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DE RUEHTU #0010/01 0031342
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P 031342Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY TUNIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9463
INFO RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 7104
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1499
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 8028
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 3223

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 000010 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/MAG (WLAWRENCE); NEA/IPA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/29/2015 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KMPI KPAO TS
SUBJECT: TRIP TO SOUTHERN TUNISIA: RESIDENTS TOUGH ON U.S. 
POLICIES, TOLERANT OF ISRAELI FM VISIT. 
 
REF: TUNIS 2533 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William J. Hudson; Reasons 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary. Poloff and MEPI FSN visited the southern 
industrial town of Gabes December 19-21 and met with ruling 
and opposition party leaders, NGOs, and many local residents. 
 All interlocutors were curious, and many skeptical, about 
the visit of an Embassy official to this oft-overlooked 
southern city; criticism of US policies in Iraq and the 
Middle East was tempered by interest in US exchange and 
educational programs. Residents were mostly accepting of 
Israeli FM Shalom's November visit. A description of Gabes, 
economic and political concerns will follow septel. End 
Summary. 
 
Skepticism and Appreciation 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C)  Several interlocutors, including members of 
loyal-opposition party MDS (Democratic Socialist Movement) 
and Karim Hamdi, a Tunisian-American from Gabes who is a 
professor at Oregon State University, and who has overseen 
U.S.-Tunisian student exchange programs, were adamant in 
trying to find out why a U.S diplomat had been sent to Gabes. 
When poloff explained that the purpose of the visit was 
merely a familiarization tour, to learn about areas of the 
country outside the capital, these contacts remained 
skeptical, apparently convinced the visit was part of a 
larger agenda.  At the same time, all interlocutors expressed 
appreciation, at varying levels, that we were interested in 
learning more about Gabes, as there was a widespread 
sentiment that Gabes is often ignored by foreigners and does 
not benefit from foreign assistance or exchange programs. 
Hamdi strongly urged that more residents of Gabes and other 
small cities be recruited as participants in international 
visitor programs, Fulbright exchanges, etc. 
 
¶3. (C) Poloff had attempted to arrange meetings with the 
local members of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP), 
considered one of the two independent legal opposition 
parties, and the president of the Gabes chapter of the 
independent Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH).  Although we 
have regular contact with these groups in Tunis, the Gabes 
representatives refused the meeting request.  They cited as 
reasons both internal pressure from members strongly opposed 
to US Iraq and Middle East policies, and also fear of 
unspecified retribution from Tunisian security agents for 
uncleared meetings with Embassy officials.  Semi-independent 
opposition party Ettajdid leader Yusuf Hamrouni told poloff 
that although members of his party did not oppose his meeting 
with a US diplomat, he had received "significant pressure" 
from close friends and relatives who sympathize with the 
outlawed religious-based An-Nahda party.  Hamrouni expressed 
concern that the US was isolating itself in the Arab world by 
equating Islam with terrorism, but acknowledged the 
importance of outreach events such as White House Iftar 
dinners. 
 
Iraq 
---- 
 
¶4. (C)  Virtually every discussion included a protest of US 
activity in Iraq, and, to a lesser degree, in 
Israel/Palestine.  A common theme was that the U.S., which 
had once been seen as a model of democracy and human rights, 
and whose advice on these issues was previously respected by 
Arab populations, had now lost all credibility due to its 
conduct of the war.  Karim Hamdi, who identified himself as 
"100 percent American and 100 percent Tunisian", said that 
this "extreme disappointment" was expressed to him by 
everyone from his intellectual and professional contacts, to 
vegetable sellers and villagers in his home village outside 
of Gabes.  Opposition party representatives such as Yusuf 
Hamrouni and MDS officials discussed this issue at length, 
attacking US actions in Iraq and asking poloff to explain our 
policy and our future plans in the region. (NB: Despite 
repeated attempts by our visitors, neither party 
representative was able to offer any comment on domestic 
Tunisian issues, or offer any semblance of a political 
platform.  However, this is also true even of party 
leadership in Tunis.) 
 
Shalom Visit to Tunisia 
----------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) On the margins of his November visit to the World 
 
Summit on Information Society, Israeli foreign minister 
Sylvan Shalom, a native Tunisian, and his mother, visited 
their former home in Gabes (reftel).  Security, according to 
residents, was predictably heavy; "500 policemen" by one 
local's estimation.  They confirmed reports that a small 
protest, arranged at the time by opposition party PDP, was 
shut down by Gabes police.  Interestingly, the prevailing 
sentiment among Gabesians poloff questioned about the 
unprecedented visit was indifference. "I do not care at all," 
said one vendor in Gabes' central market.  One restaurant 
manager opined that some Gabesians did not care that Shalom 
represented Israel, but begrudged the attention given to "a 
Jew." (NB: This comment is contrary to the much more widely 
expressed tolerance of Jews, including those living in 
Tunisia, that is coupled with criticism of Israel.)  Poloff 
met with Lackrach Hedi, a lawyer, former mayor of Gabes and 
former Parliamentarian, who, in his role as a legal 
representative for "Jewish communities and interests in 
Tunisia," accompanied the Shalom delegation on its Gabes 
tour.  Hedi said that Shalom was extremely grateful for the 
chance to see his former home, and repeated, "this is a 
dream," several times during the trip.  Hedi said that 
Shalom,s visit has led Jewish expatriates in Israel and 
Europe to plan visits to Gabes and surrounding areas, and 
that he expects a significant group of "pilgrims" in the 
coming months (NFI). 
 
¶6. Comment:  Travel outside the capital is always 
instructive; in this case, it was interesting to note that 
while we meet regularly with PDP head Chebbi and LTDH 
President Trifi in Tunis, their respective rank and file in 
Gabes maintain a boycott on USG contacts. More frequent 
travel by us might soften this stand.  Also noteworthy, and 
positive,  was the relative acceptance of Israeli FM Shalom's 
visit to his boyhood home and the possibility of more travel 
by Israeli and other Jews to Tunisia. 
HUDSON