US embassy cable - 05RABAT1072

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RABAT 001072 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/MAG, NEA/PI 
USAID/W FOR ANE/MEA AND ANE/TS - SARA BORODIN 
PARIS FOR ZEYA 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH 
ROME FOR ROSE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2015 
TAGS: KDEM, PGOV, KMPI, PREL, PHUM, MO, MOROCCO POLITICAL HIGHLIGHTS 
SUBJECT: MOROCCO POLITICAL HIGHLIGHTS 
 
REF: RABAT 918 
 
Classified By: Pol/C Timothy Lenderking for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
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WESTERN SAHARA 
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1.  (C) Norwegian Ambassador Returns:  Emboffs were pleased 
to greet the freshly groomed and chastened Norwegian 
ambassador, Arne Aasheim, at Norway's National Day reception 
on May 17.  Aasheim returned to Morocco on May 15 after being 
recalled to Oslo on May 4 to clarify public remarks on the 
Western Sahara that deviated from Norwegian policy (reftel). 
Ambassador Aasheim told Polcouns during a May 18 lunch with 
visiting ASD Rodman that the television journalists who 
interviewed him were "wolves in sheep's clothing" and had 
pitched the discussion with him as a focus on Norwegian 
fishing interests in the Western Sahara.  Aasheim admitted, 
however, that he had been somewhat "naive and outspoken" in 
describing the Western Sahara as, for all intents and 
purposes, part of Morocco.  He added that pro-Polisario 
support groups in Norway were limited in number but vocal and 
influential.  "They were calling for my crucifixion," Aasheim 
said diving into his salad, clearly relishing being back at 
the helm. 
 
2.  (C) Spanish Ambassador Urges Continued High-Level US 
Engagement:  Spanish Ambassador Luis Planas told Polcouns May 
18 that, while he understood US reluctance to name a 
high-level American successor to either former UN Personal 
Envoy James Baker or former SRSG Alvaro de Soto, the US 
needed to remain fully engaged in the Western Sahara; while 
granting Spain's important role in searching for a solution, 
Planas said no other country but the US can lead the way out 
of the current dispute.  Polcouns affirmed that the US was 
indeed fully engaged in the search for a solution but 
believed that it was up to the parties to demonstrate their 
commitment and ability to move forward before the US would 
support enlisting a high-level American envoy. 
 
3.  (SBU) Officials Gather in Laayoune to Express 
Moroccan-ness:  Sahrawi parliamentarians, NGOs, and 
ex-Polisario met in Laayoune May 16 to proclaim the 
"Moroccan-ness" of the Western Sahara.  Moroccan media report 
the gathering was convened partly to respond to recent 
remarks by pro-Polisario activist Ali Salem Tamek in which 
Tamek stated bluntly he was pro-Polisario and called on the 
international community to press the Moroccans to quit the 
Sahara.  (Tamek's remarks were made on Moroccan soil and 
carried in several Moroccan papers).   Tamek's family members 
in southern Morocco have subsequently denounced Tamek, and on 
May 19 hosted a meeting of Sahrawi leaders at the family 
residence in Assa to proclaim their allegiance to King 
Mohammed and applaud the climate of democracy and openness in 
the Kingdom of Morocco. 
 
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MOROCCO AND ALGERIA IN BRASILIA:  HUGS AND KISSES 
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4.  (C) Commenting on his recent trip to Brasilia to attend 
the Arab-Latin American Summit, MFA Director of American 
Affairs Salahuddin Tazi told Polcouns May 18 that Morocco had 
done everything possible to moderate the Summit's final 
declaration.  He said Algerian President Bouteflika had 
embarrassed himself "in Arab eyes" by his warm embrace of 
Venezuelan President Chavez.  As for interactions between the 
Moroccan and Algerian delegations, Tazi said "we smothered 
them with hugs and kisses."  Tazi said being warm toward the 
Algerians is an important investment, even as "we remain 
skeptical about their actions." 
 
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UK CONCERNS ABOUT STABILITY IN MAURITANIA 
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5.  (C) During a May 16 office call, British Embassy First 
Secretary Adrian Chapman told Polcouns that UK Ambassador 
 
SIPDIS 
Warren-Gash had made his last trip to Nouakchott (Warren-Gash 
is accredited to Mauritania) before departing post and had 
come away "more concerned than ever" about political 
stability in Mauritania.  He said the Ambassador believed 
that attempted coups and bloodshed could not be ruled out in 
the near future. 
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SPAIN DENIES TANK SALES TO MOROCCO 
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6.  (C) Spanish Polcouns Jorge Cabezas told Polcouns May 17 
that press reports of military sales to Morocco of M-60 
tanks, reported in Spanish newspaper La Razon on May 1, were 
unfounded.  He did note, however, that the GOS was in the 
process of selling Morocco two patrol boats to augment GOM 
capacity to monitor the Straits of Gibraltar. 
 
