VZCZCXYZ0005
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNK #0001/01 0021124
ZNY CCCCC ZZH (CCY AD159602 MSI6772-695)
P 021124Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7981
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA PRIORITY 0205
RUEHDO/AMEMBASSY DOHA PRIORITY 0336
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0390
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID PRIORITY 1932
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0724
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0831
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 0456

C O N F I D E N T I A L NOUAKCHOTT 000001 
 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY DELETING SECSTATE AS INFO ADDEE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2018 
TAGS: EAID ECON MR PREF
SUBJECT: WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS, JUNTA STYLE 
 
REF: NOUAKCHOTT 683 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Dennis Hankins for reasons 1.4 (b) and 
 (d) 
 
¶1.  (C)  Summary. Since the August 6 military coup, little 
has filled the state-run media besides promises that the 
self-proclaimed Chief of State Ould Abdel Aziz will make life 
better for all Mauritanians and public declarations of 
support for the junta.  In an effort to sway public support, 
Mauritania,s High State Council (HSC) has attempted to 
create the public image of coming to the assistance of the 
poor and down trodden.  This image is based upon little 
premise and many unfulfilled promises.  End summary. 
 
Smoke and Mirrors 
----------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  In the face of international rejection, the junta 
is attempting to win popular support by portraying itself as 
coming to the aid of the neediest of Mauritanians. For 
example, during a recent public meeting in Kiffa town, Assaba 
region, the self-declared president reportedly stated: "We 
(the junta) have not come for power, we came to defend the 
interests of the country."  Their methodology to date has 
been to: (1) make promises and take no action; (2) conduct 
small-scale assistance projects with high-level media 
coverage; and (3) take credit for the actions of others. 
 
¶3. (SBU)  The military authority's most popular tactic to win 
public support is to make promises of a better life for its 
citizens.   Days after usurping power, the junta sent a 
parliamentary delegation to visit returnee camps in the Rosso 
area.  The event was highly publicized, and the junta made 
general declarations that assisting these returnees, who were 
largely victims of ethnic discrimination during the "Passif 
Humanitaire" crisis in 1989 through 1992, would be a top 
priority for the new leadership. However according to human 
rights activists, the situation in the returnee camps has not 
really changed except that now there are a few hundred new 
returnees, and in a recent symbolic gesture by the junta, two 
of the more than 5,000 returnees have recently received their 
national identity papers.  Without papers, returnees cannot 
travel and have difficulties sending their children to 
Mauritanian schools (Reftel). 
 
¶4. (SBU) The average Mauritanian will say the quality of life 
in Mauritania has not significantly changed since August 6. 
Some credit the junta with the decrease in gasoline and 
cement prices, however they will also say that little 
progress has been made to provide greater economic 
possibilities, better healthcare and education as they would 
like. 
 
¶5. (SBU)  At the junta's December 25 cabinet meeting, it was 
decided to create two new Nouakchott-based hospitals: a 
Women's and Children's hospital and a Cardiology hospital. 
This announcement in government media included a blaring 
headline in French, "The Chief of State orders the government 
to ensure the lowering of health costs,"  when in effect, the 
article only mentions the anticipated creation of the two new 
hospitals and nothing about lowered costs for health service 
delivery. 
 
¶6. (C)  The public health sector in Mauritania is neither 
developed nor strong.  2008 was the planned start of 
increased decentralization of public health service delivery, 
with the creation of department-level hospitals instead of 
the existing regional hospitals. That decentralization, 
however, has been slow to start due to lack of resources. 
The National Hospital's facilities are antiquated and lacking 
in basic necessities.  The national HIV and AIDS treatment 
center is reportedly struggling to obtain the medical 
supplies and medications it needs to continue to treat the 
nation's HIV positive population.  It is unknown what donor 
support, if any, these new initiatives will receive.  Israel, 
for example, is already launching a new oncology hospital, 
and Qatar is temporarily sponsoring the operations of a 
regional hospital in Boutelimit. 
Small-scale but well publicized assistance 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶7. (SBU)  To date, the military administration has 
implemented numerous small-scale projects about which 
government media has publicized.  Some of these initiatives 
have been more successful than others. 
 
¶8. (C)  On December 3, coup leader Abdel Aziz presided over a 
water pumping ceremony in Tintane village. The state run 
newspaper Horizon ran the story on its font page with the 
headline, "The Visit of Hope."  In 2007, Tintane suffered 
significant flooding for which the Abdallahi Administration 
did little to alleviate.  The junta's pumping of the Tintane 
water was symbolic for many, however an eye witness reported 
to USAID rep that the water pumping effort was not successful 
because the water was simply pumped from one location in 
Tintane to another, without addressing the larger 
infrastructure problem. 
 
