

Currently released so far... 6230 / 251,287
Articles
Browse latest releases
2010/12/01
2010/12/02
2010/12/03
2010/12/04
2010/12/05
2010/12/06
2010/12/07
2010/12/08
2010/12/09
2010/12/10
2010/12/11
2010/12/12
2010/12/13
2010/12/14
2010/12/15
2010/12/16
2010/12/17
2010/12/18
2010/12/19
2010/12/20
2010/12/21
2010/12/22
2010/12/23
2010/12/24
2010/12/25
2010/12/26
2010/12/27
2010/12/28
2010/12/29
2010/12/30
2011/01/01
2011/01/02
2011/01/04
2011/01/05
2011/01/07
2011/01/09
2011/01/10
2011/01/11
2011/01/12
2011/01/13
2011/01/14
2011/01/15
2011/01/16
2011/01/17
2011/01/18
2011/01/19
2011/01/20
2011/01/21
2011/01/22
2011/01/23
2011/01/24
2011/01/25
2011/01/26
2011/01/27
2011/01/28
2011/01/29
2011/01/30
2011/01/31
2011/02/01
2011/02/02
2011/02/03
2011/02/04
2011/02/05
2011/02/06
2011/02/07
2011/02/08
2011/02/09
2011/02/10
2011/02/11
2011/02/12
2011/02/13
2011/02/14
2011/02/15
2011/02/16
2011/02/17
2011/02/18
2011/02/19
2011/02/20
2011/02/21
2011/02/22
2011/02/23
2011/02/24
2011/02/25
2011/02/26
2011/02/27
2011/02/28
2011/03/01
2011/03/02
2011/03/03
2011/03/04
2011/03/05
2011/03/06
2011/03/07
2011/03/08
2011/03/09
2011/03/10
2011/03/11
2011/03/13
2011/03/14
2011/03/15
2011/03/16
2011/03/17
2011/03/18
2011/03/19
2011/03/20
2011/03/21
Browse by creation date
Browse by origin
Embassy Athens
Embassy Asuncion
Embassy Astana
Embassy Asmara
Embassy Ashgabat
Embassy Ankara
Embassy Amman
Embassy Algiers
Embassy Addis Ababa
Embassy Accra
Embassy Abuja
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Embassy Abidjan
Consulate Amsterdam
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura
Embassy Buenos Aires
Embassy Budapest
Embassy Bucharest
Embassy Brussels
Embassy Bridgetown
Embassy Bratislava
Embassy Brasilia
Embassy Bogota
Embassy Bishkek
Embassy Bern
Embassy Berlin
Embassy Belgrade
Embassy Beirut
Embassy Beijing
Embassy Banjul
Embassy Bangkok
Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan
Embassy Bamako
Embassy Baku
Embassy Baghdad
Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen
Embassy Conakry
Embassy Colombo
Embassy Chisinau
Embassy Caracas
Embassy Canberra
Embassy Cairo
Consulate Curacao
Consulate Ciudad Juarez
Consulate Chennai
Consulate Casablanca
Consulate Cape Town
Embassy Dushanbe
Embassy Dublin
Embassy Doha
Embassy Djibouti
Embassy Dhaka
Embassy Dar Es Salaam
Embassy Damascus
Embassy Dakar
Consulate Dubai
Embassy Kyiv
Embassy Kuwait
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Embassy Kinshasa
Embassy Kigali
Embassy Khartoum
Embassy Kathmandu
Embassy Kampala
Embassy Kabul
Consulate Kolkata
Embassy Luxembourg
Embassy Luanda
Embassy London
Embassy Ljubljana
Embassy Lisbon
Embassy Lima
Embassy Lilongwe
Embassy La Paz
Consulate Lagos
Mission USNATO
Embassy Muscat
