SYG ANNAN CALL TO KABBAH RESTORES GOSL-UNIOSIL

C O N F I D E N T I A L FREETOWN 000389 SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y ( ADDING SIPDIS CAPTION ) SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/FO AND AF/W DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR IO E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/2011 TAGS: PREL KDEM USUN SL SUBJECT: SYG ANNAN CALL TO KABBAH RESTORES GOSL-UNIOSIL WORKING RELATIONSHIP REF: FREETOWN 379 Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES JAMES A. STEWART FOR REASONS 1.4 B/D. ¶1. (C) UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's telephone call from Vienna to President Kabbah late on May 12 looks to have restored the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) - UNIOSIL relationship. Annan's call followed his May 10 letter to Kabbah (reftel). As a result, Kabbah reportedly rescinded the GoSL non-cooperation Note Verbale of May 5. Kabbah was not easily placated over the UNIOSIL quarterly report to which he and his government took umbrage and a staff member in the Secretary General's office said the telephone conversation was "difficult," the UK Charge told us. The staff member also reported that the discussion did not/not raise the status of the head of UNIOSIL, Executive Representative of the Secretary General (ERSG) Victor Angelo. ¶2. (C) On May 15, ERSG Angelo is reportedly writing a letter to Kabbah so as to confirm in a formal way that the cooperative relationship is back on track. He will also seek an appointment with Kabbah at an early date, which will be the first test of the detente. ¶3. (C) The longer-term effect of the GoSL's displeasure with the UNIOSIL report and the week of non-cooperation is difficult to predict. The ERSG's access to Kabbah and the highest levels of government, along with the general tenor of the GoSL-UN working relationship will bear our monitoring. ¶4. (C) Comment. Kabbah seems to have been genuinely disappointed that the UNIOSIL quarterly report did not reflect the progress he thinks is evident or what the GoSL told UNIOSIL in a day-long hearing on the report before it went to New York. In addition, winding down his second term as president, Kabbah is concerned with his historical legacy and quite likely felt unrecognized for his efforts as well as undercut by the organization for which he worked for many years. Finally, this GoSL-UNIOSIL spat is symptomatic of the Government's touchiness when faced with public criticism which is frequently chalked up here to a lack of political experience and self-confidence. It is good news that the ERSG's status was not raised in the Annan-Kabbah telephone conversation. All that said, over the weekend, the UK Department for International Development (DfID) country director who runs a very large aid program and is a keen political observer downplayed the affair, characterizing it as a "tempest in a teapot" that has thankfully passed. End Comment. STEWART