¶9. (SBU)  The government newspaper reported on December 9 
that thanks to General Abdel Aziz, the Assaba regional 
hospital received a dialysis machine and a CT scanner.  The 
article did not include details relative to staff training 
for equipment operation and maintenance.  The media 
subsequently discussed the fact that the dialysis machine was 
procured outside of normal channels through a company run by 
an Aziz relative and that the machine cost more than standard 
cost and was delivered with less capability than promised. 
 
¶10. (SBU)  The week of December 10, the junta reportedly 
distributed 14,000 tons of rice to families in the 
economically disadvantaged suburb area around Nouakchott. 
However, independent on-line news source Taqadoumy quickly 
reported that the rice was on the verge of expiration, only 
two weeks after its distribution.   Also this month, the 
junta distributed seeds and farming implements to a handful 
of farmers in the Rosso area on December 11. 
 
¶11. (SBU)  On December 15, the junta announced that it will 
provide 35 of the more than 5,000 returnees from Senegal with 
a 15-day veterinary training and skills development. 
Comment: Although this is a positive step, it is a drop in 
the bucket of returnee skills training and resource needs. 
End comment. 
 
¶12. (SBU)  In a December 15 article titled, &The Great 
Manipulation8, independent newspaper L'Eveil reported that 
four days prior, the junta convened citizens from Kaedi 
department, Gorgol region, to attend a workshop on community 
development needs, however the event was instead a ceremony 
to endorse the junta leader and to publicly declare the 
department's pro-coup standing. 
 
¶13. (SBU)  On the Tabaski holiday, the junta's prime minister 
provided one "boubou," the traditional men's outfit, to each 
of the prisoners at Nouakchott's central prison. 
 
You did what??? 
-------------------- 
 
¶14. (C)  In several instances, the military administration 
has been taking credit where credit is not necessarily due. 
For example, the December 16 issue of Horizon reported that a 
Mauritanian delegation to the United Nations, recent Climate 
Change conference in Poland successfully negotiated $8 
million USD for various climate change initiatives in 
Mauritania.  However UNDP-Mauritania informed USAID rep that 
the article was incorrect, and that it was rather a new $5 
million USD UNDP-funded climate change project that was 
announced at the conference.  This is a project that has been 
planned since 2006 and will be fully managed by UNDP, not the 
junta. The article also featured photographs of the 
Mauritanian delegate with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon 
and French Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo. 
According to World Bank-Mauritania staff persons who were 
following the event, these photographs are merely hallway 
shots meant to give credibility to the regime and a false 
perception of actual proceedings of the conference. 
¶15. (SBU)  On December 14, Horizons ran a front page story on 
the creation of a national fund for local development, "Fonds 
d'Assistance et d'Intervention pour le Developpement (FAID)." 
  According to the article, the FAID was conceived by the 
Junta chair Aziz following public meetings he attended in 
various locations around the country.  The article does not 
mention if and how this initiative will be funded and that 
similar national development funds have existed in previous 
years under different names. 
 
¶16. (C)  Also this month, Government media reported that on 
December 17, the National Assembly voted to modify the 2009 
national budget and allocated 884 million Ouguiyas ($3.4 
million USD) for a rural development vocational training 
program, two billion Ouguiyas ($7.7 million USD) for the next 
presidential election, and one billion ($3.8 million USD) for 
eradication of the vestiges of slaveQ  According to 
Horizons newspaper, thesQhanges were possible due to a 
reduction in the government operations line items. Comment: 
It is difficult to understand how funds could be re-allocated 
in this manner.  Actual government budget figures are not 
available, and IMF and World Bank representatives believe 
that what little budget information is available, is not 
accurate. End comment. 
 
Only time will tell 
---------------------- 
 
¶17. (C)  Comment: There continues to be a great need for 
humanitarian and development assistance in Mauritania, and it 
will grow. The European Union, Mauritania,s largest donor, 
will wait until February before making a determination on 
sanctions. Until then, it is business as usual for on-going 
projects, while new projects remain frozen.  If the European 
Union and other donors apply sanctions, the junta will need 
to make a more concerted effort to provide evidence that it 
is doing more for the Mauritanian people than empty promises 
and symbolic micro-projects.  Money will be tighter, and 
public interest will suffer.  Donors have indicated that, 
even in cases where the political decision is made to 
continue or initiate programs, the lack of financial 
transparency in government accounts will create significant 
doubts.  Whereas before the coup, some donors (notably the 
European Union) were prepared to expand budget support 
assistance based on significantly improved government 
financial transparency, funding will now likely either be 
channeled through expensive international contractors or be 
subject to extensive accounting oversight.  End comment. 
HANKINS