noted 
that Mauritania "would spare no effort" to continue the fight 
 
NOUAKCHOTT 00000151  004 OF 004 
 
 
against terrorism.  Reiterating this point, Col. Ahmed noted 
that bilateral cooperation with the United States was crucial 
to the effort.  While regional cooperation was the goal, Col. 
Ahmed explained that Mauritania looked to the U.S. to play a 
vital role in facilitating communication among the 
neighboring countries and encouraging continued regional 
commitment. 
 
¶18. (U) This cable was prepared after the departure of the 
delegation.  The delegation has not cleared the text. 
LeBaron