ID

155274

Etiquetas

PREL, PHUM, MASS, KLIG, KAWC, OFDP, RW, SP

Fecha

2008-05-23 11:57:00

RefID

08MADRID571

Origen

Embassy Madrid

Clasificación

CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN

Destino

08MADRID504

Encabezado

VZCZCXRO1961

PP RUEHBW RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR

DE RUEHMD #0571/01 1441157

ZNY CCCCC ZZH

P 231157Z MAY 08

FM AMEMBASSY MADRID

TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4819

INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI PRIORITY 0037

RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA PRIORITY 0010

RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA PRIORITY 0036

RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR PRIORITY 0138

RUEHNJ/AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA PRIORITY 0008

RUEHPF/AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH PRIORITY 0019

RUEHSB/AMEMBASSY HARARE PRIORITY 0021

RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM PRIORITY 0126

RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI PRIORITY 0098

RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA PRIORITY 0247

RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA PRIORITY 3437

Contenido

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 MADRID 000571

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

@ELIMINADO@

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2018

TAGS: PREL, PHUM, MASS, KLIG, KAWC, OFDP, RW, SP

SUBJECT: S/WCI AMB. WILLIAMSON PRESSES SPAIN ON RWANDA

REF: MADRID 504 AND PREVIOUS

MADRID 00000571 001.2 OF 005

Classified By: DCM Hugo Llorens for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

1. (C) SUMMARY: In consultations with Spanish interlocutors

in Madrid May 19-20, Ambassador Williamson (S/WCI) urged the

Spanish government to reach out to the Rwandan government at

the political level to try to ease tensions over the Spanish

judiciary's indictment of 40 Rwandan officials in connection

with the deaths of nine Spanish citizens between 1994 and

2000 (reftel). The general Spanish response was positive but

noncommittal, although several contacts acknowledged that the

overreach of the indictment was inappropriate and potentially

problematic for Spain. There was agreement in principle to

talking with the Rwandans, although we believe the Spanish

will require strong encouragement. A possible scenario for a

meeting could be between the Spanish PermRep in New York and

Rwandan Prosecutor General Martin Ngoga, when Ngoga

represents Rwanda at the UNSC session on the ICTR on June 4.

Amb. Williamson also asked the GOS to consider future

contributions to several international judicial bodies that

may be coming online in Africa in the medium term. The GOS

expressed interest in possible participation in the

Democratic Republic of Congo and in Senegal. END SUMMARY.

2. (U) Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues Clint

Williamson consulted May 19-20 with Spanish international

judicial experts and MFA contacts, opening a dialogue with

Spain on an issue in which it has not been particularly

active heretofore. Amb. Williamson met with @ELIMINADO@, Deputy Director General for

Africa Antonio Sanchez-Benedito, Deputy Director General for

the Balkans Ramon Abaroa, Special Ambassador for Human Rights

Silvia Escobar, MOJ Director General for International

Judicial Cooperation Aurora Mejia, and Director of

International Relations for the General Council of the

Judiciary Francisco de Jorge.

//RWANDA INDICTMENTS//

3. (C) Amb. Williamson urged the GOS to actively engage the

Rwandan government on the issue of the indictments, noting

the GOR's concern that the indictments, and more specifically

the historical background contained therein, enjoy the full

support of the Spanish government. Deputy DG for Africa

Sanchez-Benedito told Williamson May 19 that the family and

associates of the nine Spanish victims had convinced the

Spanish judge to take on the case and that all of the

testimony and evidence gathered pointed to forces within the

RPF as responsible. He said the judge therefore decided to

expand the prosecution to include nearly the entire Rwandan

military and senior government apparatus with the exception

of Kagame, noting that he was exempted solely because of his

immunity as head of state. Sanchez-Benedio acknowledged that

such overreach by the Spanish judiciary did impact Spanish

foreign relations, also naming an ongoing investigation into

the persecution of Falun Gong in China as a case of concern.

Sanchez-Benedito said that the GOS does not share the

assumptions of the indictment, which seem to rewrite the

genocide from an exclusive perspective of Hutu victimhood and

Tutsi brutality while ignoring the premeditated Hutu

slaughter of Tutsis in 1994.

