AMBASSADOR VISITS FN-HELD NORTHEAST; QUIET, BUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABIDJAN 001334 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON CONS IV SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR VISITS FN-HELD NORTHEAST; QUIET, BUT TENSIONS IN FN AREAS AMONG PARTIES EVIDENT Classified By: EconChief EMassinga, Reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Ambassador Hooks led a small delegation of Emboffs and the DATT on a tour of northeastern towns Bondoukou and Bouna. While government-held Bondoukou and FN-held Bouna are peaceful compared to other areas of the country, Bondoukou is notably more prosperous and Bouna's administration by the FN appears to chafe some local groups and other political parties. The FN was careful to try to control the Ambassador's itinerary, but other groups managed to express their displeasure with the way things are going in the region and with the FN in particular. Emboffs were able to make some inquires related to reports of conflict diamond production in FN-held territories as well as of missing or destroyed civil records in FN-held areas. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Ambassador Hooks took a three-day tour November 20-22 of the eastern and then far northeastern sections of the country, leading a delegation consisting of the DATT and OPSCO and two members from Pol/Econ. The Ambassador's delegation traveled overland to Bondoukou, met with local leaders and then the following day went through the Zone of Confidence separating the FANCI from the Force Nouvelles (FN) and toured Bouna. In both locations, the delegation was warmly received. The delegation was escorted by ONUCI forces (GHANBATT) during all movements in the area, and received excellent briefings from force commanders and civilian staff in both towns. Boundoukou Calm, Peaceful ========================= ¶3. (SBU) Arriving in the early afternoon of November 20, Ambassador Hooks was cordially greeted in Bondoukou, a relatively prosperous town in the north of Cote d'Ivoire's forest products belt (a near constant caravan of heavy trucks ply the road carrying raw logs south for processing and export) by the Prefet, Mathieu Gohi, along with Mayor (PDCI) Kouakou Dapa and regional Conseil General (the elected body representing regions outside of town large enough for their own Mayoralties) President Richard Secre (FPI). Lunch was served at the Mayor's house, and was attended by the Prefet, the Conseil General President and senior officers of the GHANBATT stationed in town. Clearly, all of the politicians as well as the FANCI and ONUCI officers made an effort to show how well they get along in this government-controlled town just south of the Zone of Confidence. Local groups representing different ethnicities entertained the Ambassador in a very large, televised gathering in the vicinity. Local leaders described the economic and social situation, highlighting the need for more development and greater investment in infrastructure, particularly water-related. Mayor Dapa expressed strong support for UNSCR 1721. ¶4. (C) ONUCI's GHANBATT in its Bondoukou HQ briefed the group on the political/military situation in its region, which encompasses roughly the area from Bondoukou to Bouna and west through Comoe National Park, including the Zone of Confidence located between the two major towns and the high-quality national road linking them. The commander's brief noted that his sector is one of the quietest and most peaceful in the country. FN-Held Bouna: Political Parties Squabble Amongst Themselves, Distrust the FN; Area Languishes Economically =========================== ¶5. (C) The Ambassador arrived at the sub-Prefecture in Bouna and was met by a 50-odd strong review of FN troops and the Zone Commander, Morou Ouattara. ComZone Morou, as he is commonly known, was a surprise host, as we had been led to believe he was in Ouagadougou awaiting travel overseas for follow-up medical treatment related to serious head injuries sustained in an automobile accident approximately one year ago (Morou had a prominent scar on his skull suggesting at the very least a serious skull fracture). The FN troops who met the Ambassador at the Prefecture were well dressed in new, mostly matching uniforms and were armed with reasonably new (or at least not decrepit) AK-47s. In his brief of the Ambassador attended only by his senior officers and personal detail, Morou lamented the lack of water, electricity, school teachers, doctors (there is one unpaid doctor for 30,000 in the town and perhaps 50,000 in the region) and overall development. ¶6. (C) Later in Bouna, the Ambassador was feted with dance and formal greeting by a large gathering of various ethnic groups from the area. The Mayor, Sanka Ouattara (RDR) and President of the Conseil General Pale Dimate (PDCI, also an MP representing the Bondoukou region) and their retinues attended. At the well-publicized event, FN troops were deployed in force, but seemed to mix easily with GHANBATT troops. The areas' political groups began what became a day-long series of minor squabbles there; ComZone Morou ABIDJAN 00001334 002 OF 003 reportedly prevented Dimate from speaking, reportedly upsetting the latter's Lobi kinsmen (see para 10). ¶7. (C) Frustration spilled over into both the management of the rest of the day's itinerary as well as the meeting of political leaders to discuss the political and economic situation in the region. The ComZone effectively took over the Ambassador's itinerary, carefully steering the delegation (and the UNOCI escorts) away from sites they did not want the delegation to see, such as the state-owned television station the FNs are widely understood to have looted since 2002, and towards things they wanted the Ambassador to witness, such as its youth training project in its motorpool (which appeared uncomfortably