VZCZCXYZ1489
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBP #1363/01 3321103
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281103Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8451
INFO RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 0040
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0005
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0012
RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI 0001
RUEHSB/AMEMBASSY HARARE 0029
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0004
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA 0009
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0017
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0008
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0007
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0007
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0003
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 0140
RUEHUM/AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR 0005

UNCLAS BAMAKO 001363 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV EFIN ECON ML
SUBJECT: VISIT OF DEPUTY SECRETARY NEGROPONTE TO MALI, 
COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES MINISTERIAL 
 
REF: A. BAMAKO 1339 
     ¶B. BAMAKO 1336 
 
¶1.  Summary:  The Deputy Secretary's November 14-15 visit to 
Mali as head of the U.S. delegation to the Community of 
Democracies (CD) Ministerial reaffirmed our strong bilateral 
ties and sent a clear message of support for Mali's CD 
Presidency.  During the CD Meeting, the Deputy met with 
representatives from NGOs from non-democratic countries, 
participated in the launch of a working group bringing 
together democracies in the Asia-Pacific region, and engaged 
with delegates from other democratic states.  On the 
bilateral side, he met with President Toure and FM Ouane 
(septel) and reached out to Mali's own civil society  The 
Deputy's press conference with a variety of Malian and 
international correspondents highlighted the strength of 
U.S.-Malian relations and clarified U.S. military engagement 
in the North of the country. End summary 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
U.S. - Strong Support for Mali's CD Presidency 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  The Deputy Secretary's visit, beginning with his arrival 
via Timbuktu, received prominent and positive press coverage 
(reftel A).  His acknowledgment of Mali's long tradition of 
religious tolerance and Islamic scholarship during his calls 
on Muslim leaders in the brief stop in Timbuktu further 
reaffirmed the positive message carried by the U.S. 
delegation.  The Deputy's presence and his role as opening 
ceremony speaker, along with Ambassador Danilovich's 
participation in the CD opening, communicated strong U.S. 
support for the Community of Democracies and our appreciation 
to Mali for its chairmanship during the last year. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
CD - Meeting with NGO Representatives from Undemocratic States 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
 
¶3.  The Deputy Secretary's meeting with representatives of 
NGO's from non-democratic countries (defined as CD observer 
countries or countries not invited) on the margins of the 
Ministerial provided them an opportunity to voice specific 
concerns: 
 
--Joel Brito, International Group for Social Corporate 
Responsibility (Cuba):  Noted that President Bush's recent 
speech on Cuba was well-received among the opposition. 
 
--Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Activist, American University of Cairo 
(Egypt):  Wished to elevate the fate of imprisoned 
journalists and the importance of a free press.  Noted that 
democracy had been good for Africa, but said there were still 
cases of special concern, including Egypt.  They added that 
Ethiopia was no longer following a democratic agenda, and 
they urged the United States to help put Ethiopia back on the 
right track. 
 
--Reza Eslami-Somea, Professor, University of Shahid 
Behesthti (Iran): NGO representatives noted the need for 
further academic and cultural exchanges, but complained that 
these exchanges were frequently frustrated by the 
difficulties in obtaining U.S. visas. 
 
--Oyo Obe, Civil Liberties Organization and Chair of the 
World Movement for Democracy (Nigeria):  Emphasized the 
importance of involving civil society in the democratization 
process. 
 
--Yuri Dzhibladze, Center for the Development of Democracy 
and Human Rights (Russia):  Expressed their interests in 
promoting greater communication between NGO's, noting that 
the government controlled nearly all the mass media but that 
the internet provided a way to publish and make available to 
the public much more material. 
 
--Mohsen Marzouk, Kawakibi, Center for Democratic Transition 
 
(Tunisia):  Urged a stronger diplomatic and Embassy role in 
supporting democracy, and encouraged NGO's to be more active 
in promoting their effectiveness and results.  Stated need 
for regional and local strategy.  Said they had plenty of 
money, "maybe too much," but did not know how to best spend 
it. 
 
--Carlos Ponce, Justice Consortium and Milos Alcalay, former 
Venezuelan Ambassador to the UN (Venezuela):  Would like to 
see a regional NGO support network.  Asked for greater 
involvement and support from regional organizations such as 
the OAS.  The NGO representatives argued that these regional 
organizations were needed to actively counter Venezuelan 
President Chavez' funding of anti-democratic programs in 
Nicaragua and Bolivia, 
 
--Vo Van Ai, Que Me:  Action for Democracy on Vietnam 
(Vietnam): Raised their concern over plight of political 
prisoners.  Saw the economy opening and rise in number of 
democratic activists. 
 
--John Makumbe, University of Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe):  Asked 
what additional resources might be made available to them 
(Embassy note: they were provided information on draft 
legislation, the "Democracy Development Act," that if passed 
may provide financial aid to pro-demacracy advocates who are 
victimized by the state due to their political activities.) 
 
--------------------------------------- 
CD - Asia Pacific Democracy Partnership 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  The Deputy Secretary also hosted a working breakfast to 
discuss the creation of an Asia-Pacific Democracy 
Partnership, to bring established democracies from the region 
together to create a framework for supporting neighboring 
emerging democracies.  The Canadian, Mongolian, South Korean, 
and the Philippines representatives whole-heartedly supported 
the initiative, while several others suggested a slower 
approach.  Also in attendance were representatives of 
Australia, India, Indonesia, and Japan.  The group agreed to 
meet again in early 2008, in Asia, at a date yet to be 
determined. In the meantime, the USG will produce a new 
non-paper on the proposed APDP structure and priorities, and 
engage in further bilateral discussions to pave the way for 
the larger group meeting. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Bilateral - Mali's Civil Society 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  Representatives of Malian civil society told the Deputy 
Secretary of their concerns about forms of slavery still 
 
SIPDIS 
practiced in Mali, and the opposition of Imams and Muslim 
groups to President Toure's proposal to amend Mali's Family 
Code and abolish the death penalty (reftel B).  Malian 
women's groups expressed reservations at challenging the 
Imams in their contention that the death penalty was in 
keeping with Koranic principles.   Representatives of the 
women's groups and religious leaders were both unhappy that 
the President had announced the proposals without consulting 
civil society. 
 
---------------- 
Press Conference 
---------------- 
 
¶6.  During a brief press conference on the eve of his 
departure, the Deputy Secretary told the Malian press corps 
that, as one of Mali's oldest allies, the U.S. is committed 
to reinforcing Mali's democratic tradition.  He noted that 
Mali benefits from a broad range of U.S. assistance programs, 
including USAID, the MCC, the President's Malaria Initiative, 
and Military humanitarian assistance.  Malian journalists 
were particularly interested in U.S. military assistance to 
Mali and rumors of a U.S. military base in northern Mali. 
The Deputy Secretary dispelled these rumors, stating that the 
 
U.S. has no intention of installing a military base in the 
north.  He said members of the U.S. military present in 
northern Mali were there only to provide counter-terrorism 
training to the Malian military.  In response to questions 
regarding AFRICOM, the Deputy Secretary said the U.S. 
continued to consult with African countries about the 
location of AFRICOM headquarters, which is currently located 
in Germany.  Following the press conference, some Malian 
newspapers speculated that Mali figures high on the list of 
potential AFRICOM sites. 
 
¶7.  The Deputy Secretary's staff has cleared this message. 
McCulley