4. (C) Sanchez-Benedito said that Foreign Minister Moratinos

had spoken some time ago with the previous Rwandan Foreign

Minister, but no one had talked with FM Museminali.

Williamson urged that Moratinos call Museminali to explain

the Spanish government's position as distinct from its

judiciary. He noted difficult conversations with GOR

officials during his recent travel to Rwanda, along with

concerns by British and German diplomats that the indictments

MADRID 00000571 002.2 OF 005

made travel by Rwandan officials to Europe extremely

difficult. Williamson stressed that it is important for the

Spanish to engage the Rwandans at senior political levels,

not just to rely on technical working-level discussions

between their respective police officials. Sanchez-Benedito

expressed his understanding but responded that if the Rwandan

judiciary had investigated these deaths, the Spanish court

would have had no jurisdiction, due to the principle of

subsidiarity. (NOTE: Williamson later heard the same

argument from Director General for the Mideast, Mediterranean

and Maghreb Alvaro Iranzo during a brief conversation May 20.

END NOTE.) Sanchez-Benedito said the GOS would make contact

with the GOR to explain the situation, but he cautioned that

the government has very little room to maneuver, given the

separation of powers and the inflammatory issue of the

Spaniards' deaths. Williamson noted that the USG is hoping

to increase capacity in the Rwandan judiciary, and he

suggested that the GOS might take an active interest in this

process once the current tensions subside as a way of

balancing out the damage done by the indictments.

5. (C) @ELIMINADO@ said that @ELIMINADO@

was not so much concerned about jurisdictional issues in the

case but on the wildly inaccurate description of

circumstances surrounding the deaths. @ELIMINADO@ said that the MFA,

and to @ELIMINADO@ knowledge, other ministries had not undertaken any

steps to seek international arrests, but @ELIMINADO@ added @ELIMINADO@

understanding that ICTR officials had looked at the cases to

see if prosecutions could be undertaken in Arusha.

Nevertheless, @ELIMINADO@ pled ignorance on how aggressive the

judiciary would be in pursuing the indictments.

6. (C) Director of International Relations for the General

Council of the Judiciary Francisco de Jorge at first claimed

he was only vaguely familiar with the Rwanda indictment case,

but his memory quickly returned as the discussion progressed

in a meeting on May 20. He offered to explain the case to

Rwandan officials on behalf of the judiciary, saying that it

would be inappropriate to have any direct contact with Judge

Andreu, but that he could in his capacity explain the

indictments and details about the Spanish process to

interested parties. He said that he would first have to

secure the blessing of the General Council, but believed they

would be receptive as long as they received a formal request

from the MFA along with reimbursements for travel.

7. (C) Amb. Williamson and Charge Llorens agreed May 20 to

explore the possibility of setting up a meeting between the

Spanish PermRep and Prosecutor General Ngoga in New York on

the margins of the UNSC session in early June to discuss the

issue, although neither government appears willing to take

the lead in setting such a meeting. Amb. Williamson also

asked Post to contact British and German colleagues in Madrid

to see whether expressions of concern by a broader audience

might motivate the GOS to action.

8. (C) COMMENT: While the Spanish Government recognizes

that this issue is creating tension in a broader arena, they

do not seem to feel directly impacted by it and, thus, are

not seized with a sense of urgency to resolve it. They were

generally receptive to the idea that enhanced dialogue with

the Rwandans might be beneficial, but having the point

reinforced by other EU governments (e.g., UK, Germany) might

prompt them to act more expeditiously. END COMMENT.

//SENEGAL TRIBUNAL OF HISSENE HABRE//

9. (SBU) Spanish interlocutors expressed interest in

potentially providing support for the proposed trial of

Chadian dictator Hissene Habre in Senegal and requested more

details on specific needs. All officials acknowledged

MADRID 00000571 003.2 OF 005

Senegal as a country of priority for Spain and agreed with

Ambassador Williamson on the importance of the African

Union's support for such a trial. @ELIMINADO@ agreed

to propose greater Spanish judicial cooperation on Senegal

and in other areas with Deputy Foreign Minister Lossada. MOJ

Director General for Int'l Judicial Cooperation Aurora Mejia

expressed strong interest in this idea and said that her

office would be the appropriate point of contact for

requesting seconded legal officers and experts.

