VZCZCXRO4048
OO RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHNM #0800/01 2321429
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 191429Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY NIAMEY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4505
INFO RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0715
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 1620

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NIAMEY 000800 
 
STATE for AF/W (Heflin/Dennison) 
 
PARIS for AF Watcher 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL MOPS SOCI PGOV CASC ASEC NG LY
SUBJECT: NIGER: MNJ Rebel Leader Reported to Have Announced 
Intention to Lay Down Arms, But Situation Remains Murky 
 
NIAMEY 00000800  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
REFTEL: 07 Niamey 1184 
 
¶1. Summary.  On August 18, a late evening announcement on Tele-Sahel 
public television reported Mouvement Nigerien pour la Justice (MNJ) 
leader Agali Alambo had decided to have MNJ rebels lay down their 
arms.  Alambo reportedly arrived at the decision at a meeting in 
Libya with "Great Sahara" community leaders, notably Libyan leader 
Muammar Khaddafi.  The Government of Niger (GON) Spokesperson, 
Minister of Communications (MOC) Ben Omar, welcomed Alambo's 
announcement as good news and expressed, on behalf of GON President 
Mamadou Tandja and the people of Niger, appreciation to the Libyan 
leader.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  Late night August 18, GON MOC Ben Omar announced on Tele-Sahel 
public television the MNJ's decision to lay down arms, effective 
August 18.  MNJ leader Alambo is reported to have announced this 
decision during a meeting of the "Great Sahara" leaders hosted by 
Libyan leader Khaddafi on August 17 in the southwestern Libyan town 
of Ubari. Tele-Sahel aired footage of the meeting covered by Libyan 
television, featuring Alambo's remarks in Tamacheq (the local Tuareg 
language) translated into Arabic, in which the MNJ leader reiterated 
the Tuareg communities' allegiance to the "Great Amghar", an 
honorary title the Tuareg leaders have conferred upon Khaddafi. 
Alambo, who also claimed to have been delegated to speak on behalf 
of Malian rebel leader Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, declared that Malian and 
Nigerien rebels are receptive to Khaddafi's call for peace. He said 
both rebel leaders recognized Khaddafi as the sole mediator for the 
conflict and that they will abide by Khaddafi's advice to voice 
grievances and demands through political means. Alambo is reported 
to have announced that the Tuareg rebel movements will release about 
60 hostages to Khaddafi. 
 
¶3. GON MOC Omar summarized Khaddafi's intervention in the August 18 
newscast, stating that Khaddafi called attention to the dangers of 
arms, drug and cigarette trafficking, banditry and other criminal 
activity in the region. Omar added that Khaddafi stressed the 
trafficking and criminal activity must be controlled before it gets 
out of hand and is exploited by "foreign powers." He further 
reported that Khaddafi told Tuareg leaders that "taking arms to make 
political claims was obsolete." Moreover, Omar stated that Khaddafi 
acknowledged that the "far-fetched dream of a Tuareg state should be 
dropped" because the African Union Charter and the Community of 
Sahel-Sahara States' (CENSAD) instruments would not allow it and 
individual states would not accept it. 
 
¶4. Omar emphasized that Khaddafi's remarks confirm the GON's 
consistent position that those who take up arms against their own 
country are wrong. He reiterated that the GON would not negotiate 
unless the conditions to lay down arms were met. He added that rule 
of law provides mechanisms to voice political grievances, such as 
participation in political parties, associations or nongovernmental 
organizations and/or through the legal/judicial process in courts of 
law.  He called on "wayward compatriots who made the mistake of 
taking up arms" to join all Nigeriens in the building and 
development of Niger. 
¶5. Omar welcomed Alambo's announcement as good news and expressed on 
behalf of GON President Tandja and the Nigerien people appreciation 
to Libyan leader Khaddafi.  He said he hoped for a lasting peace, a 
"complete, final resolution" of the security situation in northern 
Niger. 
¶6. However, on the afternoon of August 19, BBC Hausa conducted 
followup interviews on the report of the MNJ's decision to lay down 
its arms with GON MOC Omar and MNJ representative Boutali Tchiwaren. 
Omar confirmed the statement he made on August 18, but added the GON 
would wait and see if the MNJ would be true to its word.  Tchiwaren 
denied the GON's announcement that the MNJ was willing to disarm, 
stating that Ben Omar misrepresented Alambo's statement. He said 
that Alambo mentioned in his announcement having submitted to 
Kaddhafi a document listing MNJ demands and the MNJ's attempt to 
"secure through Khaddafi the release of all civilians held in 
connection with the conflict." Tchiwaren indicated MNJ will not lay 
down arms because they do not trust the government and will not do 
so until there first is agreement on holding negotiations on a peace 
settlement. 
¶7.  Radio France International (RFI) reported that Alambo stated the 
MNJ peace offer is not unconditional and that a full halt to 
hostilities will depend on GON actions. 
¶8. Some Nigerien citizens' reactions have been guarded, and others 
have labeled the latest development "a circus that only confirms 
Libya as an instigator of the conflict in the north."  Some citizens 
have called for the GON to reject any preconditions from the 
rebels. 
 
NIAMEY 00000800  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶9. In September 2007, the MNJ announced a "cease fire" leading up to 
and through Ramadan (reftel), but hopes of a lasting peace were 
dashed when hostilities resumed after Ramadan.  This year Ramadan is 
expected to begin the first week of September, consequently the true 
test may not be GON and MNJ actions over the next few weeks, more 
telling will be the period after Ramadan. 
 
Minimize considered. 
 
ALLEN