FESCI UNDER SERGES KOFFI: THE FIRST YEAR

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 000616 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2016 TAGS: KPKO PREL PGOV ASEC IV SUBJECT: FESCI UNDER SERGES KOFFI: THE FIRST YEAR REF: A. 2005 ABIDJAN 01116 ¶B. ABIDJAN 00428 ¶C. ABIDJAN 00259 Classified By: Phaedra Gwyn for reasons 1.4 b&d ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: FESCI (Federation of High School and University Students of Cote d'Ivoire) was created by President Gbagbo and other professors in 1992 at the birth of Cote d'Ivoire's multi-party system to give students a voice in the new political environment. It rapidly degenerated into a mafia-like organization, suppressing democratic values and dissent. Today, under Serges Koffi, it operates with impunity on and off campus, kidnapping and possibly torturing enemies, stopping classes at whim, and enriching its leaders by operating illegal businesses on campus. FESCI remains a volatile, dangerous pro-FPI force. While in recent months, FESCI's bark has been more vicious then its bite, we expect that the organization will continue to assert itself in unhelpful ways once election preparations gets fully underway. END SUMMARY ¶2. (SBU) FESCI elections were postponed for a few days in May 2005 when police found machetes on campus. When Serges Koffi finally was elected to the post of Secretary General (SG),he promised to get rid of the machetes, make sure the university pays students their scholarships on time, and tackle overcrowding on campus. Koffi has instead maintained the status quo, and FESCI remains a mafia-like student union, with arms hidden throughout campus bars and dormitories. FESCI also continues to extort a minimum of ten percent of students' scholarships. Koffi maintains over 200 dormitory rooms at the University of Cocody, renting them out to students and non-students alike. University administrators and campus security have been unable or unwilling to stop this practice. An estimated 70 rooms are allotted strictly to FESCI members who act as spies on campus or as an informal militia, depending on the needs of the organization. Most troubling, since his appointment as SG, Koffi has resorted to ruthless tactics to suppress FESCI's perceived enemies. ¶3. (SBU) On June 15, within one month of Koffi taking office, FESCI members kidnapped several students from a rival student union, AGEECI (General Association of School Children and Students of Cote d'Ivoire),who were putting up fliers for an upcoming AGEECI event (reftel A). FESCI took the students to the University of Cocody campus and allegedly tortured them before UN peacekeeping forces were able to negotiate their release. A week later, a female student was kidnapped by FESCI while posting leaflets in Cocody. She alleges four students raped her before she was released. Koffi denied that FESCI was involved but in a newspaper interview advised the victim to not discuss the rape in public because to do so would only bring her morality into question and make it harder for her to find a husband in the future. ¶4. (C) In January 2006, after the International Working Group (IWG) recommended that the mandate of the National Assembly should not be extended, FESCI took to the streets along with other Young Patriots, shutting down the city of Abidjan for four days. FESCI members burned tires in the street and prevented cars from passing. Young Patriots painted in blackface manned roadblocks, threatening non-compliant passersby with sticks and rocks. On the second day of the protests, FESCI members led by Koffi took control of the state-owned radio and television station (RTI) as government security forces watched. Under threat of destruction of RTI's equipment, station personnel broadcast messages from Young Patriots' leaders urging youth to take to the streets and liberate Cote d'Ivoire. After Nigerian President Obasanjo flew in to negotiate a settlement, Young Patriots finally left the streets and FESCI ceded control of RTI back to its Managing Director. FESCI's actions underscored the continuing vulnerability of this critical state institution. FESCI and the Young Patriots again demonstrated that with the tacit approval of Gbagbo and the nonintervention of security forces, they can paralyze the country at will. ¶5. (SBU) Most recently, FESCI has been involved in the various teachers' strikes that have taken place over the last couple of months (reftel B). Public university and secondary teachers began striking in early April for higher salaries and benefits. In the middle of the strike, FESCI decided that since public school students could not attend classes, private school students (who were being taught by many of very same striking public school teachers),should also not be permitted to attend. FESCI threatened schools that remained open with violence. When a few opened their doors anyway, FESCI went to those schools and shut them down. Unlike the other institutions, the Catholic University ABIDJAN 00000616 002 OF 002 refused to postpone its final exams. When students arrived to take exams, FESCI showed up as well. FESCI members stormed classrooms, seriously injuring two students, stole cell phones and purses, and destroyed testing materials. Eventually government security forces arrived and dispersed the FESCI members, allowing exams to continue. ¶6. (S/NF) One of Koffi's closest allies, Kacou "Marechal KB" Brou helped bring Koffi to power by siding with him in the May 2005 FESCI elections against Charles Ble Goude's candidate for SG. KB has been involved with FESCI since 1992 and was the chief of security operations under former SGs Charles Ble Goude and Guillaume Soro. According to sensitive reporting, KB operates a FESCI training center at the Cite Rouge campus of the University of Cocody. He also opened a nightclub on campus. It is widely believed that FESCI uses the nightclub to store arms. Also according to sensitive reporting, Young Patriots and FESCI members were armed with Kalishnikov rifles during the January 2006 demonstrations that came from various arms caches on campus. ¶7. (C) A less shadowy figure in FESCI is Ble Goude. Since leaving the post of SG in the late nineties, he has continued to play a role in FESCI's activities and often communicates orders to FESCI on behalf of President Gbagbo. A few months ago, FESCI students robbed a Fulbright professor of her video camera, accusing her of being a spy. A call to Ble Goude resulted in the camera being returned the next day. Ble Goude confirmed to the Ambassador the tensions existing between him and Koffi, commenting that the FESCI SG wants to be his rival. Indeed, Koffi himself admitted as much during a meeting with Poloff before the UN sanctions were issued, suggested that the UN should sanction Ble Goude and not himself. Koffi is likely at odds with more members of the ruling FPI (Ivoirian Popular Front) than just Ble Goude. At a ceremony to launch the pro-Gbagbo National Congress of the Resistance for Democracy, Koffi was not given a post until FESCI members protested, throwing chairs and disrupting the meeting in the presence of the First Lady (reftel C). ¶8. (C) COMMENT: Through its thuggish tactics, FESCI has effectively squashed the liberal exchange of ideas at Ivoirian schools. The group is a good example of the culture of impunity that continues to exist in Cote d'Ivoire. We expect that, as election preparations move forward, FESCI will attempt to impose a climate of increasing fear and intimidation against the opposition. FESCI remains a volatile and dangerous force. END COMMENT Hooks