NIGERIA: READOUT ON MPCI REBELS' REGIONAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000366 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2013 TAGS: PREL PGOV IV NI ECOWAS SUBJECT: NIGERIA: READOUT ON MPCI REBELS' REGIONAL CONSULTATIONS REF: A. 02/16/2003 TELCON JETER/ARIETTI ¶B. ABIDJAN 0323 Classified by Ambassador Howard F. Jeter. Reasons: 1.5 (B & D) ¶1. (C) Cote d'Ivoire's rebel MPCI representatives met with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo February 14 and 15 as Part of a regional tour which took the group to Nigeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. After a four hour meeting past midnight on The evening of February 14, the group returned to the Presidential Villa on the morning of February 15 for several more hours of talk. Obasanjo convinced the MPCI leaders to accept the spirit of the Marcoussis Accords and to rescind the rebels' ultimatum to the GOCI and allow diplomacy a chance to resolve the crisis. (Full text of joint Obasanjo/Soro communique in para. 4.) ¶2. (C) ECOWAS ExecSec Mohammed Ibn Chambas called Ambassador again on February 18 to provide a readout on the MPCI rebels' consultations in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso (an unscheduled stop, according to Chambas; but Campaore was receptive to a meeting which took place circa 11 PM). Each of the leaders, including Campaore, encouraged the rebels to show flexibility and to work with ECOWAS in the spirit of the Marcoussis Accord. Specific allocation of portfolios was not discussed, although the MPCI agreed to forego Defense and Interior. According to Chambas, the visit to Burkina Faso Was hastily arranged on the invitation of President Campaore. Chambas commented that this tour had raised the expectations in the region. After the Franco-African summit, he said, PM Diarra would go to Bouke and seek a "peaceful and political" settlement. It was agreed that such a settlement should be achieved within a week. ¶3. (U) BEGIN TEXT OF ABUJA COMMUNIQUE: The President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria, His Excellency Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on Sunday, February 16, 2003, received a delegation of the Patriotic Movement of Cote d'Ivoire (MPCI) consisting of Guillaume Soro and Sidiki Konate, leader and spokesman respectively of the MPCI. President Obasanjo urged all the sides to the on-going crisis In Cote d'Ivoire to continue to utilize dialogue and negotiations to return the country to peace and stability. He reiterated the support of ECOWAS for the Marcoussis Accord and pledged that the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as a member of the ECOWAS high level contact group on Cote d'Ivoire, would play an active role to ensure its full implementation. In that regard, President Obasanjo called upon all Ivorians To work together to bring peace to their country emphasizing that no personalities or groups can be excluded from this process. The President reminded Ivorians that the supreme interest of Their country now called for an end to the war and for them to embark on a process of national reconciliation, national unity and national reconstruction. The leader of the MPCI, Mr. Soro, thanked President Obasanjo For receiving the delegation. He stated that the MPCI remained committed to the full implementation of the Marcoussis Accord. He pledged the cooperation of the MPCI with ECOWAS and the international community in the effort to find a solution to the Ivorian crisis. He expressed satisfaction that the Federal Republic of Nigeria would continue to play a role in the Search for durable peace and hoped that President Obasanjo would Remain personally involved in the work of the ECOWAS Contact Group. Based on the satisfactory talks the MPCI had with President Obasanjo and Ghanain President John Kufuor, Chairman of ECOWAS, Mr. Soro announced that the MPCI would suspend the ultimatum It had issued to President Gbagbo to give diplomacy a change in resolving the impasse over the partticipation of the MPCI in government of national reconciliation. Mr. Soro expressed the hope that President Obasanjo and his colleagues would intervene diplomatically to help the new Prime Minister quickly form his government which would involve all Ivorian political formations, including the MPCI as agreed Under the Marcoussis Accord. Earlier in Accra, the MPCI delegation had talks with Ghanaian President, John Kufuor and Chairman of ECOWAS on the Participation of their Movement in the government of National Reconciliation to be formed by Prime Minister Seydou Diarra. END TEXT. JETER