COTE D'IVOIRE: IDENTIFICATION PROCESS OFF TO A

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 000759 SIPDIS SIPDIS KINSHASA PASS TO BRAZZAVILLE E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2016 TAGS: PGOV ASEC IV SUBJECT: COTE D'IVOIRE: IDENTIFICATION PROCESS OFF TO A SHAKY START REF: ABIDJAN 718 Classified By: POL/ECON Jim Wojtasiewicz, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (C) Summary: The launching of itinerant courts to document the approximately four million unregistered people in Cote d'Ivoire has gotten off to a shaky start. On top of administrative problems, the leader of President Gbagbo's Ivoirian Popular Front (FPI) party has called upon Gbagbo's followers to block the courts "by any means necessary." The rebel New Forces (FN) are also complaining about some aspects of the process but have given no indication that they will stand in the way. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) The communique issued after the July 5 Cote d'Ivoire "mini-summit" chaired by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (Reftel) called for mobile courts (known in French as &audiences foraines8),charged with documenting the four million unregistered people born in Cote d,Ivoire, to be deployed around the country by July 15. Since then, the Ministry of Justice has been scrambling to overcome a myriad of administrative problems to get the first 50 of these teams out into the field before the deadline. By July 14, only ten had been deployed. ¶3. (U) Compounding the administrative problems, FPI Secretary General Affi N,Guessan, held a press conference SIPDIS July 13 at which he accused Justice Minister Mamadou Kone of conspiring with the FN to fraudulently register foreigners as Ivoirian citizens, and he declared that the FPI would use any means necessary to prevent the audiences foraines from taking place. When a journalist asked if violence might be used, N,Guessan repeated &by any means necessary.8 ¶4. (U) The morning of July 14, members of the pro-Gbagbo Young Patriots militia reportedly assembled near the highway leading north out of Abidjan to block any audiences foraines teams from going north into rebel-held territory. Justice Minister Kone then decided to postpone the departure of the magistrates until the security environment improves. ¶5. (C) The NF are also unhappy with some aspects of the identification process. In particular, they are protesting plans to hold separate hearings at each location for Ivoirians and foreigners, calling this discrimination. (Ivoirians are being asked to come during the first four days, while foreigners are to come during the next two days.) Alain Lobognon, spokesperson for the FN, told us July 14 that the FN are concerned that asking foreigners to show up on separate days makes them vulnerable to attacks by the Young Patriots. Furthermore, he complained that since there has been no awareness campaign informing the population of the nationality code, people are not capable of self-selecting whether they are Ivoirian or foreign. ¶6. (C) Justice Minister Kone told us July 14 that it was President Gbagbo who insisted on the separation of foreigners and Ivoirians. In his view this is unnecessary because the nationality of Ivoirians and foreigners will be adjudicated and registered by the same team. ¶7. (C) Prime Minister Banny has called a meeting July 15 with the political parties and the FN to discuss roadblocks in the identification process. The first item on the agenda at that meeting is to be the separation of foreigners and Ivoirians at the audiences foraines. Lobognon told us the FN will not attend this meeting because they have nothing to add to the discussion. However, Minister Kone told us the same day that he remains hopeful that the parties will resolve their problems during this meeting and that he will be able to send out the rest of the teams on July 17. ¶8. (C) Comment. We are particularly concerned by N'Guessan's statements inciting Gbagbo's followers to block the audiences foraines. If the FPI and the Young Patriots do indeed start blocking and interfering with this critical element of the peace process, and especially if they resort to violence, we may well need to consider possible responses, including sanctions against N'Guessan and perhaps others. However, while N'Guessan's remarks were disturbing and unhelpful to the peace process, it would be premature to impose sanctions until we see how the rhetoric translates into action. The FN, for their part, have given no indication that they intend to stand in the way of these hearings despite their misgivings about the separation of Ivoirians and foreigners. End Comment. ABIDJAN 00000759 002 OF 002 Hooks