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DE RUEHPL #0271/01 2511308
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FM AMEMBASSY PORT LOUIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4716
INFO RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

S E C R E T PORT LOUIS 000271 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/E MBEYZEROV 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2019 
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PREL MASS SE
SUBJECT: SEYCHELLES: GENERAL WARD/U.S. AFRICA COMMAND VISIT 19 
AUGUST HELPS CEMENT NEW, CLOSER RELATIONSHIP 
 
CLASSIFIED BY CDA Virginia Blaser for reasons 1.4 (b, d). 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: General William Ward, Commander, United 
States Africa Command, visited Seychelles on August 19, 2009. 
Accompanied by Charge d'Affaires Virginia Blaser, he met with 
President James Michel, Minister for Foreign Affairs Patrick 
Pillay, and Chief of the Seychelles Peoples Defense Forces 
(SPDF) Brigadier LQopold Payet.  Common themes of the meetings 
were piracy, terrorism, smuggling, and the new bilateral 
Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).  The visit marked the 
highest-level U.S. military visit to Seychelles in recent 
memory and reaffirmed both the U.S. commitment to advancing 
military cooperation with the Seychelles and the continued US 
interest in the region.  The warm welcome displayed by 
government officials and the press demonstrated both the 
Seychellois gratitude for U.S. engagement and desire for an 
even closer relationship. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) General William "Kip" Ward, Commander, United States 
Africa Command visited Seychelles on August 19, 2009, in the 
highest-level U.S. Military visit in recent memory to the 
island nation.  Their first meeting was with Republic of 
Seychelles President James Michel. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Use Us As a Stationary Aircraft Carrier 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) President Michel was accompanied by MFA Permanent 
Secretary Joseph Nourrice, Secretary of State Jean Paul Adam 
and U.S. Desk Officer Marie Angele Thomas.  President Michel 
began by saying "I am happy to see this resurgence of American 
military activity in the Seychelles."  He went on to say the 
Government of Seychelles (GOS) is "fully on board" with U.S. 
anti-piracy efforts, and to warmly offer his country as a base 
for those and other efforts.  "We are an aircraft carrier in 
the middle of the Indian Ocean without the planes," he said. 
"We welcome your help in our fight against piracy."  The 
Seychelles people will welcome the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles 
(UAVs), he said, and "see them as a comfort."  Not only are 
Americans "very welcome in Seychelles," but "the next step is 
to transfer Africa Command to the Seychelles," Michel said 
with a smile. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Gen. Ward: You Understand the Threat 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (C) General Ward thanked the President for his welcome and 
said the issues of piracy and terrorism affect all nations. 
GEN Ward offered that like Seychelles, other nations are 
beginning to see the importance of contributing what they can 
to defeat these transnational threats but also noted our 
enemies will take advantage and fill any void left open to 
them.  The General stated the recently-completed Status of 
Forces Agreement (SOFA) further enables our combined 
activities to counter the threat of piracy and threat of 
terror.  He noted the recent photo of the P-3 aircraft in a 
local newspaper, calling it "a tangible sign of our efforts to 
move ahead."  That is a manned system, he said, and "we look 
forward to introducing an unmanned system." 
 
-------------------------------------- 
UAV "Experiment" and Its Possibilities 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (S) General Ward said the UAV project, while initially will 
focus on surveillance and counter piracy, it has the potential 
to also be used for other missions.  Drug trafficking, weapons 
trafficking and terrorism are all threats, he continued, and 
the U.S. goal is to better inform both ourselves and our 
partner nations as to the extent of these activities.  The 
General described the UAVs as a multi-role platform and added 
that the UAV has the ability to loiter which provides an 
ability to see but not with perfect clarity.  General Ward 
asked the President to consider support to the other 
operations available to these specific UAVs.  President Michel 
was non-committal, beyond noting that additional issues would 
need to be taken in a political context and somewhat 
carefully.  (NOTE: The day after this meeting, Adam spoke 
privately to CDA to clarify this discussion, noting that the 
President had thought the General was referring to the UAVs as 
a possible offensive weapon, i.e. with arms against targets, 
including piracy and terrorism targets.  Adam said that if 
that was the case, the President was not philosophically 
against such support, but that he would urge the USG to be 
extremely careful in raising the issue with anyone in the 
Government outside of the President.  Such a request would be 
"politically extremely sensitive" and would have to be handled 
with "the utmost discreet care." END NOTE.) 
 
 
------------------- 
Praise for the SOFA 
------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) General Ward praised the GOS for ratifying the SOFA and 
assured the President of U.S. respect for the sovereignty of 
Seychelles.  "President Obama understands the rights of 
nations," he said, and "we are working together as partners." 
He said Seychelles is "accepting its responsibility" as a 
member of the international community.  He noted that without 
a SOFA, waiving the force protection requirement is always a 
difficult undertaking but having a SOFA in place makes it 
easier to decide where to place assets. 
 
