THE GAMBIA: SENEGALESE VISITORS, JAMMEH'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANJUL 000708

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DAKAR PLS PASS DAO, ODC, AND RAO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINS MOPS GA SG
SUBJECT: THE GAMBIA: SENEGALESE VISITORS, JAMMEH'S
FORTHCOMING STATEMENTS

REF: BANJUL 695

Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOSEPH STAFFORD, REASON 1.4 (B AND D)

SUMMARY
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1. (C) President Jammeh used high-level Senegalese visits to
deny -- unconvincingly -- meddling in the Casamance and
profess his commitment to good ties with Senegal. Senegalese
Chief of Defense Staff spoke of plans to conclude a MOU with
the Gambian military to strengthen cooperation via, inter
alia, joint training programs, while the GOS Justice Minister
cited the need for greater bilateral cooperation in the
judicial and law enforcement areas. Senegalese Ambassador
Fall gave upbeat readout on the consultations, but their
actual impact on the GOTG's Casamance posture remains to be
seen. END SUMMARY.

HIGH-LEVEL SENEGALESE VISITS
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2. (SBU) As foretold by the Senegalese Ambassador here
(reftel),GOS Chief of Defense Staff General Abdoulaye Fall
visited Banjul November 15 and was followed the next day by
GOS Justice Minister Sheikh Tijan Sey. Both visitors met
with President Yahya Jammeh, who, in media comments
afterward, sought to knock down reports of Gambian meddling
in the Casamance. He denied supporting dissident Casamance
rebel figure Salif Sadio, asserting "I will never support a
rebel or any rebel group" and, expressing his
"dissatisfaction" over the situation in the Casamance,
professed his commitment to peace in that region. In a
reference to claims of Gambian authorities providing refuge
to rebel fighters, Jammeh gave assurances that anyone
breaking the law in Senegal and fleeing to The Gambia would
be apprehended here and handed over to the GOS. However, he
went on to accuse the GOS of failing to reciprocate,
asserting that there were instances in which "Gambian
fugitives are given safehaven in Senegal." (COMMENT: Jammeh
was presumably referring to such "fugitives" as the
ringleader of the failed coup plot here in March, former
Defense Chief Col Ndure Cham; as reported reftel, Gambian
sources express conviction that Cham remains in Senegal. END
COMMENT)


3. (SBU) Jammeh also spoke of his commitment to good
relations overall with Senegal, saying "I will never pray
evil for Senegal...The Gambia harbors no grievances against
Senegal." He cited The Gambia's fishing sector as
illustrative of the GOTG's good will, stating that "my
government spends millions in the fishing industry and about
99 percent of those who utilize those facilities are
Senegalese; if I were not interested in the development of
the two countries' ties, that would not happen." Following
his meeting with Jammeh, Fall expressed hope that the two
sides would soon conclude a MOU that would strengthen
bilateral military links by provding, inter ali, for joint
training programs. As for Sey, in an allusion to GOS
concerns over Gambian authorities' sheltering of Sadio and
his forces, he spoke of the need for greater bilateral
cooperation in the judicial and law enforcement fields.

POSITIVE READOUT FROM SENEGALESE AMBASSADOR
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4. (C) In a brief readout to Ambassador, Senegalese
Ambassador Mamadou Fall said the GOS was satisfied with the
results of Fall's and Sey's consultations, asserting that
they had served to "clear the air" with Jammeh over the
Casamance dossier. According to Fall, Jammeh "clearly
understood" from the visitors the depth of GOS concern over
Gambian mischief-making in the Casamance and had indicated a
willingness to be more supportive of Dakar's peace efforts.
However, asked about the status of coup ringleader Cham, Fall
responded that the visitors had listened to Jammeh's familiar
allegation of GOS harboring of Cham, but had simply denied
knowledge of his whereabouts.

COMMENT
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5. (C) Jammeh's denial of support for Sadio and assertion of
cooperation in handing over lawbreakers sought by the GOS
were unconvincing. Despite the Senegalese Ambassador's
upbeat readout, it remains to be seen whether the GOTG will
be more cooperative with the GOS on the Casamance in the
aftermath of these high-level Sengalese visits, especially if
Jammeh maintains his suspicions of GOS complicity in the

BANJUL 00000708 002 OF 002


failed coup plot and harboring of ringleader Cham. In any
event, these consultations served to lay the groundwork for
the expected Wade visit here for Jammeh's inauguration
December 15. END COMMENT.
STAFFORD