NIGERIA: ECOWAS NAMES COORDINATOR FOR COTE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 003340 SIPDIS PARIS FOR NEARY E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2012 TAGS: PREL MOPS MASS KPKO NI IV SUBJECT: NIGERIA: ECOWAS NAMES COORDINATOR FOR COTE D'IVOIRE; SENEGAL APPOINTS FORCE COMMANDER; GBAGBO TO PROPOSE RECONCILIATION PACKAGE CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR HOWARD F. JETER FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) During a December 19 telephone conversation, Nigerian Presidential Envoy on Conflict Resolution Raph Uwechue told Ambassador Jeter that he had been appointed the Special ECOWAS Representative to Cote d'Ivoire. Uwechue said his role would be to coordinate ECOWAS' political and military efforts in Cote d'Ivoire. He planned to sort out the precise details of his job with ECOWAS ExecSec Mohammed Ibn Chambas when Chambas returns to Abuja today or tomorrow from the December 18, Dakar summit. ¶2. (C) Uwechue also confirmed that the Senegalese had named Presidential Military Advisor General Kahlil Fall as the commander of the proposed ECOWAS peacekeeping force in Cote d'Ivoire. ¶3. (C) According to Uwechue, Ivoirian President Laurent Gbgabo plans to propose a reconciliation plan to the rebels in the near future. Uwechue said Gbagbo would share the details of his plan with the ECOWAS leadership soon. ¶4. (C) Finally, when asked by the Ambassador about the heads-of-state reaction to the proposed Paris summit, Uweche said none of the participants in the talks in Kara, Abidjan, or Dakar had raised the issue. ¶5. (C) COMMENT: Uwechue called the Ambassador at 0800 this morning, shortly after he returned from Dakar. We will follow up with him in a few days after his planned discussion with Chambas to ascertain the next steps that ECOWAS plans to take. Uwechue also noted in the conversation with the Ambassador that Nigeria might be planning to deploy forces as part of the still unrealized ECOWAS peacekeeping force. END COMMENT. JETER