Embassy Moscow
Embassy Montevideo
Embassy Monrovia
Embassy Minsk
Embassy Mexico
Embassy Mbabane
Embassy Maputo
Embassy Manama
Embassy Managua
Embassy Malabo
Embassy Madrid
Consulate Munich
Consulate Mumbai
Consulate Montreal
Consulate Monterrey
Consulate Milan
Embassy Pristina
Embassy Pretoria
Embassy Prague
Embassy Port Au Prince
Embassy Phnom Penh
Embassy Paris
Embassy Paramaribo
Embassy Panama
Consulate Peshawar
REO Basrah
Embassy Rome
Embassy Riyadh
Embassy Riga
Embassy Reykjavik
Embassy Rangoon
Embassy Rabat
Consulate Rio De Janeiro
Consulate Recife
Secretary of State
Embassy Stockholm
Embassy Sofia
Embassy Skopje
Embassy Singapore
Embassy Seoul
Embassy Sarajevo
Embassy Santo Domingo
Embassy Santiago
Embassy Sanaa
Embassy San Salvador
Embassy San Jose
Consulate Strasbourg
Consulate Shenyang
Consulate Shanghai
Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis
Embassy Tripoli
Embassy Tokyo
Embassy The Hague
Embassy Tel Aviv
Embassy Tehran
Embassy Tegucigalpa
Embassy Tbilisi
Embassy Tashkent
Embassy Tallinn
Consulate Tijuana
USUN New York
USEU Brussels
US Mission Geneva
US Interests Section Havana
US Delegation, Secretary
UNVIE
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Browse by tag
ASEC
AF
AE
AR
AORC
AJ
AU
AM
ABLD
AL
AMGT
ASUP
AFIN
APER
ABUD
AVERY
APCS
AEMR
ADCO
APECO
ASIG
AG
AA
AS
AFFAIRS
ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG
AMED
AO
ACOA
AX
AROC
ATFN
ASEAN
AFGHANISTAN
AFU
AER
ALOW
AODE
ATRN
AID
AC
AGMT
CH
CO
CS
CE
CU
CLINTON
CG
CVIS
CMGT
CI
CJAN
CF
COM
CASC
CA
CBW
CM
CDG
CR
COUNTER
CD
CWC
CKGR
CN
CPAS
CJUS
CV
CONS
CT
CY
COUNTERTERRORISM
CIA
CACM
CDB
CAN
COE
COUNTRY
CLEARANCE
CACS
CONDOLEEZZA
CARSON
CL
CIS
CODEL
CTM
CB
ECON
EFIN
EAIR
EUN
EINV
ENRG
EG
ETRD
EPET
ETTC
ELAB
EU
ER
ET
EAGR
ECPS
ECIN
ELTN
EAID
EMIN
EWWT
EFIS
EIND
EC
ES
EN
EI
ENVR
ENGR
ENIV
EUNCH
ENVI
ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS
ELN
EZ
EXTERNAL
EINVECONSENVCSJA
EINT
EUR
ECINECONCS
ENNP
EFINECONCS
EK
ELECTIONS
ECUN
EINVEFIN
ECIP
EINDETRD
EUC
EREL
ECA
ENERG
ENGY
ETRO
EFTA
ECONCS
ECONOMICS
ECONEFIN
EINVETC
EINN
ESA
ETC
ETRDEINVTINTCS
ESENV
ETRDECONWTOCS
IN
IC
IR
IZ
IS
IAEA
IT
ICTY
IO
IA
IWC
ID
ICRC
ILC
INTELSAT
IMO
ISRAELI
IACI
ILO
ITRA
IBRD
IMF
ICJ
ICAO
ITALY
ITALIAN
IRAQI
INTERPOL
IV
IQ
IPR
INRB
ITPHUM
IIP
IL
INR
ITPGOV
IZPREL
IRC
INRA
INRO
IRAJ
IEFIN
IF
KDEM
KCRM
KJUS
KTIA
KWBG
KPAL
KIPR
KTIP
KE
KNNP
KGHG
KICC
KV
KTFN
KU
KCFE
KDRG
KWMN
KSCA
KGIC
KCOR
KFRD
KPKO
KSUM
KPRP
KPAO
KBCT
KIRF
KCFC
KISL
KREC
KSPR
KHIV
KBIO
KMCA
KMPI
KFLU
KSTH
KBTR
KS
KOMC
KOMS
KSEP
KPRV
KFLO
KHLS
KN
KWWMN
KUNR
KLIG
KSTC
KZ
KG
KRAD
KOLY
KTBT
KTDB
KOCI
KAWK
KCIP
KNPP
KWAC
KMDR
KAWC
KIDE
KSAF
KX
KWMNCS
KNEI
KCRS
KVPR
KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KACT
KO
KFSC
KR
KPWR
KMIG
KSEC
