KOUYATE ON LIBERIA AND SIERRA LEONE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 001926

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/30/2011
TAGS: PREL LI SL NI ECOWAS
SUBJECT: KOUYATE ON LIBERIA AND SIERRA LEONE

Classified by Ambassador Howard F. Jeter, reason 1.5 (b/d).



1. (C) Summary. Ambassador met with ECOWAS Executive
Secretary Kouyate on July 27. Kouyate indicated that the

SIPDIS
effort to organize Liberian opposition and civil society
leaders continues, and is intended as a precursor to a
meeting with Charles Taylor. Careful steps need to be taken
to avoid division among these opposition figures, and liaison
with Presidents Kabbah and Conte is imperative. End Summary.



2. (C) Ambassador Jeter met with ECOWAS Executive Secretary
Lansana Kouyate in Abuja on July 27. After initial
discussions on accreditation to the Secretariat of the
American Ambassador to Nigeria (septel),Kouyate spoke on
Liberia. He said that he was soon to travel to Monrovia,
after a stop in Bamako to see President Konare. When asked
the purpose of the meeting, Kouyate said that in part the
trip was to discuss the ongoing efforts to organize a meeting
of Liberian civil society and opposition figures with Charles
Taylor. This would be preceded, he hastened to add, by a
meeting of these leaders, to seek a consensus position, and
avoid the divisions in opposition ranks that Taylor had
proved so skillful in exploiting in the past. Taylor,
Kouyate said, had already stated his willingness to talk, but
not share power, a position which Kouyate welcomed.
Power-sharing was a bad idea, Kouyate said, given Taylor's
proclivities toward division and double-dealing. Kouyate
said he would also meet with opposition and civil society
leaders in Liberia, and seek additional names for the initial
list of attendees. He would also liaise closely with
Presidents Kabbah and Conte to keep them informed of
developments and, he hoped, gain their support for the
process.



3. (C) On Sierra Leone, Kouyate said that he thought that
the situation was "better," generally speaking, but there
were continuing tensions between the RUF and the Kamajors,
and he thought more effort needed to be paid to the DDR
process. He said that UNSyG Annan had recently called and
asked for his views, and he had emphasized that the DDR
process was crucial to the peace process. In response to
Ambassador's inquiry, Kouyate suggested that Sam Bockerie was
now in Angola, under Jonas Savimbi's protection. He also
briefly mentioned new tensions between President Compaore of
Burkina Faso and Charles Taylor. This was due, he said, to
Taylor's continuing ties to deposed Ivorien military ruler
General Robert Guei. Compaore, Kouyate said, feels
"betrayed."



4. (C) Comment. Apparently hard at work on a meeting
between Charles Taylor and Liberian opposition and civil
society figures, Kouyate seemed well aware of the necessity
for a preparatory meeting among those leaders before any
discussions with Taylor, and the necessity as well of keeping
President Kabbah and President Conte firmly in the loop. End
comment.








Jeter