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

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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
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