THE GAMBIA: UPDATE ON TIES WITH SENEGAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANJUL 000317 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV SG GA SUBJECT: THE GAMBIA: UPDATE ON TIES WITH SENEGAL REF: A. BANJUL 230 ET AL ¶B. BANJUL 280 Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOSEPH STAFFORD, REASON 1.4 (B AND D) ¶1. (C) In May 18 conversation with senior Presidential adviser, Secretary General Mambury Njie, Ambassador asked for an update on the Gambian/Senegalese relationship. Njie responded that ties remained strained, saying the GOTG continued to harbor suspicions of GOS involvement in the coup plot thwarted here March 21. Njie added that the GOTG also remained convinced that the plot's ringleader, former CHOD Lt Col Ndure Cham, was in Senegal and was continuing to press, so far without success, for GOS help in gaining access to him. ¶2. (C) Despite the strains, Njie went on, cooperation with the Senegalese in various fields was continuing; he cited recent productive meetings of the two countries' customs and security officials as examples. Asked about the status of two high-priority bilateral projects -- construction of a bridge across the Gambia River and restoration of the Joint Permanent Secretariat -- Njie stated that the GOTG remained committed to them and did not intend to let the current strains halt progress. ¶3. (C) In recent conversation, a local journalist well-connected in senior GOTG circles said that Jammeh had received a call from Senegalese President Wade, who invited him to join other West Arican leaders in attending the May 16 ceremony in Paris where Wade was awarded the UNESCO Peace Prize. The journalist said Jammeh had responded to Wade that he could not accept the invitation because "you still have (coup ringleader) Cham." ¶4. (C) COMMENT: The GOTG summoned the diplomatic corps in mid-April to urge pressure on the GOS for cooperation with the GOTG's inquiry into the failed plot, and Jammeh pressed Ambassador for intervention with Dakar in May 4 meeting (refs a and b). While Secretary General Njie's assurances of ongoing cooperation with the GOS suggest GOTG's awareness of need to avoid escalating tensions, such escalation cannot be absolutely ruled out, especially if Jammeh's anti-GOS feeling in the coup plot's aftermath boils over. In particular, there is the prospect of Jammeh attempting to "retaliate" through resumption of past meddling in Senegal's Casamance region, e.g., via support for dissident MFDC leader Salif Sadio. We will be on the lookout here for any indication of such meddling. END COMMENT. STAFFORD