VZCZCXRO3852
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHDK #0619/01 0681650
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091650Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAKAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4532
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAN/AMEMBASSY ANTANANARIVO 0273 UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DAKAR 000619 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR AF/W, AF/SPG, AF/RSA, IO/UNP AND INR/AA 
ABIDJAN FOR REGIONAL REFUGEE COORDINATOR 
ACCRA FOR REGIONAL REFUGEE COORDINATOR 
PARIS FOR POL - D'ELIA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS:                    
SUBJECT: ELY OULD VALL: "MAURITANIA HAS NO REFUGEES IN 
SENEGAL" 
 
REF: A. NOUAKCHOTT 0279 (NOTAL) 
 
 B. NOUAKCHOTT 0087 (NOTAL) 
 C. DAKAR 0249 (NOTAL) 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 1.  (U) Mauritania'S Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall made 
his first visit to Senegal as head of state, March 6-7, 
 2006.  In a press conference shortly before departure, he 
said use of the term "refugee" is inappropriate for those 
who left Maritania in 1989, and that those who claim to be 
Mauritanian should return home, where the problem could be 
resolved "among Mauritanians without foreign 
interference."  Vall and Wade's joint communique commented 
extensively on regional and international issues.  They 
said the African Union should continue to play "an 
essential role in Darfur," but they called for expanded 
cooperation with the UN.  They supported the African 
Group's position on UN reform; they also highlighted their 
support for the new Human Rights Council.  They affirmed 
their support for the Middle East Roadmap and called for a 
Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.  Turning 
to Iraq, Wade and Vall called for peace and national 
unity.  Vall's visit contrasted sharply with Comoros 
President Assoumani Azali's four-day visit, which was long 
on pomp but reportedly short on substance.  END SUMMARY. 
 
WE HAVE NO REFUGEES IN SENEGAL 
------------------------------ 
 2.  (U) During a March 7 press conference, Colonel Vall 
rejected the existence of Mauritanian refugees in Senegal. 
He said those referred to as refugees are "groups of 
people" who have reasons of their own to settle in 
Senegal.  He said thousands of Mauritanians and Senegalese 
citizens cross the border back and forth on a daily basis, 
which, he argued, excludes the possibility of Mauritanian 
refugees in Senegal. 
 
VALL MEETS A REFUGEE ASSOCIATION LEADER 
--------------------------------------- 
 3.  (U) On March 7, Vall met Mr. Toure, President of the 
Coordination of the Association of Mauritanian Refugees in 
Senegal and Mali.  The meeting took place following a 
request that Toure made via the Mauritanian Embassy in 
Dakar, and via the connection he has established with the 
President of the Mauritanian Supreme Court.  Vall asked 
Toure to think about instruments for resolution of the 
problem, but insisted that a solution was only conceivable 
inside Mauritania. 
 
DISAPPOINTMENT 
-------------- 
 4.  (SBU) Toure told us his talk with Vall had seemed to 
go well, and that he was therefore disappointed by what he 
saw as Vall's "radical statement" at the press conference. 
Toure added that his organization had showed good will to 
new Mauritanian authorities and had hoped to work in total 
discretion with Vall.  Now, he would have to respond to 
Vall's denial of the presence of refugees with a public 
statement. 
 
 5.  (U) Meanwhile, FLAM representatives in Dakar used the 
opportunity of Vall's visit to demonstrate.  Police 
arrested five but released them later in the day. 
 
BILATERAL, REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ISSUES 
-------------------------------------------- 
 6.  (U) The joint communique focused on bilateral, 
regional and international issues.  The leaders 
highlighted cooperation on fisheries and transport 
projects.  They also agreed on a Cooperation Committee 
meeting in Nouakchott during the first half of April. 
Each praised the other's efforts to promote democracy. 
They called for stronger African support for the Digital 
Solidarity Fund.  They highlighted their concern about 
avian influenza and called for heightened surveillance. 
 
 7.  (U) On regional and international issues, while saying 
that the African Union should continue to play "an 
essential role in Darfur," they called for expanded 
cooperation with the UN.  They supported the African 
Group's position on UN reform.  They also highlighted 
their support for the new Human Rights Council.  They 
affirmed their support for the Middle East Roadmap and 
called for a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its 
 
DAKAR 00000619  002 OF 002 
 
 
capital.  Turning to Iraq, Wade and Vall called for peace 
and national unity. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 8.  (SBU) Many in Senegal perceived Vall's visit as an 
opportunity to resume peaceful and cooperative links with 
Mauritania.  Wade's recent visit to Nouakchott, followed 
by Vall's visit to Senegal, testifies to this effort. 
African-Mauritanians in Senegal at this point probably 
fear they will be sacrificed by Vall and Wade to avoid any 
open disagreements. 
 
 9.  (SBU) Vall's visit contrasted sharply with Comoros 
President Assoumani Azali's March 2-6 visit, which was 
long on pomp but short on substance.  The centerpiece of 
their discussions was apparently a decision to open an 
Embassy of the Comoros in Dakar to serve the 500 or more 
students and other citizens of the island nation who 
reside in Senegal.  END COMMENT. 
 
JACKSON