GUINEA-BISSAU: PAIGC REQUIRED TO INVITE BACK

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAKAR 002088 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, INL/AAE AND S/P ACCRA FOR USAID/WA E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2016 TAGS: PGOV ECON KDEM PU SUBJECT: GUINEA-BISSAU: PAIGC REQUIRED TO INVITE BACK SUSPENDED MEMBERS Classified By: DCM Robert P. Jackson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: A Bissau-Guinean court ordered the lead opposition party, the Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC),to allow suspended members, such as President Vieira, Prime Minister Gomes, and others, to rejoin the party. This steps up the tempo of national reconciliation attempts with the donor,s round table looming in November. While political machinations play out in the capital, serious reforms and development initiatives sit on the sidelines. Significant investment is needed in training and democracy building for political parties and parliamentarians. END SUMMARY. MANY NATIONAL RECONCILIATION EFFORTS -------------- ¶2. (U) Prime Minister Aristides Gomes won a ruling on August 18 from the Regional Tribunal of Bissau, which said the PAIGC must invite him and other suspended members back to the party. In addition to Gomes, the list of those excluded includes President Joao Bernardo &Nino8 Vieira, and several members of the cabinet and National Popular Assembly (ANP). The timing of the ruling is important as the PAIGC heads into its party congress, September 11-18. The PAIGC is still under the leadership of Carlos Gomes Jr., who was fired as Prime Minister last fall because of deep mistrust and animosity between him and Vieira dating back several years to business deals gone awry. ¶3. (U) The PAIGC responded that the court had no jurisdiction over internal party rules. However, it did offer suspended members a conditional return if they agreed to fully accept the current political agenda and stop cooperating with the Democratic Convergence (CD),a coalition of politicians from various political parties. The PAIGC claims there is no legal basis for the CD. ¶4. (C) A committee of PAIGC leaders told PolOff it also opposed the General Estates process, another effort underway for national reconciliation. This is a broad national dialogue sponsored by the Government for almost all sectors, including civil society, business leaders, former presidents, and others. According to PAIGC, no national reconciliation initiative can work when the arbiter, i.e., the Government, is also a participant. COMMENT -------------- ¶5. (C) "National reconciliation," a term on everyone,s lips in Guinea-Bissau, is more about appearances than moving forward with a political agenda. As the donor,s round table in Geneva on November 7-8 nears, the Government wants to show that it is making progress toward national reconciliation to polish the veneer of stability. Unfortunately, reconciliation looks more like strong-arm tactics than actual dialogue. While politicians jockey to control the reconciliation process, the tough policy issues are being ignored, such as reform of cashew policy, setting up a functioning anti-narcotics task force, and judicial and police reform among others. ¶6. (C) The PAIGC has been the dominant party since Guinea-Bissau,s independence from Portugal, and it has little concept of the role of an opposition party. Since losing the presidential elections in 2000 and 2005, it has been quick to point out the government,s missteps but has yet to form any relevant policies or legislative initiatives of its own. This is typical in Bissau-Guinean politics, where democracy is new and training is limited. Continued training of political parties and parliamentarians, such as the current National Democratic Institute (NDI) capacity building project set to end in December, are needed if there is to be see any significant improvement. END COMMENT. JACOBS