KIFR
KDEMAF
KFIN
KGCC
KPIN
KPLS
KIRC
KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KGIT
KBTS
KERG
KWMM
KRVC
KNSD
KVIR
KNUP
KTER
KDDG
KHSA
KMRS
KHDP
KTLA
KPAK
KNAR
KREL
KPAI
KTEX
KCOM
KNNPMNUC
KPOA
KRFD
KHUM
KDEV
KNUC
MOPS
MARR
MASS
MNUC
MO
MX
MCAP
ML
MTCRE
MR
MP
MY
MU
MIL
MAR
MC
MRCRE
MTRE
MA
MEPI
MV
MPOS
MD
MZ
MEPP
MOPPS
MAPP
MASC
MT
MERCOSUR
MK
MDC
MI
MAPS
MCC
MASSMNUC
MQADHAFI
MUCN
MTCR
MG
OREP
OVIP
OFDP
ODIP
OPDC
OAS
OTRA
OSCE
OECD
OIIP
OEXC
OPCW
OPIC
OPRC
OVP
OSCI
OTR
OSAC
OIC
OFFICIALS
OIE
PHUM
PREL
PGOV
PREF
PTER
PARM
PBTS
PINR
PINS
PHSA
PK
POL
PM
PINT
PE
PINF
PEL
PA
PARMS
PO
PLN
PROP
PALESTINIAN
PAO
PL
POV
PG
POLITICS
PEPR
PSI
PSOE
PU
POLITICAL
PARTIES
PBIO
PECON
PAK
POGOV
PINL
PKFK
PMIL
PY
PFOR
PHALANAGE
PARTY
PRAM
PMAR
PGOVLO
PUNE
PORG
PHUMPREL
PF
POLINT
PHUS
PGOC
PNR
PGGV
PNAT
PGOVE
PRGOV
PRL
PROV
PTERE
PGOF
PHUMBA
SENV
SY
SZ
SOCI
SO
SR
SNAR
SA
SP
SW
SMIG
SU
SCUL
SC
SAN
SN
SL
SG
SYR
SEVN
SF
SI
STEINBERG
SIPRS
SH
SNARCS
SOFA
SANC
SHUM
SK
ST
TRGY
TU
TBIO
TH
TS
TSPL
TT
TPHY
TSPA
TI
TK
TIP
TERRORISM
TZ
TX
TW
TD
TP
TC
TO
TNGD
TINT
TRSY
TR
TFIN
TURKEY
UK
UNGA
UN
UNHRC
UNMIK
UNO
UZ
UNSC
UP
UG
UNHCR
UNDC
US
UNAUS
USTR
UV
UNEP
UY
UNESCO
USUN
UAE
USEU
UNDP
UNCHS
UNVIE
UNCHC
UE
UNDESCO
USAID
Browse by classification
Community resources
courage is contagious
Viewing cable 07TUNIS1489, THE PNG'ING OF SUHA ARAFAT: MANY RUMORS, FEW FACTS
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #07TUNIS1489.
Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
07TUNIS1489 | 2007-11-16 17:05 | 2010-12-13 21:09 | CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN | Embassy Tunis |
VZCZCXRO8599
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHTU #1489/01 3201713
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 161713Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY TUNIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4109
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHVT/AMEMBASSY VALLETTA PRIORITY 0396
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TUNIS 001489
SIPDIS
NOFORN
SIPDIS
STATE FOR NEA/IPA AND NEA/MAG (HOPKINS AND HARRIS)
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/15/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV SOCI PINR TS
SUBJECT: THE PNG'ING OF SUHA ARAFAT: MANY RUMORS, FEW FACTS
REF: A. IIR 6 897 0136 07 (NOTALS)
¶B. 06 TUNIS 2570
Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
¶1. (C/NF) Summary: The GOT's decision last summer to revoke
Suha Arafat's Tunisian citizenship, which had only been
granted less than a year earlier, made international
headlines. Since the appearance of the official register
notice on August 7, the chattering class in Tunisia has not
ceased to speculate about the reasons behind the decision.
