US embassy cable - 04GABORONE2017

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 GABORONE 002017 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEFT FOR AF/S DIFFILY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, BC, Counter-Terrorism 
SUBJECT: REGIONAL CONFERENCE DELIBERATES ENHANCED 
COOPERATION ON TERRORISM 
 
Classified By: DCM LOIS AROIAN FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) & (D) 
 
1. (C>  SUMMARY:  Victory in the war on terrorism requires a 
multilateral approach, an appreciation of the "root causes" of 
terrorism, and a response that engages rather than alienates 
communities, President Mogae told a November 22-24 conference 
on terrorism in southern Africa.  Despite Mogae's plea for 
specific recommendations to improve regional counter-terrorism 
 (CT) cooperations conference deliberations focused on the 
nature of the terrorist threats posed to southern Africa, 
including jurisdiction shopping, travel document fraud, and 
using the region as a logistics point.  While Botswana is 
pursuing an effective CT strategy, the paucity of concrete 
conclusions from the conference shows that capacity-building 
remains a primary challenge to achieving regional cooperation 
in the war on terrorism in southern Africa.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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UNDERSTANDING TERRORISM 
----------------------- 
 
2. (U)  Botswana's President Mogae delivered the opening 
remarks at a November 22-24 conference in Gaborone on terrorism 
in southern Africa.  Interpol the Southern Africa Regional 
Police Chiefs Organization and the Institute for Security 
Studies, a South African think tank, co-hosted the conference. 
Mogae's talk made the following points: 
 
 -- terrorism is not a new phenomenon: understanding the 
historical context and "root causes" of a particular terrorist 
movement is a prerequisite for combatting it effectively. 
 -- law enforcement agencies must target three aspects of 
terrorist movements: attempts to instill fear in enemies, to 
increase popular support and to generate income, all now being 
done internationally. 
 
 -- to achieve a cooperative international response, conferees 
should critically assess the existing patterns of regional 
cooperation regarding terrorism and suggest ways to improve. 
Just as no country is immune from the threat of terrorism, so 
no country can successfully defend itself through unilateral 
actions. 
 -- responses to the threat of terrorism must unify people and 
engage, rather than estrange, communities and law enforcement 
bodies.  The tendency to blame entire religious or ethnic 
groups for the acts of a few divides the international 
community. 
 
 -- some measures, such as certain visa restrictions and 
security procedures, perpetuate xenophobia perceptions. 
 
 -- political leaders have the responsibility to eliminate the 
poverty, oppression, exclusion, intolerance and the violation 
of human rights which feed terrorism. 
 
 -- The GOB was committed to taking on these challenges. 
 
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COB REORGANIZING CT PROCEDURES 
------------------------------ 
 
3.  (C)  While President Mogae exhorted the confcrcnce 
participants to generate specific recommendations on how to 
improve international collaborations he did not mention that 
the COB is in the midst of enhancing its own coordination 
mechanism regarding terrorism.  According to contacts in the 
COB, a new structure will take responsibility for every aspect 
of counter-terrorism.  One interlocutor from the COB suggested 
that shifting lead action from the MFA to the Ministry 
Presidential Affairs reflects a desire to deal with terrorism 
as a national security threat rather than viewing it solely as 
an international issue.  Internal deliberations on how best to 
organize this committee are still underway. 
 
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TERRORIST THREATS TO SOUTHERN AFRICA 
------------------------------------ 
 
4. (U)  The conference highlighted a numbe 
r of challenges SADC 
countries face in fighting terrorism.  Among these was the 
threat that terrorist organizations could use southern African 
countries as a stalling platform to organize and plan an attack. 
The discovery that some terror suspects had procured false 
passports from southern African countries, particularly South 
Africa, underscored the importance of improving the security of 
travel documents.  A representative from Interpol headquarters 
in Lyon pointed out the possibility that terror suspects 
engaged in "jurisdiction shopping" might find a SADC country an 
advantageous place from which to apply for asylum, thereby 
disrupting potential efforts to bring him or her to justice. 
5.  (U) A survey underway by the International Organization for 
Migration (ION) office in Pretoria intended to identify and 
address holes in border security within the region should help 
to begin drawing a more precise picture of southern Africa's 
vulnerability to exploitation by terrorists in some of the ways 
outlined above.  When some participants complained that 
Interpol presentations on terrorist activity in the region were 
light on substances an Interpol representative countered by 
asserting that the Lyon-based organization receives relatively 
little information from individual SADC countries. 
 
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FEW CONCRETE RECOMMENDATIONS 
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6. (U)  Most of the recommendations made by the conference 
participants were vague (e.g. take additional steps to enhance 
the effective sharing of information).  On the legislative 
level, delegates urged SADC governments to adopt laws 
criminalizing the financing of terrorist groups and to 
harmonize extradition and mutual legal assistance agreements 
within the region.  They advised policymakers to formulate 
anti-terrorism strategies and establish anti-terrorism units. 
Operational suggestions included the identification by 
Interpol's sub-regional bureau for southern Africa of experts 
within the region who can mobilize to assist law enforcement 
agencies as needed. 
 
COMMENT 
 
7.  (C)  President Mogae's remarks on this occasion, and the 
GOB's ongoing efforts to enhance its ability to respond to the 
threat of terrorism, confirm the Government's commitment to 
accord high priority to counter-terrorism strategies.  Mission 
will continue to work with the GOB to identify ways in which 
the US can assist it to take effective measures to curb 
potential terrorist activity in Botswana and to enhance 
regional CT cooperation.  The dearth of information about the 
presence and activities of terrorist groups in southern Africa 
and the scarcity of specific recommendations highlight that 
lack of capacity within the region's under-resourced and over- 
burdened law enforcement institutions remains a primary 
challenge. 
 
HUGGINS