This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 000963 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP AND NEA/PI 
ABU DHABI FOR MEPI/RO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KDEM KMPI KWMN MU
SUBJECT: OMAN REJECTS MEPI ELECTION PROGRAMS 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (SBU) Acting Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi 
conveyed on June 12 Oman's decision to disallow MEPI-funded 
programming related to elections and "internal politics," 
including the voter education aspects of a new IRI program 
that was set to begin this month.  MEPI programs in less 
sensitive areas are nevertheless still welcome.  End summary. 
 
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WEAVE Unspun 
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¶2. (SBU) In a June 12 meeting with the Charge, Acting Foreign 
Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi expressed the government's 
serious concerns over MEPI-funded election programs in Oman, 
notwithstanding the Ministry of Social Development's (MOSD) 
September 2005 request for a women's voter education project 
and subsequent written approval of the resulting concept 
paper.  He said the topic is a very sensitive issue, and 
feared that MEPI funding in this area would be viewed by the 
media and the public as an attempt by the United States to 
"meddle" in Omani politics.  He stressed that the government 
could not therefore permit the election-related aspects of 
the International Republican Institute's (IRI) "Women's 
Empowerment and Voter Education" (WEAVE) project that had 
been set to begin in June. 
 
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MEPI Welcome in Other Areas 
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¶3. (SBU) Sayyid Badr stressed that MEPI funds must be shifted 
from "politically sensitive" areas to less controversial 
ones, such as training, capacity-building, and human 
resources development.  He said he would like to see more in 
terms of training programs and seminars, empowering women 
through education rather than elections.  Sayyid Badr 
suggested, for instance, that MEPI bring high-caliber 
trainers and teachers to share their experiences and raise 
public awareness of issues such as domestic abuse.  He also 
supported programs that would strengthen the capabilities and 
capacities of NGO's such as the Omani Women's Associations 
(OWA's).  (Note: Given that the WEAVE project includes an OWA 
capacity-building component and technical assistance for the 
MOSD in NGO development and women's empowerment, Post 
believes those aspects of WEAVE should still be acceptable to 
the Omani government.  End note.) 
 
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Coordinating with the MFA 
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¶4. (SBU) Sayyid Badr strongly advised the Embassy to work 
more closely with the MFA on MEPI-related programs.  He also 
relayed complaints from OWA representatives who felt that 
Embassy employees were "too aggressive" in pushing for 
decisions on MEPI-funded programs.  (Note: Curiously, in 
talks with us, OWA members have vented frustration 
exclusively in the direction of the Omani government.  End 
note.) 
 
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Comment 
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¶5. (SBU) Given unusual delays in recent weeks in MOSD's final 
approval of IRI's WEAVE project, it was not surprising when 
the President of the Muscat OWA speculated on June 11 that 
the Council of Ministers had turned the program down.  We 
believe it likely that the controversy in Bahrain over NDI 
activities, raised with us on several occasions by the MFA's 
MEPI-watcher, as well as public displeasure over perceptions 
of unwelcome USG "interference," may also have strengthened 
the hand of MEPI-phobes within the government. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment continued: It is worth noting that Oman 
decided in April to use the UN agency UNIFEM for a women's 
electoral assistance program, leading to the late 
cancellation of a MEPI-funded "campaign school" program in 
Muscat also originally scheduled for this month, perhaps 
revealing a desire to opt for a program "untainted" by the 
USG.  That and the WEAVE set-backs clearly illustrate our 
need to thoroughly coordinate proposed MEPI programs from an 
earlier stage with the Foreign Ministry, rather than risk 
late cancellation as has happened in these two recent 
incidents.  For the near term, we will need to work with MEPI 
and IRI to revise the WEAVE project within the new 
parameters.  In the longer term, MEPI will have to factor in 
greater lead time for project planning and development to 
allow for closer coordination with the Omani government. 
STEWART