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SEVEN TONS OF MOROCCAN-ORIGIN HASHISH SEIZED IN ALGECIRAS 
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7.  (U) Spanish police seized seven tons of cannabis resin in 
the Spanish port of Algeciras on May 17, according to MAP. 
The drugs were found stashed in a shipment of clothing on a 
Tangier-registered truck.  The shipment was reportedly 
destined for France. 
 
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JORDANIAN PM VISITS MOROCCO 
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8.  (SBU) On a May 15-17 state visit to Morocco, Jordanian PM 
Adnan Badrane co-presided with Moroccan PM Jettou over the 
Third Session of the Moroccan-Jordanian High Joint 
Commission.  The commission's work resulted in the signing of 
seventeen bilateral agreements in multiple fields, including 
tourism, culture, and education, but mostly in the area of 
economic cooperation.  Jordanian Embassy Consul Mohammed 
Hmaid told Poloff May 20 that PM Badrane pressed Jettou to 
remove Morocco's visa requirement for Jordanian visitors 
(Note: Jordan does not have a visa requirement for Moroccans. 
 End Note).  Hmaid said Jettou referred Jordan's request to 
"higher authorities." 
 
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POLITICAL PARTY DEVELOPMENTS 
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9.  (SBU) IRI Says Political Parties Thirsting for Internal 
Democracy:  Visiting American IRI trainer Tom Poff told 
Polcouns after a week of IRI-funded workshops with political 
parties that the middle ranks of Morocco's political parties 
are frustrated with the leadership of their parties and 
thirsting for greater internal democracy.  He said while 
party members are eager for more democracy they do not have 
clear ideas on how to democratize their parties other than 
through changing the senior leadership.  He also said his 
party contacts made clear that press freedom in Morocco was 
greater than ever before and that buoyed their hopes for 
greater democracy in the future. 
 
10.  (SBU) UMP Fusion to Happen "Sooner Than You Think:"  In 
a May 18 conversation with Poloff, Popular Movement (MP) 
party member and advisor to the minister in the Ministry of 
Agriculture, Mohammed Ouzzine, denied rumors of a conflict 
between MP secretary general (and Minister of Agriculture) 
Mohand Laenser and National Popular Movement (MNP) leader 
Mahjoubi Aherdan.  Ouzzine said the fusion of the two 
Berber-based parties and the Democratic Union (UD) party into 
the Popular Movement Union (UMP) would take place "sooner 
than you think."  Ouzzine commented that as the UMP's 
clearest "rising star," Laenser is the "glue" that keeps the 
three parties together.  He claimed that the octogenarian 
Aherdan, who is an accomplished artist, wants to leave 
politics and immerse himself in his painting.  Aherdan's 
goal, indicated Ouzzine, is to redo the fusion that was 
undone by multiple party splits since he founded the MNP in 
1959.  Ouzzine noted that UD secretary general Bouazza Ikken 
is also committed to the fusion, but wants to ensure that it 
is done the "right way;" that is, through the "front door" 
and not the "window," Ouzzine explained. 
 
11.  (U) PPS Announces Party Congress:  The former Communist 
Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS) announced it will hold 
its seventh national party congress in March 2006.  The 
party's director of external relations M'hammed Grine told 
Poloff May 12 that PPS secretary general Ismail Alaoui, who 
has led the party since 1997, will not step down until his 
successor is designated after next year's congress.  Grine 
affirmed that the party, and the two other members of the 
Socialist Alliance caucus (Social and Democratic Party and Al 
Ahd), still intend to fuse into one before the 2007 elections. 
 
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NEWSPAPERS SPAR OVER CONCLUSIONS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY EXPERT 
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12.  (U) In a tit-for-tat exchange of editorials this week, 
Arabic-language dailies Attajdid (affiliated with the 
Islamist Party for Justice and Development (PJD)) and Al 
Ahdath Al Maghribiya (independent) sparred over comments 
attributed to a visiting "senior American expert."  (Comment: 
The dailies did not specify but were probably referring to 
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace democracy expert 
Thomas Carothers who visited Morocco May 5-12 to conduct 
research on political party development and international 
programs to strengthen parties in the Middle East.  Poloff 
met with Carothers on May 6.)  Attajdid claimed on May 18 
that the "American expert" was "surprised" at the level of 
popularity of the Moroccan PJD compared to Islamist parties 
in Turkey and Indonesia.  On May 19, Al Ahdath reprinted 
Attajdid's May 18 article and commented: "The American expert 
had a very positive impression of Moroccan political parties 
but especially of the PJD, which has benefited a lot from 
American funding...so it will not be a surprise from now on 
to see the Moroccan fundamentalist party looking toward the 
west after funding from the east has run out."  Attajdid 
denied in its May 20 edition ever receiving US money, and 
instead accused "certain leftist parties in Morocco" of 
benefiting from USG funding in the past. 
RILEY