like the recruitment of child soldiers). At all times, the ComZone stayed at the Ambassador's side, much to the frustration of the other political leaders. ¶8. (C) At the political meeting in Bouna, held at UNOCI HQ, the ComZone again sat to the right of the Ambassador, but did allow other parties to express themselves. Both Conseil General Dimate and Mayor Ouattara echoed complaints that the region lacks water, reliable electricity, roads and schools (gov't teachers "come and go when they like"),and noted that the gov't's failure to yet deliver the 2006 budget has left them without the means to do much of anything. The local FPI leader (who heretofore had never met the ComZone) expressed outrage at the longtime lack of 'anything' going on in the region, and other representatives of minor parties echoed his complaint. The Ambassador, building on themes he expressed in Bondoukou, said that Cote d'Ivoire will get out of its crisis when political actors act more responsibly, and that the U.S. would help in the effort to employ both the Constitution and UNSCR 1721. ¶9. (C) Later, the GHANBATT commander in Bouna provided the DATT and Econ Chief a briefing on his area of responsibility. While he termed the FN's morale as "high," he did point to cleavages among senior leaders in the region over resources, and offered that at some point, average FN soldiers would "wise up." ¶10. (C) In separate conversations with the Econ Chief, Diamate expressed anger over the FN's high-handed administration of the region. Accusing them of pocketing money levied on merchants and real estate, as well as funneling the cashew crop through their hands, without spending anything on civil works or administration, Diamate said that the ComZone and his immediate entourage gets wealthy while average FN soldiers are exploited for their loyalty to the northern cause. Dimate said the FN have been a bane in the areas they control, that everyone feels that way, but were intimidated to say so in the public meeting. Dimate also said the FN has become hostile to the Lobi (some 45% of the region's population) who are more heavily taxed as a result. Going even further, Dimate said the FN was nurtured and aided by President Campaore and Burkina Faso's military, and that in times of possible clashes with the FANCI, Burkina officers come to take personal command of FN units. In a separate meeting with the Econ Chief, Mayor Ouattara agreed with much of what Diamate had to say concerning the FN's management of the region, while also castigating Dimate himself for failing to aid the region in his 16 years as the region's representative in Parliament and obliquely accusing him of corruption. The ComZone repeatedly made the same accusations about Diamate to the Ambassador during the course of the visit. Conflict Diamonds ================= ¶11. (C) Econ Chief asked several sources about reports related to conflict diamonds being produced in FN-held regions in the Central and West/Central zones under FN control (see recent SBU reports from the Kimberly Process emailed by Desk). Mayor Ouattara of Bouna acknowledged that such activities are taking place and benefiting the FN, but said "you didn't hear about that from me." Diamante said much the same. GHANBATT's force commander in Bouna said such production isn't taking place in his sector, but alluded to such activity farther west, although his counterpart in the Bondoukou HQ said he knew nothing of such activities. Post will continue to look into this issue. State of the Civil Registry in the North ================== ¶12. (C) Recently Post's Consular Section has noted (septel) in the course of verifying the legitimacy of civil documents originating in Northern prefectures and municipalities that Ministry of Territorial Affairs officials are unable to locate relevant documents, saying they have been "moved" to Abidjan in the wake of the 2002 rebel offensive (Note: CONS investigators have been unable to verify that the civil records ostensibly moved from the north are actually in ABIDJAN 00001334 003 OF 003 Abidjan. End note). Econ Chief asked UNOCI officials as well as the Bouna Mayor and President of the Conseil General about this question. The Mayor indicated that the Mayoralty was able to save civil records from destruction when the rebels swept the region, and that the registry remains intact and in the town. However, the civil registry housed in the sub-Prefecture for the areas surrounding Bouna were badly ravaged by the rebels; the Mayor of Bouna estimates that up to half of those records were destroyed, and that the rest remain in the sub-Prefecture's facilities. UNOCI elections officials in the field and in Abidjan corroborate this, saying that prefects often took records to Abidjan when fleeing the '02 offensive, and that rebels destroyed a number (the extent to which is unknown) of records in areas where prefects were unable to take them. A PAS officer in Bouake recently confirmed that the civil registry there has been moved. UNOCI elections officials in Abidjan note that reconstituting these records to validate the eligibility of already registered citizens in the context of preparing for elections will be one of many daunting tasks to be accomplished. Post will continue to examine this question in the context of elections preparations. 13) Comment (C) The Northeast, particularly the far northeastern towns of Bouna and its surroundings, have been ignored for many years, but the current division of the country has seemingly put its people in a worse predicament than before. Tensions between the unarmed opposition parties and the FN in the northern part of the country as well as FN mismanagement of the region are issues that could become increasingly important should the overall national peace process continue to languish and the effective division of the county persist. End Comment. Hooks