//SIERRA LEONE//

10. (SBU) @ELIMINADO@ and Sanchez-Benedito confirmed

that Spain would maintain roughly the same financial

contribution to the Sierra Leone Court in 2008 (approximately

265,000 euros) and that the funds could be released as early

as late June. The Spanish will also consider requests for

legal officers and judicial personnel, but cautioned that

Sierra Leone is not a priority country for Spain. Spain will

not accept transferees for execution of sentences. @ELIMINADO@

offered that Spain might investigate providing technical

assistance similar to UK programs, but @ELIMINADO@ cautioned that the

Spanish development budget was very inflexible and did not

include Sierra Leone at this time. Ambassador Williamson

expressed U.S. concern over the slow pace of progress by the

court, but reiterated the importance of its success for West

Africa and for the international judicial process writ large.

He noted that the court needs secondees as well, if Spain

were in a position to provide those.

//GENOCIDE PREVENTION AND EARLY WARNING//

11. (SBU) @ELIMINADO@ and Special Ambassador for

Human Rights Silvia Escobar expressed Spain's interest in

additional information on the Justice Rapid Response and

Global Futures Forum initiatives, as well as Spain's

willingness to participate in future meetings.

//ICTR AND ICTY CLOSURE//

12. (SBU) Ambassador Williamson conveyed that the United

States is beginning to look seriously at the processes by

which both the ICTR and ICTY can conclude their cases and be

dismantled. For the ICTR, a main obstacle is the incapacity

of the Rwandan judicial system to effectively absorb the

caseload, while there is a more general reluctance in both

tribunals to speed work to a close. He described the ongoing

process with the UNSC working group on tribunals but noted

that other governments and NGO's have been offering input.

He encouraged Spain to support and participate in this

effort. @ELIMINADO@took this on board. Deputy DG

for the Balkans Ramon Abaroa acknowledged that Serbia is not

cooperating at all with the ICTY and knows perfectly well

where Mladic is. With the apparent inability of Tadic's

party to form a government, future cooperation from Serbia

seemed unlikely.

//BOSNIA//

13. (SBU) Amb. Williamson discussed the need to prolong the

presence of international jurists at the Bosnia State Court

past the statutory limit of 2009 and informed Spanish

contacts of the need to begin work immediately on changing

the Bosnian law. He further noted that the United States

would hope to enjoy strong cooperation with Spain once Spain

took the EU lead on judicial issues in Bosnia upon the

departure of the High Representative. Deputy DG for the

Balkans Abaroa noted that not only would Spain be in charge

of judicial affairs but also of the overall archives, which

would be an important challenge for the Spanish. @ELIMINADO@ noted that in addition to judicial cooperation, the

MADRID 00000571 004.2 OF 005

Spanish were concerned with the institutionalization and

stabilization of judicial authority in Bosnia.

//INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT//

14. (C) @ELIMINADO@ asked Amb. Williamson whether the

USG was not perhaps more accommodating in its recent approach

to the ICC. @ELIMINADO@ said that the United States appeared to

support ICC involvement in prosecuting war crimes in Darfur,

and @ELIMINADO@ noted that Spain would be leading the upcoming review

conference of the Rome Statute of the ICC, asking if the

United States might consider participation in the conference.

Amb. Williamson said that U.S. participation might indeed be

counterproductive given our lack of involvement up to this

point, and might even prompt other participants to

reflexively oppose U.S.-supported provisions that they might

otherwise approve. @ELIMINADO@ acknowledged that the "Crime of

Aggression" debate would certainly be part of the conference,

but that it would not be the only issue raised and European

members certainly understand the U.S. position. Spain hoped

the conference could be a lessons learned exercise and

expressed certainty that the U.S. perspective would be useful

in such a context. Regardless of whether the United States

becomes a State party, @ELIMINADO@ said it is clear that the United

States is not obstructing the work of the ICC, and @ELIMINADO@ said

that statements by senior U.S. officials make clear that the

ICC can be another jurisdiction for international war crimes,

though not the only U.S. option.

