VZCZCXRO4481
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHTRO #0704 2421556
ZNY EEEEE ZZH
P R 301556Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5211
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0231
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 0591
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1150
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0822
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 5755

UNCLAS E F T O TRIPOLI 000704 
 
SENSITIVE NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/MAG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAIR OVIP UNGA LY
SUBJECT: LIBYAN PROTOCOL CHIEF CONFIRMS QADHAFI WILL NOT STAY IN 
ENGLEWOOD RESIDENCE 
 
ENTIRE TEXT SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED/NOFORN; PLEASE PROTECT 
ACCORDINGLY. 
 
¶1.  (SBU/NF) In an August 29 meeting, Libyan Protocol Chief Nuri 
al-Mismari confirmed that plans for Libyan leader Muammar 
al-Qadhafi to stay in Englewood, NJ are off.  Instead, the GOL 
is focusing on finding accommodations for Qadhafi in Manhattan. 
According to Mismari, the most likely outcome is that Qadhafi 
will stay at the Libyan Permrep's residence in Manhattan. 
Mismari showed A/DCM an August 25 e-mail from him to the Libyan 
Permrep, telling him to abort plans to use the NJ residence, 
noting that, "see, you didn't need to pressure me about this; we 
were already working on an alternative arrangement."  Mismari 
said that, if asked, the GOL will tell journalists that it is 
not using the NJ residence because the necessary renovations 
will not be completed in time for Qadhafi's visit.  Mismari 
stressed that any further USG public comment on the issue would 
be "damaging," and that the Libyan Government doesn't want 
things to "spin out of control, and then he [Qadhafi] will get 
involved, and not want to do the trip at all."  Mismari was 
keenly interested in the potential protests in Englewood on 
August 30, noting that he really hopes they have been canceled. 
He asked that A/DCM contact him as soon as possible if any news 
about the protests is heard. 
 
¶2.  (SBU/NF) Mismari showed A/DCM a fax he sent August 28 to the 
Libyan missions in NY and DC, telling them to focus henceforth 
only on the "official purpose" of Qadhafi's visit, and to cancel 
planning for "extraneous" activities, such as a Qadhafi walk 
through of Harlem, and some press roundtables.  "I want to wait 
for things to cool down in the U.S. before proceeding with any 
such extra events," he said. 
 
¶3.  (SBU/NF)Mismari asked A/DCM about flight clearances for the 
Qadhafi delegation.  He said his current plan is for the 
delegation to travel on the Ifriqiyah Airways VIP plane to 
Portugal, then charter a separate plane for the delegation to 
use to travel to NY.  He inquired if "this will work for your 
people." 
 
¶4.  (SBU/NF) Comment:  Mismari, even in the frenzy of the 
lead-up to the September 1 celebration, seemed remarkably 
focused on Qadhafi's NY trip.  He kept both the Italian 
Ambassador and an Italian Prime Ministerial advance team and the 
two lead organizers of the September 1 events waiting for an 
hour, even though A/DCM offered that he should meet the others 
first, as they all had arrived at the same time.  Mismari 
appeared very committed to the success of the NY trip, 
stressing, "This is not about Qadhafi or Obama, but rather about 
our two countries and peoples writ large.  This trip has to move 
forward, so the relationship can progress, and we do not leave 
future generations of Libyans and Americans to deal with this 
hot potato of abnormal bilateral relations." 
 
POLASCHIK