FORMER PRESIDENT BEDIE: EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABIDJAN 000458

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/05/2016
TAGS: PGOV IV
SUBJECT: FORMER PRESIDENT BEDIE: EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY


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


1. (C) Former President Henri Konan Bedie, who was ousted
in a coup in 1999, has little strategy for negotiating an end
to the political crisis in Cote d'Ivoire beyond demanding
that the international community asssume responsibility for
security and for organizing new elections. He recognizes
that it is unlikely that elections will take place in 2006,
and insists that the international community remove President
Gbagbo from power and replace him with a neutral figure for a
transition period, much as his party had demanded in 2005.
During their hour-long meeting on May 4, the Ambassador
stated that the international community, while already deeply
engaged in the peace process, would not impose a solution in
Cote d'Ivoire which at any rate would not work in the long
run. Furthermore, if elections cannot be organized in 2006,
it is more likely that current arrangements called for in
UNSC Resolution 1633 would be extended by a few months.
Bedie countered that Cote d'Ivoire will never get to
elections as long as Gbagbo remains in power.


2. (C) In a similar vein, when the Ambassador noted the
absence of a genuine consensus among political actors on
moving ahead on the operational aspects of the political
process (demobilization, identification, integration of the
military, and voter registration),Bedie countered that a
consensus already existed; the FPI (President Gbagbo's camp)
just has to stop blocking the process and the Forces
Nouvelles rebels had to comply with their commitments. The
Ambassador commented that the various blockages President
Bedie referred to suggested that there was no real consensus.
The Ambassador also inquired about Bedie's efforts to unite
the opposition. President Bedie argued that his PDCI party
headed the united opposition; other parties had to follow the
PDCI lead. (Comment: As the leadership of almost all the
opposition parties were at one time associated with the PDCI
during its one-party rule, Bedie looks upon other parties
largely as illegitimate children, a patronizing view that is
hardly appreciated by other parties.).


3. (C) COMMENT: Bedie's attitude is not significantly
different from that of most political actors in Cote
d'Ivoire, including President Gbagbo, in that they all hope
that the international community will intervene decisively in
a way that will favor their own position, thus obviating the
need for negotiations and painful compromise. Opposition
leader Alasane Ouattara insisted on the same points as Bedie
during a recent meeting with the Ambassador; Ouattara added a
further demand by insisting that the international community
canton the military forces of Cote d'Ivoire (FANCI) until
after elections. This attitude on the part of the political
class suggests that a fundamental consensus on moving toward
elections and reconciliation is still lacking, and that will
translate into prolonging the current crisis.
Hooks