Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ABIDJAN1317
2006-11-29 12:11:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Abidjan
Cable title:  

PM BANNY: THE TANDEM WITH GBAGBO IS BROKEN

Tags:  IV PGOV 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO1259
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHAB #1317/01 3331211
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 291211Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2209
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 1467
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 001317 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/29/2016
TAGS: IV PGOV
SUBJECT: PM BANNY: THE TANDEM WITH GBAGBO IS BROKEN

REF: ABIDJAN 1316

Classified By: AMBASSADOR AUBREY HOOKS FOR REASONS 1.4 B/D.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 001317

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/29/2016
TAGS: IV PGOV
SUBJECT: PM BANNY: THE TANDEM WITH GBAGBO IS BROKEN

REF: ABIDJAN 1316

Classified By: AMBASSADOR AUBREY HOOKS FOR REASONS 1.4 B/D.


1. (C) SUMMARY: Prime Minister Banny told the Ambassador
on November 28 that Cote d'Ivoire is again in crisis: the
tandem with President Gbagbo has not been working well since
UN Resolution 1721 was adopted November 1 and is now broken.
The PM said he was not even informed of the decrees that
President Gbagbo had signed reinstating those directors
suspended for responsibility for the toxic waste scandal;
this was a serious blow that the PM could not simply ignore.
The changes that President Gbagbo made at the
Fraternite-Matin newspaper and at the RTI broadcast authority
without consulting Banny, who is also Minister of
Communications as well as Prime Minister, were further
gratuitous insults. The PM remains in Yamoussoukro out of
concern for his own safety and the safety of his staff. The
PM commented that he did not know how far President Gbagbo
would go in trying to have his own way. He commented to
several ministers present at the meeting that they may all
find themselves dismissed within the next few days. Banny
said he did not plan to resign, although he was convinced
that President Gbagbo was trying to push him into resigning.
The Prime Minister requested that the Ambassador try to
reason with President Gbagbo to get the political process
back on track. END SUMMARY.


2. (2) Prime Minister Banny invited the Ambassador to a
meeting in Yamoussoukro that lasted nearly two hours on
November 28. The Prime Minister invited four ministers and a
parliamentary deputy to join the meeting for the last thirty
minutes. The PM began by stating that President Gbagbo's
surprise unilateral actions had again brought the country to
a crisis. He commented that President Gbagbo controls the
thermostat that allows Gbagbo to turn up the political
temperature at will. Banny recalled that he was the author
of the tandem concept, which was inclusive by its very
nature. He had repeatedly stated in public that he was Prime
Minister because President Gbagbo had accepted him as a
consensual candidate. Banny said he does not know where
President Gbagbo wants to take the country. He is convinced
that President Gbagbo is trying to push him into making a

serious mistake or into resigning. However, the PM said he
was committed to a mission, not a post, and does not plan to
resign. However, if he is unable to carry out the mission
given to him by the international community, he will have to
inform the international community of the obstacles he is
facing. The PM requested that the Ambassador try to reason
with President Gbagbo to get the political process back on
track. The PM noted that some bridges had been burned, but
in the interest of Cote d'Ivoire, it was critical to relaunch
the political process.


3. (C) The PM confirmed that when he and President Gbagbo
spoke on the telephone on Saturday morning (November 25),the
President had made no mention of plans to sign decrees.
Reinstating those who had been suspended for responsibility
for the toxic waste scandal was a repudiation of the PM's
efforts to put an end to impunity. It was a serious blow to
the tandem relationship. He noted that in his communique he
sought to avoid confrontation and simply called for the
President to suspend the implementation of the decrees; he
did not challenge the President's right to issue decrees.
However, those surrounding the President tried to portray the
PM's communique in the worst possible way. The PM added that
additional decrees replacing the leadership at
Fraternite-Matin newspaper and RTI, the broadcast authority,
further undermined him as PM because is is also Minister of
Communications. He was particularly disturbed that the
President justified dismissing the Director of RTI because
RTI had read the PM's communique on television. Banny
commented that RTI is responsible for reporting the news, not
the contents of official communiques.


4. (C) In response to the Ambassador's question, the PM
said that technical work on identification and demobilization
continued, although neither process was moving forward at
this time. The PM said he was determined to get to elections
by October 2007, and while a month has now been lost, it was
easily possible to organize elections in October 2007 if a
minimum of political will can be assembled. The current
crisis is putting at risk elections for the foreseeable
future.


5. (C) The PM said he remains in Yamoussoukro for reasons
of security. He said his staff were subjected to strict body
and car searches when they entered the security perimeter of
the Presidency. The PM said he had information that the
Presidency had plans to have the Young Patriots attack him in
his home in Abidjan. He added that he also had a report that
the regional military commander in Yamoussoukro had been

ABIDJAN 00001317 002 OF 002


ordered to arrest him, although no attempt had yet been made.
Leon Koffi, one of the PM's closest advisors, told the
Ambassador afterwards that he had just returned from a month
outside the country because of death threats. After Koffi
was ambushed in his car in Abidjan, the Prime Minister
insisted that he leave the country for a while.


6. (C) The Ministers who joined the meeting expressed
concern that President Gbagbo is in effect consolidating his
power and making himself a dictator. They were particularly
disturbed by the President's decision to replace the director
of RTI, whose nomination represented a compromise included in
the Pretoria Accords. Secondly, President Gbagbo's
instructions to RTI not to publish opposition communiques was
a cause of serious concern as it would be impossible to go to
elections if the opposition is denied access to television
and radio. The Ministers were vocal in demanding a strong
reaction from the international community. The Ambassador
noted that the international community is worried by the turn
of events and that the International Working Group had a
regularly scheduled meeting for Friday, December 1, that
would be discussing these issues.


7. (C) COMMENT: The Prime Minister and his staff have been
completely thrown off balance by President Gbagbo's
aggressive moves. They fear for their own safety and are
therefore influenced by wild rumors, given their state of
mind. However, their general fears are likely justified,
particularly given the track record of the Presidency. The
PM knows that Gbagbo is capable of bullying and then pulling
back, but the PM also knows that the tandem will no longer be
what it never really was: a serious partnership between the
President and Prime Minister to take the country out of
crisis. The President has stepped outside of the Pretoria
Accords. Although rumors of a change of government are
circulating wildly in Abidjan, it remains to be seen whether
President Gbagbo will go all the way and step completely
outside of UN Resolution 1721. In many respects, Gbagbo's
actions this week are reminiscent of his actions in January
2006 when he flexed his muscles to remind the newly
designated Prime Minister and the international community
that Gbagbo is in the driver's seat. Gbagbo is a clever
tactician, but a poor strategist, and recent history is
replete with examples of rash actions he has undertaken
without thinking through the consequences.
Hooks