ID:38855
    Date:2005-08-19 11:35:00
    Origin:05ALGIERS1753
    Source:Embassy Algiers
    Classification:CONFIDENTIAL
    Dunno:
    Destination:This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.


    
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ALGIERS 001753 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/19/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, PBTS, WI, AG, MO, Algeria-Morocco Relations, Polisario 
SUBJECT: SENATOR LUGAR DISCUSSES WESTERN SAHARA, 
ALGERIAN-MOROCCAN RELATIONS WITH BOUTEFLIKA 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard W. Erdman, Reason 1.4 (b) (d) 
 
 1.  (C) Summary.  Senate Foreign Relations Committee 
Chairman Richard Lugar, accompanied by Ambassador, Supreme 
Allied Commander in Europe General James Jones, and members 
of his delegation met with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika the 
morning of August 18.  Following the meeting, Senator Lugar 
and his delegation departed for Tindouf to oversee the 
release of the last 404 Moroccan POWs held by the Polisario. 
Lugar expressed appreciation for Bouteflika's efforts to 
create new momentum for resolving the Western Sahara 
conflict.  Bouteflika recalled his commitment to President 
Bush in 2001 to support James Baker, noting that he had done 
so and accepted the Baker Plan, but when Baker quit he had 
left a vacuum that had not been filled.  Bouteflika 
reiterated his assurance that Western Sahara would not be a 
casus belli for Algeria, but said the Polisario had the right 
to resume fighting "on its own territory" if it chose to do 
so.  Bouteflika insisted that Algeria would respect the 
outcome of a referendum no matter what it was, but would not 
be a party to negotiations with Morocco on behalf of the 
Sahrawis.  Bouteflika sharply complained about Morocco's 
last-minute cancellation of a planned meeting with King 
Mohammed in Rabat in June by Prime Minister Ouyahia, saying 
he could not accept "dealing with diplomatic relations in 
such an irresponsible manner."  Referring to advice from 
Presidents Bush and Chirac that he bear in mind King 
Mohammed's youth, Bouteflika said, "I am not Jesus Christ, 
and will not turn my other cheek."  Algeria was ready to 
discuss "objective interests" with Morocco, but only if the 
Moroccans were "serious."  Senator Lugar noted that President 
Bush had asked him to undertake this humanitarian mission, 
adding that the U.S. wanted Algeria and Morocco to reopen the 
land border and reengage at the highest level.  Did 
Bouteflika think the Moroccans understood his position on a 
referendum?  Bouteflika said the Western Sahara had been on 
the UN's agenda since the 1970s.  Algeria favored respecting 
international law and was defending the right of 
self-determination, but would not accept being a negotiating 
partner on the fate of the Western Sahara with France, Spain, 
Morocco or the U.S.  End summary. 
 
LUGAR MISSION 
------------- 
 
2.  (U) Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Senator Richard 
Lugar and his delegation, which included Supreme Allied 
Commander in Europe General James Jones, visited Algeria 
August 17-18 as part of a Presidential Mission to oversee the 
release of the last 404 Moroccan POWs held by the Polisario 
Front in Tindouf.  Senator Lugar, Ambassador, General Jones, 
and members of Lugar's delegation met with President 
Abdelaziz Bouteflika for two and a half hours the morning of 
August 18 before flying to Tindouf.  NEA DAS Gray, EUCOM J-5 
General Gration, NSC Director Pounds, and DCM also attended 
the meeting, at which Bouteflika was flanked by Presidential 
Chief of Staff Belkheir, Chief of Defense General Gait Saleh, 
Council of the Nation President Bensalah, and Minister 
Delegate for Maghreb and African Affairs Messahel.  Septel 
reports Lugar and Bouteflika's discussion of U.S.-Algerian 
relations and a number of regional issues. 
 
A HUMANITARIAN MISSION 
---------------------- 
 
3.  (C) Senator Lugar began by conveying the greetings of 
President Bush, who fully supported the humanitarian mission 
to secure the release of the Moroccan POWs.  The initiative 
taken by Bouteflika should create new opportunities for 
Algeria and Morocco and develop momentum toward resolving the 
Western Sahara conflict.  Lugar noted the UNSYG's appointment 
of a new personal envoy, van Walsum, as a positive sign of 
the UN's support as well.  Bouteflika warmly welcomed Senator 
Lugar and his delegation, adding that he was aware of the 
Senator's record of reaching consensus.  Bouteflika said he 
was aware that there were some concerns in Washington about 
Lugar's planned meeting in Tindouf with Polisario leader 
Abdelaziz, but commented that there was no need for concern 
since this was a strictly humanitarian mission.  The 
Sahrawis, he said, would talk about their concerns, but this 
should "not offend anyone from the land of Washington and 
Wilson," the leader of a war for independence and the 
founding father of the idea of self-determination. 
 
4.  (C) Bouteflika recalled his first meeting with President 
Bush in 2001, at which the President had asked him if he was 
ready to work with James Baker.  Bouteflika promised the 
President he would work cooperatively with Baker and had done 
so (i.e., accepting the Baker Plan and getting the Polisario 
to accept it as well) until Baker had resigned.  Baker's 
resignation had left a vacuum in the settlement process that 
still had not been filled.  Bouteflika praised Baker for 
being able to see the needs of both sides, Morocco and the 
Polisario's.  Baker "represented the American values we 
admire." 
 
WESTERN SAHARA NOT A CASUS BELLI, 
BUT POLISARIO HAVE THE RIGHT TO FIGHT 
------------------------------------- 
 
5.  (C) Recalling the Houston Agreement negotiated by Baker 
with Morocco and the Polisario, Bouteflika said he had still 
been out of politics then.  But at the time, he had thought 
the agreement flawed because it did not set a deadline for 
implementation.  He said that if he had been the Polisario, 
he would have signed the agreement but insisted on the right 
to take up arms after six months or one year if it were not 
implemented.  The Polisario was now paying the price for not 
insisting on a time limit. 
 