In a mid-October telcon with Ambassador Godec, Mrs. Arafat
attributed her ouster to the personal animus of First Lady
Leila Ben Ali, following a dispute over the forced closure of
the Bouebdelli School, a well-respected private school. Had
it remained open, the Bouebdelli School would have
represented serious competition to the new Carthage
International School, a joint venture between the two First
Ladies. It is doubtful that we will ever know all of the
facts in this affair, but the stories of corruption swirling
around the Carthage International School have a ring of truth
to them. Meanwhile, Mrs. Arafat was not shy in sharing with
the Ambassador stinging criticism of President Ben Ali, the
First Lady, and the web of corruption that she says surrounds
them. End Summary.
------------------
Easy Come, Easy Go
------------------
¶2. (C) On August 7, the GOT's Official Journal contained a
one-sentence announcement of decree number 2007-1976 of
August 2, 2007, revoking the citizenship of Suha Arafat, wife
of the late Palestinian Authority President Yassir Arafat.
As reported Ref B, the GOT had only granted Tunisian
nationality, by naturalization, to Mrs. Arafat and her 12
year-old daughter Zahwa in September, 2006. (Note: The GOT
did not revoke the citizenship of Mrs. Arafat's daughter.
End Note.) The GOT's decision to revoke the citizenship of
Mrs. Arafat came without warning. In an early July telcon
with the Ambassador, Mrs. Arafat gave no indication that
anything was amiss. Indeed, she indicated that she would
like to meet with the Ambassador when she returned from her
vacation in Malta later in the summer. Nor were there any
distress signals in Ref A conversation with Mrs. Arafat,
which also took place in early summer.
¶3. (C/NF) In a mid-October telcon with the Ambassador, Ms.
Arafat blamed her ouster on the personal animus of First Lady
Leila Ben Ali. "I can't believe what she's has done to me,"
Arafat exclaimed, "I've lost everything!" She charged that
all of her properties in Tunisia had been confiscated, even
by falsifying documents transferring ownership. (Note: It
is rumored that Mrs. Arafat had invested -- and lost -- some
2.5 million euros in the Carthage International School. End
Note.) In addition, she said, her friends and colleagues in
Tunisia, including her banker, had also come under pressure.
"Anyone who supports me is punished."
----------------------------------------
But, Why?: The School Theory, Version I
----------------------------------------
¶4. (C/NF) Mrs. Arafat attributed her ouster to her falling
out with First Lady Leila Ben Ali over the Carthage
International School, a new, private, for-profit school, of
which they had been co-owners. According to Mrs. Arafat's
version of events, the dispute stemmed from Leila Ben Ali's
decision to force the closure of the Bouebdelli school (also
known as by the name of its parent group, Le Fondation Louis
Pasteur), a highly respected private school, from which many
of Tunisia's elite have graduated. (Note: The Bouebdelli
school was notified in mid-May that the Minister of Education
had ordered it to close, ostensibly for failure to comply
with registration regulations. Public outcry ensued, fueled
in part by a petition and letter-writing campaign organized
by parents of Bouebdelli schoolchildren. Many local and
international media reports criticized the decision to close
the school as a flagrant attempt to stifle potential
competition of the International School of Carthage. The
fact that parents of Bouebdelli schoolchildren were
encouraged to enroll their children at the Carthage school
only served to fuel these charges, as did the August 29
Presidential decree in which President Ben Ali granted
1,794,600 Tunisian Dinars (approximately US $ 1.5 million) to
the Carthage School, an estimated 25 percent of its operating
budget.)
¶5. (C/NF) Mrs. Arafat asserted that Leila Ben Ali had
TUNIS 00001489 002 OF 003
overreached in the decision to force the Bouebdelli School to
close. She claimed that she had tried to convince the
Tunisian First Lady that "what we are doing is unethical,"
and that competition ultimately would be healthy for the new
school. Their arguments over this issue continued to
escalate, according to Mrs. Arafat, culminating in the
decision to revoke her citizenship while she was on vacation
in Malta. Mrs. Arafat told the Ambassador that she intends
to remain in Malta, where her brother serves as Palestinian
Ambassador, but that she hopes to spend Christmas in the
Palestinian Territories.
