US embassy cable - 05PARIS5241

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 005241 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2015 
TAGS: PREL, AG, MO, TS, LY, FR 
SUBJECT: FRENCH MFA UPDATE ON MAGHREB ISSUES 
 
REF: A. ALGIERS 1402 
     B. PARIS 4560 
 
Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, reasons 
1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary: During a meeting with visiting NEA/MAG Acting 
Director William Jordan, MFA DAS-equivalent for the Maghreb 
Christian Testot reported continued difficulties with the 
Algerian government over a February 2005 French law lauding 
achievements from the French colonial period, with Algerian 
press criticism targeting French FM Douste-Blazy for 
sponsoring similar legislation in his former MP role. 
Strains over the issue could complicate a Douste-Blazy visit 
to Algiers in August, and undermine prospects for concluding 
the landmark French-Algerian friendship treaty sought by the 
GoF this year.  Testot bemoaned the downward spiral in 
Moroccan-Algerian relations, blaming both sides in part, but 
questioned the motivations of the Bouteflika government to a 
greater degree.  Testot agreed with Jordan on human rights 
setbacks in Tunisia, but did not suggest a shift in the GoF 
approach to the issue.  On Libya, Testot acknowledged 
complications in implementation of the compensation agreement 
for the UTA 772 bombing, and described the normalization 
process with France as incremental.  End summary. 
 
STRAINS IN ALGERIAN-FRENCH RELATIONS 
------------------------------------ 
 
2. (C)  Visiting NEA/MAG Acting Director William Jordan met 
with MFA DAS-equivalent for the Maghreb Christian Testot July 
25, for a tour d'horizon on Maghreb issues.  Starting with 
Algeria, Testot observed that relations between Paris and 
Algiers were going through a "bizarre" phase, with the GOA 
continuing its public criticisms of the French colonial 
period, in a delayed response to a February 2005 French law 
which welcomed the positive French role in its former 
overseas territories (refs a-b).  Testot surmised that 
Algerians continued to view colonialism as the source of all 
Algeria's problems.  A further complicating factor was that 
new French FM Douste-Blazy, in his former role as a member of 
parliament, had sponsored French legislation similar to that 
which sparked the current controversy.  (Note: Douste-Blazy 
is from the Toulouse region, home to a sizable minority of 
"pied noirs," former French settlers expelled from Algeria 
upon independence.  End note.)  Testot observed that articles 
critical of Douste-Blazy were appearing on a daily basis in 
the Algerian press, and that the GoF had yet to secure 
Algerian MFA agreement to the dates for a proposed 
Douste-Blazy visit to Algiers in late August.  Testot 
stressed that GoF wanted to avoid escalation of the 
controversy and had urged French parliamentarians not to 
react to statements coming from Algiers.  Both sides needed 
to find the right words to describe their colonial history, 
with the issue being a sensitive one in France, not just 
Algeria.  In the meantime, the GoF remained focused on 
concluding of a landmark Franco-Algerian friendship treaty 
this year, which would take bilateral relations to a new 
level.  Despite Morocco's special relationship with Paris, he 
opined, Algeria represented the most important potential 
strategic partner for France in the Maghreb.  The GoF was 
beginning to wonder, however, whether Bouteflika might be 
having second thoughts about concluding the Friendship Treaty 
this year. 
 
PESSIMISM ON MOROCCAN-ALGERIAN RELATIONS 
---------------------------------------- 
 
3. (C) Testot reaffirmed shared GoF-USG concern on the 
downward spiral in Moroccan-Algerian relations, and described 
the GOA as regressing a bit into 1970's ideologies, while the 
GOM tended to overreact in a maladroit fashion to statements 
coming out of Algiers.  Testot attributed GOA's hardening 
stance in part to Algeria's comfortable economic position, 
with its sizable gas reserves, and the sweeping Bouteflika 
election victory in 2004.  He also speculated that that 
Bouteflika could be showing a tougher stance towards Morocco 
and stirring up the colonialism issue in order to deflect 
criticism from other policies, such as a possible amnesty for 
former participants in Algeria's civil war.  Testot voiced 
pessimism on prospects for improving ties between Rabat and 
Algiers, noting that FM Douste-Blazy had provoked a negative 
reaction in both capitals for linking Moroccan-Algerian 
direct dialogue to resolution of the Western Sahara conflict. 
 He added that the recent "5 5" ministerial meeting in Malta 
did nothing to clear the air, as Morocco did not send a 
ministerial representative (due to FM Benaissa having to 
accompany PM Jettou to Madrid).  Testot agreed with Jordan 
that the GoF and U.S. needed to find ways to encourage direct 
dialogue between the two countries, but current prospects 
looked grim, with the Western Sahara issue at "point zero." 
 
TUNISIA HUMAN RIGHTS 
-------------------- 
 
4. (C) Testot largely concurred with the U.S. assessment of 
the human rights situation in Tunisia, and described Tunisian 
civil society as "under siege," with no breathing room.  The 
GoF had hoped that Tunisia's hosting the World Summit on the 
Information Society (WSIS) would be preceded by some 
relaxation of GOT controls on the press and civil society, 
but no such opening was occurring.  Testot commented on the 
irony of a government welcoming hundreds of journalists and 
information society experts, while continuing to restrict 
internet access.  He added that the GoF had not decided who 
would lead its delegation to the WSIS, but speculated that it 
would be either President Chirac, PM de Villepin or FM 
Douste-Blazy.  Asked about French NGO reactions to Tunisia's 
hosting the WSIS, Testot reported that a number of groups, 
like Reporters without Borders, were happy to attend, and 
planned to take large delegations so they could cause trouble 
for the GoT.  As for GoF messages to the GoT, Testot stressed 
that France continued to privately advise the GoT that reform 
was in its interest; the typical GoT response, according to 
Testot, was to raise the Islamist threat and insist that the 
current system is working well. 
 
LIBYA 
----- 
 
5. (C) Briefly on Libya, Testot confirmed that the 
compensation agreement for the UTA 772 bombing. which should 
be paid in full by early 2006, was not fully resolved; 
complications continued to come from the Libyan side, with 
the Qadhafi Foundation backing out of some of the terms of 
the accord (NFI).  Testot concluded that it was difficult to 
deal with the Libyan government, as every interlocutor said 
something different and the state functioned in a bizarre 
fashion.  The GoF was attempting to normalize relations on a 
step by step basis, but Libya remained an outsider in the 
Maghreb and appeared disconnected from concrete issues in the 
region. 
 
6. (U) Tripoli minimize considered. 
 
 
 
 
STAPLETON