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

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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.


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