-----------------------------------------
But Why?: Version II of the School Theory
-----------------------------------------
¶6. (C/NF) Other rumors have circulated with a different spin
on the school story. According to this theory, it was Mrs.
Arafat who overreached, not Leila Ben Ali. Specifically, it
is said that Mrs. Arafat convinced the Ministry of Education
to force the closure of the Bouebdelli School. She
reportedly did so by invoking the name of Mrs. Ben Ali.
Critically, though, according to this theory, Leila Ben Ali
was not aware that her name was being invoked. Thus, the
Tunisian First Lady was incensed when she learned about the
school's closure -- and her alleged role in that decision --
in the highly critical pieces in the local and international
media. (Comment: The fact that the Bouebdelli School did
not reopen, even after the revocation of Suha Arafat's
citizenship, would seem to cast doubt on the accuracy of this
theory. End Comment.)
------------------------------------
But Why?: An Array of Other Theories
------------------------------------
¶7. (C/NF) Plenty of other theories have stoked the rumor mill
in the Suha Arafat affair. One well-connected Palestinian
resident in Tunisia told EmbOff that what sealed Mrs.
Arafat's fate was that on a recent visit to Tripoli, she had
asked Libyan Leader Qaddafi for money. Qaddafi had readily
provided a hand-out, but he reportedly subsequently called
President Ben Ali to chastise him for failing to provide
adequately for the widow of the late Palestinian President.
Ben Ali's acute embarrassment, so the story goes, quickly
turned to wrath. It was not long before Mrs. Arafat's
citizenship was revoked. Another theory holds that Suha
Arafat was ousted because she had absconded with a
significant amount of the first family's assets. Finally, in
the face of persistent rumors that Mrs. Arafat had secretly
married Belhassen Trabelsi, brother of the Tunisian First
Lady, some commentators chalked up the whole ordeal to the
failure of that relationship.
---------------------------------------
Scathing Commentary on the First Family
---------------------------------------
¶8. (C/NF) No doubt as a result of her tribulations, Mrs.
Arafat was not shy about sharing with the Ambassador her
negative impressions of President Ben Ali, his wife, and her
family members, whom, she said, collectively represent a web
of corruption. Drawing on her close contact with the first
family over the past several years, she made several
allegations, among them the following:
-- President Ben Ali remains weakened by his battle with
cancer (NFI);
-- President Ben Ali spends all his time playing with his son
and following him around the residence;
-- President Ben Ali simply does what his wife asks him to do;
-- Leila Ben Ali and her family are stealing everything of
value in the country;
-- Leila Ben Ali believes that she will succeed her husband
as President of Tunisia;
-- The members of Ben Ali's extended family can do whatever
they want with impunity, including the falsification of
documents;
-- Leila Ben Ali dropped the American curriculum that had
been planned for the Carthage school because she
fundamentally wants nothing to do with Americans.
-------
TUNIS 00001489 003 OF 003
Comment
-------
¶9. (C/NF) It is doubtful that we will ever know all of the
facts in the Suha Arafat affair, or, for that matter in the
Bouebdelli School/Carthage International School matter.
Clearly, having been stripped of her Tunisian citizenship and
deprived of her properties here, Suha Arafat has an ax to
grind with the Ben Ali clan, so her allegations must be taken
with a big grain of salt. Although difficult to prove, there
is a certain ring of truth to the stories of corruption
swirling around the school issue. While it is not clear who
was behind the Bouebdelli closure, the ready-made pool of
students for whom Bouebdelli was no longer an option was
certainly convenient for filling the classrooms in the
Carthage School's opening year. Indeed, during a
mid-September visit to the Carthage School, MgmtCouns learned
that the school is filled to capacity. Beyond that, no
school in recent memory has been constructed so quickly, had
municipally provided access roads, street signs, and traffic
lights installed so efficiently, or had such ease in getting
certified (although it has not yet received the French
accreditation the Bouebdelli School had). Nor is it common
practice for the GOT to so generously subsidize a for-profit
educational institution. Finally, it must be noted that the
school affair, while rather blatant, is not an isolated case
of favoritism and corruption. We will continue to follow
this issue and report septel on other corruption charges.
End Comment.
GODEC