NIGERIA:LIBERIA DEMARCHE DELIVERED TO ECOWAS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 001862

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL LI NI ECOWAS
SUBJECT: NIGERIA:LIBERIA DEMARCHE DELIVERED TO ECOWAS

REF: STATE 180464

Classified By: Ambassador John Campbell for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d).


1. (C) Summary. Despite sensitivities about the need in
principle to support the legal structures of Liberia, the
Executive Secretary of ECOWAS agreed with U.S. concerns about
the Liberian Supreme Court rulings. He said that the U.S.
and ECOWAS share a common position on how to respond to those
decisions and the necessity for Liberian elections to take
place on schedule and according to accepted practices. The
legal department of ECOWAS has advised Chambas not to abide
by the rulings, which, in its view, are not consistent with
the court's mandate. ECOWAS will issue a public statement to
this effect on September 29, and hopes to have this position
affirmed by the ECOWAS Heads of State on the 30th. ECOWAS
will authorize NEC to continue preparing for elections on
October 11 and CPA Mediator Abubakar will arrive in Liberia
on October 5 (or earlier if necessary) in anticipation of the
election being held on schedule. End Summary.


2. (U) The Ambassador delivered reftel points to Dr.
Mohammed ibn Chambas, the Executive Secretary of ECOWAS on
September 29. Also present were General Cheick Oumar Diarra,
the Deputy Executive Secretary for Political Affairs,
Defense, and Security; PolMilOff; and an ECOWAS notetaker.
The points were left with both Chambas and Diarra as a
nonpaper.


3. (C) Chambas opened by saying he and ECOWAS are "very
concerned" about the situation in Liberia. Just before
meeting the Ambassador, he had a meeting with CPA Mediator
Abubakar. Chambas wished "the court had been more
responsible" with its verdict considering the "peculiar
circumstances" of Liberia. He said the ECOWAS legal
department had reviewed the verdict and determined that it
should not be allowed to stand as it undermines the CPA, from
which the court derives its authority. After reviewing
reftel points, he said he was pleased to see that ECOWAS and
the U.S. have "a common position." Chambas added that the
Chairman of the NTGL was in Abuja on September 27 to discuss
the same issue with President Obasanjo.


4. (C) Chambas said that ECOWAS will issue a public
statement on Septmeber 29 rejecting the Liberian Supreme
Court rulings and calling for Liberian elections to be held
as scheduled on October 11 (Note: Post will fax the statment
to AF/W once it is received. End Note). Chambas said the
ECOWAS Heads of State meeting in Abuja on September 30 would
be asked to endorse the statement ECOWAS will issue September

29. ECOWAS will authorize NEC to continue their preparations
for an October 11 election. Abubakar is currently scheduled
to arrive in Liberia on October 5, though if the situation
warrants, he could arrive as early as October 3.


5. (C) Chambas was pleased to hear that U.S. Ambassadors to
ECOWAS member states were delivering the same message in
their capitals. He felt that it would be helpful to ECOWAS
to have all of the Heads of State coming into Friday's Summit
"with the U.S. position in their heads." Though the Summit
will be a closed-door event, Chambas has agreed to allow
PolMilOff to remain on the margins of the event.


6. (C) Comment. Chambas is firmly committed to holding
elections on schedule, in accordance with the CPA, and sees
this as a high priority. Chambas has, in fact, been prepared
for some sort of stalling tactic by the NTGL for some time,
and has consistently said that elections must occur on
schedule. End comment.



CAMPBELL