PRIME MINISTER DISCUSSES IDENTIFICATION

UNCLAS ABIDJAN 000500

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO ASEC IV
SUBJECT: PRIME MINISTER DISCUSSES IDENTIFICATION

REF: ABIDJAN 0495


1. (U) SUMMARY. On May 14, Prime Minister Charles Konan
Banny addressed the nation on the televised evening news and
confirmed reports that the Ministry of Justice will begin
pilot identification programs on May 18. Banny also
announced that identification and disarmament (DDR) would
occur simultaneously but did not indicate a start date for
DDR. END SUMMARY


2. (U) Banny,s presentation outlined several key points
without providing many details. The target audience for the
pilot programs will be Ivoirians and foreigners born in Cote
d,Ivoire, whose births were not properly registered. The
minimum age to participate in the program is 13 and all
participants will receive a birth certificate. Ivoirians
meeting the legal standards of citizenship will also receive
a certificate of nationality. Banny was careful to explain
that, although the pilot process will provide these two key
documents, it will not provide identity cards.


3. (U) Banny also announced that the Minister of Justice,
Mamadou Kone, would hold a press conference on the pilot
project on May 15. According to the Minister's spokesperson,
Kone will provide more details about the logistics of the
pilot identification program so that the populations in the
targeted cities will be able to properly prepare. (Note:
the press conference is scheduled for 1500 local time.)


4. (U) There has been little reaction in the press from the
political parties since the announcement. President Gbagbo,
in a May 14 interview with the UN radio station, spoke
disparagingly of the pilot project, saying it's a way for
individuals to tell a judge "I'm an Ivoirian but I have no
papers to prove it." He conceded, however, that he had
signed off on the project in the Council of Ministers and
that his concerns were about the logistical details.

DDR ) maybe not simultaneous ) but moving forward
============================================= =====


5. (SBU) The Coordinator for the National Program for
Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (PNDDR) will
host a meeting May 15, to finalize his recommendations for
the start of disarmament. Jean Malan, Head of Operations for
the PNDDR, confirmed that General Philippe Mangou,
Chief-of-Staff of the Ivoirian Armed Forces (FANCI) would
meet with General Hamed Bakayoko, his New Forces (NF)
counterpart, at the Prime Minister,s office on May 17. At
the meeting, the PNDDR Coordinator General, Ouassenan Kone,
is expected to present his new timeline for disarmament.
According to Malan, both General Mangou and General Bakayoko
intend to sign an agreement to begin DDR in compliance with
the new timeline. Malan was unwilling to provide any
additional details.


6. (SBU) COMMENT: Banny finally seems to be shifting into
gear. It is likely that his meetings in Washington and
Brussels and the looming International Working Group (IWG)
meeting have spurred him to take concrete action so as to
avoid embarrassment. If the identification process actually
begins on May 18 and the DDR meeting comes off, Banny will
have something substantial to report to the IWG on May 19.
However, it is important to note that this initiative is a
pilot project that does not issue ID cards. It is a timid
first step in the direction of issuing ID cards, which will
be required for voter registration, and which the NF is
demanding as a precondition for DDR.
Hooks