VZCZCXRO4737
PP RUEHLA RUEHRN
DE RUEHMD #3096 3611559
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 271559Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1513
INFO RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 3909
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0798
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1222
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 5985
RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA PRIORITY 2310
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME PRIORITY 0001
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0834
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0278

UNCLAS MADRID 003096 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
PRM/AFR FOR MARY LANGE 
NEA/MAG FOR JIM FLOWERS 
ROME FOR FODAG 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PHUM AG SP
SUBJECT: SPAIN ON SAHRAWI REFUGEE CENSUS; ALGERIA SUMMIT 
 
REF: STATE 201212 
 
1.(SBU) Poloff met with Spanish MFA Subdirector General for 
North African Affairs Manuel Gomez-Acebo and Deputy 
Subdirector General Javier Garcia-Larrache on December 22 to 
discuss pressing Algeria and the Polisario Front (PF) on 
allowing the UNHCR to conduct a refugee registration in the 
Tindouf camps (reftel).  Gomez-Acebo said that any decision 
on whether to press Algeria on a refugee count would require 
additional discussions within the MFA, as it would constitute 
a delicate political decision.  He asked Poloff whether there 
was a particular framework or time-frame in which the U.S. is 
seeking Spanish support, noting that the UNHCR Executive 
Committee meeting had just recently taken place.  He said 
that the GOS would always support the consensus of the UNHCR, 
but Spain views it as extremely important that this 
assistance continue to flow.  Poloff told Gomez-Acebo that he 
would seek further information from Washington. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Garcia-Larrache added his opinion that there is 
certainly reason for concern over the management of the 
Sahrawi food assistance program, and he noted that Spain is 
in favor of verifying that the food assistance is both 
getting to the right people and not being provided in excess 
of actual need.  Emboff also suggested that perhaps 
reluctance from Algeria and the PF is based in the knowledge 
that the refugee numbers could be significantly lower than 
currently claimed, and Garcia-Larrache agreed.  He said that 
the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation has accepted 
the UNHCR number (first 90,000 and now 125,000) as the number 
of persons requiring food assistance without making any 
comment or affirmation as to whether that number is 
reflective of the actual number of Sahrawi refugees. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Turning to the recent Spain-Algeria High Level 
Meeting, Gomez-Acebo said that the media were upset by the 
lack of a press conference during the summit and that this 
colored their reporting.  Notwithstanding, the MFA considers 
the trip to have been a success, and Gomez-Acebo noted that 
the one-on-one meeting between Zapatero and Bouteflika lasted 
almost three hours, or two hours longer than planned.  While 
no date has been finalized for the visit of King Juan Carlos, 
the two countries agreed that this would probably take place 
in the first quarter of 2007. 
 
//COMMENT// 
 
¶4. (SBU) On the heels of President Zapatero's visit to 
Algeria, which was roundly dismissed as a failure in Spanish 
media, the GOS may be wary of appearing in any way hostile 
toward Algeria or the Polisario Front, either in terms of 
reducing food aid to Sahrawi refugees or diminishing the 
numerical significance of Sahrawi refugees in the Western 
Sahara debate.  Spain's dependence on Algerian hydrocarbons 
is also likely to color any bilateral criticisms.  A visit by 
King Juan Carlos to Algeria has not taken place since the 
1980's; it would be a significant step in improving bilateral 
relations. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Visit Embassy Madrid's Classified Website; 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/madrid/ 
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AGUIRRE