6.  (C) Bouteflika said that when he became President in 1999 
he had taken a position that was not completely accepted at 
the time by the army and intelligence services, i.e. that the 
Western Sahara would never be a casus belli for Algeria.  The 
Polisario cannot drag Algeria into war, he stressed.  But if 
they decided to fight "on their own territory," that would be 
their decision.  If they did so, they would not be allowed to 
fight in Western Sahara and then return to Algeria as a base. 
 
 
MOROCCO MUST GO BACK TO UN 
-------------------------- 
 
7.  (C) Bouteflika said he had urged Morocco to return to the 
UN framework.  When Iraq invaded Kuwait, the international 
community mobilized itself, but the Western Sahara was 
considered a "mere tribal issue" even though it had been a 
Spanish colony.  Bouteflika criticized Spain, saying the 
Spanish Socialists had not been honest with the Sahrawis. 
From time to time, Spain approached Algeria about entering 
negotiations with France, Morocco and Spain to resolve the 
conflict.  Algeria, however, had no claim to the Western 
Sahara and would not negotiate on the Sahrawis' behalf. 
Bouteflika stressed that he was only advocating 
self-determination, a principle enshrined in the UN Charter. 
Morocco wanted improved relations with Algeria, but Algeria 
would not respond until Morocco agreed to return to the UN 
framework.  The only thing Algeria asked of Morocco was to 
accept UNSC resolutions and international law.  That is my 
sincerest hope, Bouteflika said. 
 
ALGERIA WILL ACCEPT RESULT OF REFERENDUM 
---------------------------------------- 
 
8.  (C) Bouteflika said he was ready to sign a document now 
committing Algeria to accept the result of a referendum, 
whichever way it turned out.  He said he realized a 
referendum was a "Pandora's box," but Algeria would accept 
the outcome.  Algeria would defend the right of 
self-determination even if it was the last UN member-state to 
do so. 
 
"I AM NOT JESUS CHRIST" 
----------------------- 
 
9.  (C) According to Bouteflika, bilateral relations with 
Morocco had started to gain momentum earlier this year. 
Prime Minister Ouyahia was ready to visit Rabat with a large 
delegation.  There were many bilateral agreements with 
Morocco dating to the 1960s and they were in serious need of 
review.  The Moroccans informed Bouteflika that King Mohammed 
would see Ouyahia and his delegation.  Then, only an hour 
later, the Moroccans said that "circumstances were not 
favorable" for the visit, even though it had been prepared 
months in advance.  Bouteflika underscored that he could not 
accept dealing with diplomatic relations "in such an 
irresponsible manner."  Morocco would always be Algeria's 
neighbor, neither country would move and they had to get 
along.  But it was unacceptable to handle serious issues in 
an "infantile manner."  Bouteflika said that in his 
discussions with Presidents Bush and Chirac, among other 
leaders, he was told that the king was young while he was a 
veteran diplomat.  But, he said, "I am not Jesus Christ" and 
will not turn the other cheek. 
 
10. (C) Bouteflika recalled that he was born in Morocco and 
knew that country very well.  Morocco stood to gain a great 
deal from reopening the land border, since north-east Morocco 
depended on trade with the Oran region of Algeria.  Even with 
the border closed, Morocco makes three billion Euros a year 
from smuggling, he claimed. Both countries have objective 
interests in better relations, but if the Moroccans want to 
discuss normalizing relations they must be serious about how 
they treat Algeria. 
 
11.  (C) Turning to the Arab Maghreb Union, Bouteflika said 
that if the Libyans organized a summit, he would attend in 
order to make it a success, not to embarrass anyone.  As soon 
as Morocco returned to the UN framework for the Western 
Sahara, Algeria would engage on bilateral relations and the 
AMU. 
 
U.S TRIES TO DO THE RIGHT THING 
------------------------------- 
 
12. (C) Senator Lugar said the United States tried to act in 
a manner consistent with democratic values of human rights 
and respect for the right of self-determination that 
Bouteflika had mentioned.  The U.S. acted even when its own 
national interests were not directly engaged when it was the 
right thing to do.  It was in this context that President 
Bush had asked that the Senator undertake this mission.  The 
President respected Bouteflika's initiative to gain the 
release of the prisoners and was looking for ways to improve 
Algerian-Moroccan relations.  The U.S. believed the two 
countries should reopen their border and reengage at the 
highest level.  The U.S. wanted to work with Algeria to see 
how we could make a difference. 
 
13.  (C) Senator Lugar asked whether Bouteflika thought the 
Moroccan Government understood his position that Algeria 
would support the results of a referendum no matter what they 
were?  Was the question of who would have the right to vote 
still a significant issue?  What were the other principal 
issues?  Bouteflika said the Western Sahara was not a new 
issue for the UN.  Baker had done very good work, and the 
UNSYG had a complete list of voters in a referendum.  Algeria 
will accept the results of a referendum, but that did not 
mean it would "condone Moroccan tricks."  The Western Sahara 
has been on the UN agenda since the 1970s, at the same time 
as Brunei, Suriname, and Belize, all of which were long since 
independent.  Algeria supported respecting international law. 
 It would not accept being a negotiating partner on the 
Western Sahara with France, Spain, Morocco or the United 
States, but Algeria would defend the right of 
self-determination. 
 
14.  (U) Senator Lugar did not have an opportunity to clear 
this message. 
 
15.  (U) Minimize considered. 
ERDMAN