15. (C) Amb. Williamson noted that the United States and the

ICC share the same basic approach toward war crimes issues,

and that our preference, when feasible, would be a domestic

prosecution of war crimes. If that proves impossible,

because of lack of capacity or because of ethnic or political

bias, the second option should be some sort of hybrid

domestic tribunal with international assistance. The third

and last option should be a full-blown international

tribunal. Beyond the obvious reasons of delivering justice

close to where the crimes occurred and where victims and

witnesses are located, a practical reality is that in its

current capacity the ICC is not capable of absorbing a large

number of new cases, certainly not as many as are currently

active or contemplated in other tribunals. Williamson said

that while the United States still has significant

differences with the ICC, we recognize that it has an

important role in the sphere of international justice and

that there will be appropriate circumstances for it to handle

certain cases. @ELIMINADO@ agreed but noted that Spain still

believe the ICC should be the "jurisdiction of reference" in

these issues, while not excluding the need for other

tribunals where appropriate.

16. (C) @ELIMINADO@ asked Williamson whether the United States

might be interested in creating a permanent informal U.S.-EU

dialogue on ICC issues on the margins of COJUR to discuss a

variety of procedural and technical considerations of mutual

interest. Amb. Williamson acknowledged the potential utility

of such a venue and took the idea on board, agreeing to

consult others in the USG before responding definitively.

//DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO//

17. (SBU) Amb. Williamson detailed the "war crimes mapping

mission" being launched by the UN Office of the High

Commissioner for Human Rights and asked Spanish contacts to

consider involvement in the effort. He noted that plans for

the mission are still evolving but that the project will

focus on what atrocities occurred where and when, not on

identification of specific individual perpetrators. The next

step, upon completion of the mapping, as currently envisaged,

would be formulation of recommendations to ensure a viable

MADRID 00000571 005.2 OF 005

accountability process. Antonio Sanchez-Benedito and

Francisco de Jorge asked for additional information when

available and expressed Spain's increased commitment to

development assistance for the DRC.

//SOMALIA//

18. (C) Sanchez-Benedito expressed Spain's strong support

for UNSC action on piracy off the Horn of Africa and said

that the EU tide has turned toward the need for a more active

approach to this subject. He further assured Amb. Williamson

that the TSG, which he said was helpful in the resolution of

the seizure of a Spanish fishing vessel by Somali pirates,

was very supportive of the proposal and had even written a

statement of support to the UNSC.

//GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE JUDICIARY//

19. (SBU) Francisco de Jorge, head of International

Relations at the General Council of the Spanish Judiciary

(CGPJ), said that the Council is willing to provide secondees

and experts for the various tribunals in Africa and elsewhere

so long as participation enjoys the blessing of the

government. He said that the judiciary generally tries not

to act internationally out of line with GOS policy where

possible. He further cautioned that sending a Spanish judge

to work in Congo required certain financial incentives to

make such a hardship attractive. As such, he suggested that

any requests for Spain to provide international assistance of

a judicial nature be made both through the MFA and MOJ and

concurrently with the CGPJ.

//COMMENT//

20. (C) The undercurrent throughout the visit was

acknowledgment of Spain's increasing interest in Africa and

concurrent responsibility to act on these issues.

Sanchez-Benedito said that Spanish assistance to Africa will

top one billion euros next year. Spanish interlocutors were

most interested in Senegal and the DRC as potential avenues

for further cooperation. Other useful points of contact for

additional discussions on these issues include Special

Ambassador for Humanitarian Affairs Maria Bassols and Special

Ambassador for Peacekeeping Operations Arturo Spiegelberg and

Special Ambassador for Humanitarian Affairs Maria Bassols.

END COMMENT.

21. (U) Ambassador Williamson has cleared this cable.

Aguirre;"