GHANA CTAG MEETING

C O N F I D E N T I A L ACCRA 000239

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR INL, S/CT, AND AF/W

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/18/2013
TAGS: PTER ASEC PREL GH
SUBJECT: GHANA CTAG MEETING

REF: STATE 014279

Classified By: Polchief Richard Kaminski, reason 1.5 (B/D).


1. (C) Per reftel instructions, Ambassador Yates convened a
CTAG meeting on February 2 in Accra. In attendance on the
donor side were the G-8 ambassadors or charge d'affaires in
Accra, plus the EU and Swiss Ambassadors (the Spanish
Ambassador was invited but out of country). National
Security Coordinator Francis Poku attended for the GOG. The
agenda was set in two parts: G-8-plus participants'
assessment of the threat and host country's needs, and then
the host country response.


2. (C) In the assembled chiefs of mission discussion (in
advance of Poku's arrival),the terrorist threat in Ghana was
generally assessed as relatively low, with no concrete threat
emanating from inside Ghana at this time. However, given
Ghana's open society and benign security forces, the
potential for terrorists attempting to use Ghana as a base in
the future could not be discounted. Particularly with
Ghana's relatively good regional airlinks, indigenous Muslim
population with some links to outside extremist groups, the
presence of many major Islamic NGOs, and porous borders,
watchfulness was called for. The presence of Muslim clerics
from Gulf states, Pakistan and other locales pursuing
fundamentalist agendas in Ghana was also a cause for concern.



3. (C) Francis Poku briefly gave a similar assessment of
the situation in Ghana, noting that security forces monitor
local and expatriate groups throughout the country, and that
Ghana "could be a weak link" regionally if it did not conduct
"proper data collection and analysis." Poku specifically
noted poor contingency planning regionally, with management
of emergencies being particularly wanting on the Ghanaian
side. He also spoke of the difficulties with border control.
Poku generally spoke of Ghana's need for data analysis
infrastructure, enhanced training, and added resources to
monitor events in the region. He said that the various
security services were collating their needs, and he would be
prepared to discuss them at the next CTAG meeting. Poku
mentioned that, given the very high priority given to proper
security for the presidential and parliamentary elections in
December, he would not have quite the level of resources to
devote to anti-terrorist activities as he might wish. "We
must use our limited resources appropriately."


4. (C) Ambassador Yates offered a listing of USG
contributions to law enforcement in Ghana generally, and
overt anti-terror needs specifically, including the Pisces
arrival and departure data system for all border posts in
Ghana. She encouraged the assembled chiefs of missions to
present their own listing of programs and assistance at the
next CTAG meeting, to compare with the GOG resource
requirements now being compiled.


5. (C) The Italian Ambassador provided a copy of a
confidential document which indicated the following:

SIPDIS

Threat Assessment:
--Ghana appears to become a transit point for drugs and arms
trafficking and presence of an active Muslim community
(Lebanese and Islamic NGOs supported by Iran and Saudi Arabia)
--Will to cooperate: Ghana has ratified the 12 UN Conventions
on terrorism

Needs Assessment:
--A special law on financial means for counter-terrorism
actions under discussions
--Introduction of a new identity card system to fight against
forged documents

Ongoing Assistance:
Airport Security: USA, Japan
Immigration: UK
Transnational Crime: Italy, France
Customs Assistance: Japan
Central Bank/Finance Ministry: USA


6. (C) The Italian Embassy is one of the few G-8 members in
Ghana which has an intelligence operation. The Italian
Ambassador urged that a mosque and newspaper associated with
it, the Searchlight, be monitored for any growth of
fundamentalist or extremist trends.



Lanier