COTE D'IVOIRE: NINTH INTERNATIONAL WORKING GROUP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 000788 SIPDIS SIPDIS KINSHASA PASS TO BRAZZAVILLE E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/21/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV KPKO ASEC IV SUBJECT: COTE D'IVOIRE: NINTH INTERNATIONAL WORKING GROUP MEETING PASSES UNEVENTFULLY REF: A. ABIDJAN 782 ¶B. ABIDJAN 718 ¶C. ABIDJAN 768 Classified By: POL/ECON Jim Wojtasiewicz, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (C) Summary. The International Working Group (IWG) held a largely uneventful ninth meeting July 20. The Prime Minister sought to reassure the group that his peace train is on track and moving forward, but once again he was long on promises and short on specifics. The communique from this meeting strongly endorsed the mobile identification teams that had aroused the ire of the leaders of President Gbagbo's Ivoirian Popular Front (FPI) party, and sternly condemned recent street disturbances by pro-Gbagbo militias and student groups. The French pushed hard but unsuccessfully for the IWG to explicitly recommend sanctions against the perpetrators of these incidents and those who are behind them. So far there has been no public reaction from the FPI or the militias, who may be pondering their next move on the mobile identification teams. At any rate the moment seems to have passed for a violent reaction to the IWG communique, as happened in January. End Summary. ¶2. (U) The ninth meeting of the IWG was held in Abidjan July 21, co-chaired as usual by Congolese Foreign Minister Rodolphe Adada and UN Special Representative of the Secretary General in Cote d'Ivoire (SRSG) Pierre Schori. In attendance were Benin Foreign Minister Miriam Diallo; French Cooperation Minister Brigitte Girardin; Nigerian Foreign Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma; UN High Representative for Elections in Cote d'Ivoire (HRE) Gerard Stoudmann; and representatives from Guinea, Ghana, Niger, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),the EU, the African Union, and the International Organization of French Speaking Countries. ¶3. (C) The meeting was largely uneventful, even though it took place only one day after youth militia supporters of President Gbagbo paralyzed the streets of Abidjan with roadblocks to protest the government's efforts to document Ivoirian citizens and residents in preparation for elections (ref A). Prime Minister Banny once again gave a long rambling presentation in which he sought to assure the IWG ;that his "peace train" is on track and moving forward, with only a "few difficulties here and there." He pledged to meet all the deadlines that were agreed to at the July 5 "mini-summit" chaired by Secretary General Annan (ref B). He acknowledged that many Ivoirians are fearful of the future, but he said that this fear could be overcome with courage and political will. As an example of his own personal courage, Banny recounted how the previous day he had braved the street barricades to return to his residence when he heard news reports that the militias were about to burn his house down. He said that when he came to a barricade he got out of his car and insisted that the militias remove it completely, and they not only did so but they applauded him. ¶4. (C) IWG members were more lavish than usual in praising Banny and pledging full support for his efforts, and they posed fewer pointed questions about obstacles to the peace process that he had passed over quickly or not mentioned at all his prepared remarks. ¶5. (C) Once again the discussion of the communique was long and tedious, but not particularly contentious. There was broad consensus to express strong support for the mobile identification teams which had aroused the ire of the leaders of President Gbagbo's FPI party, and to sternly condemn both the street disturbances of the previous three days by pro-Gbagbo militias and the July 15 attack on Ivoirian Radio and Television by the thuggish pro-Gbagbo students union (ref C). Indeed, the communique states flatly that the street disturbances were "incited by organized groups...following calls by certain political leaders." The one contentious issue was sanctions. The French pushed very hard for the communique to explicitly recommend that the UN Security Council's Sanctions Committee "take appropriate measures" against the perpetrators of these incidents and those behind them. However, South Africa and the SRSG argued that the IWG had no mandate to prejudge what action the Sanctions Committee might decide to take. In the end, a compromise was reached for the IWG to "submit these elements for the consideration of the Sanctions Committee...in order for it to be able to take appropriate measures" against the perpetrators and those behind them. ABIDJAN 00000788 002 OF 002 ¶6. (C) The IWG decided to postpone its next meeting by about two weeks, to September 1, so that it would fall closer to the meeting on Cote d'Ivoire that is expected to take place in New York on the margins of the General Assembly in early September. ¶7. (C) Press reaction to the IWG meeting was subdued. Some opposition-oriented newspapers highlighted that the IWG had indicated support for sanctions; the government-owned Fraternite Matin noted that the group reiterated that identification and disarmament must proceed simultaneously. So far there has been no public reaction from the FPI or the militias. ¶8. (C) Comment. FPI and militia leaders may be pondering their next move, after withdrawing the barricades from the streets earlier this week. The IWG also took a half step out of the line of fire on sanctions with its ambiguous wording on that subject. At any rate, the moment seems to have passed for a violent reaction to the IWG communique, as happened in January. End Comment. Hooks