-------------------------------- 
We'll Help You Deal with Pirates 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) President Michel noted that the Seychelles was 
presently holding pirates but would soon be releasing them -- 
the court needed eyewitness testimony by law, but only 
received written statements from the detaining countries. 
Charge Blaser said the U.S. understands that Seychelles still 
needs to develop the infrastructure to enable it to legally 
hold, prosecute and incarcerate pirates.  President Michel and 
his Secretary of State enthusiastically concurred, and seemed 
relieved that their concerns had been heard.  Charge Blaser 
continued by explaining that the United States is experienced 
in collecting evidence for piracy trials.  "Due process is an 
important and established right in the United States legal 
system.  We are easy to work with and look forward to working 
with you."  General Ward said U.S. sailors understand the 
rules of evidence, and are experienced in collecting and 
protecting it until it can be turned over for prosecution. 
General Ward promised that military to military activities 
would continue and emphasized Coast Guard activities.  He 
mentioned that contractors for Ocean Look-associated UAV 
project would begin arriving as early as August 24, eliciting 
a "thank you" from Adam. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Coast Guard Gives Pirate Skiff Tour 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU)  After a brief press conference on the State House 
lawn (attended by opposition as well as ruling party press, at 
Embassy request), General Ward and Charge Blaser proceeded to 
Coast Guard Headquarters to see the recently-captured pirate 
boats.  Head of the Seychelles Coast Guard, Colonel Donald 
Gertrude, met the General and Charge at his Command Post and 
led them on a tour of his command center and the captured 
pirate boats.  Colonel Gertrude pointed out that the boats 
were small with a shallow draft, camouflaged, completely 
exposed to the elements, and contained many 55 gallon drums 
for fuel.  In one of the small boats, a fuel drum had been cut 
open and used for an open cooking fire. 
 
-------------------------- 
CHIEF OF SPDF Welcomes General WARD 
-------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) General Ward, Charge Blaser, and their staffs next 
met with Chief of the SPDF Brigadier Leopold Payet.  The 
meeting was also attended by Secretary of State Jean Paul 
Adam, Chief of Staff for the SPDF Colonel Leon Clifford 
Roseline, and Head of the Seychelles Coast Guard Colonel 
Donald Gertrude.  Brigadier Payet opened the meeting by 
saying, "I feel like we are brothers and sisters!  You are 
most welcome."  He continued to thank the U.S. Government and 
the U.S. Embassy for their assistance and expressed his hope 
for more training and more help from the United States. With 
UAVs, "things will work, thanks to the U.S., so we can keep 
our islands safe." 
 
-------------------------------- 
Partnership in a Connected World 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) General Ward repeated his earlier statements 
concerning the U.S. desire for a strong bilateral relationship 
in a difficult global context, and his praise for the SOFA 
ratification.  He pointed out that the small pirate boats he 
had just seen illustrated that that crossing long distances is 
no longer difficult.  Charge Blaser praised the growth in the 
relationship and cooperation between the two countries. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Island Woes: Piracy, Terrorism, Drugs 
------------------------------------- 
 
 
¶11. (C) Secretary of State Adam raised the issue that the 
Seychelles' vibrant catamaran rental industry has ceased as a 
result of the increase in pirate activities.  While, overall, 
tourism is now improving, cruise ship visits have slowed, and 
the inter-island ferry service now requires armed coast guard 
escort.  The Seychelles Ports Authority will not authorize 
small vessels to travel to the outer reaches of the Seychelles 
Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ).  Chief of Staff Roseline said 
that while he was concerned about piracy, drug smuggling is 
also a growing problem and that the GOS is also aware of 
terrorist movements and of the vulnerability of air traffic to 
a terror threat.  The Chief of Staff stated the GOS is 
planning to create an "anti-terror program" to prevent 
terrorism as well as a "counter-terror" team to confront 
possible attackers, he said.  Seychelles is not prepared for 
terrorism now, and the GOS is especially concerned about a 
"Bali" style scenario, he went on. 
 
---------------- 
Working Together 
---------------- 
 
¶12. (C) General Ward stated that each nation must do its part 
in order to defeat these common enemies together.  The General 
said Africa Command's mission is to "ensure that what we do 
supports sustained security development" of our partners. 
Charge Blaser noted that Mauritians are concerned about many 
of the same issues, and recommended that "we all look for new 
ways to link and facilitate programs to enhance cooperation 
and create opportunities to work together."  Colonel Roseline 
said the Seychelles and Mauritius concluded a bilateral 
security agreement some years ago but "have never exercised 
that agreement," despite the considerable travel between the 
two island nations. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Defense Not Corruptible, Police Are 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶13. (C) Brigadier Payet, when asked how many police and 
defense forces he had, responded that there are about 500 
people in the SPDF. He also volunteered that the SPDF works 
very closely with the police.  Adam noted that the SPDF are 
seen as incorruptible while the police are perceived by the 
population to be corrupt. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶14. (C) The warmth of the Seychellois welcome provides a 
sufficient measure of the success of the visit.  The message 
relayed by the General in charge of Africa Command reinforced 
and strengthened the bilateral relationship at a time when 
Seychelles faces a number of regional and national security 
threats; to include piracy and smuggling.  The Seychellois 
responded not only with a warm welcome but with a palpable 
sense of relief at having finally secured the return of the 
U.S. military to Seychelles, albeit for a temporary program. 
Press coverage was overwhelmingly positive and the senior 
leader engagement reinforces the bilateral cooperation.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
BLASER