TOGOLESE NATIONAL DIALOGUE -- FIRST PHASE OF

UNCLAS LOME 000779 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM TO SUBJECT: TOGOLESE NATIONAL DIALOGUE -- FIRST PHASE OF FACILITATION NEARLY COMPLETED; GILCHRIST OLYMPIO PERSONALLY ENGAGED REF: LOME 737 ¶1. (SBU) In an August 10 meeting with Commerce Minister Jean-Lucien Savi de Tove on WTO issues, Ambassador asked about the status of the national dialogue. De Tove chairs the Panafrican Patriotic Convergence (CPP) party's delegation at the dialogue. The CPP is one of the so-called moderate opposition parties that have joined the government; Prime Minister Edem Kodjo is the party president. ¶2. (SBU) De Tove confirmed that the nine parties to the dialogue have been meeting individually this week in Ouagadougou with newly appointed facilitator Blaise Compaore, the Burkinabe president. As predicted in reftel, the interim "Basic Agreement" initialed July 6 by seven of the nine parties and the parties' reservations to the interim agreement are at the heart of Compaore's discussions thus far, according to de Tove, who had just returned from Ougadougou. ¶3. (SBU) De Tove said that UFC President Gilchrist Olympio is expected to head the UFC delegation when it meets with Compaore tomorrow, August 11. (Note: Olympio, who lives in Paris in semi-exile status, was not present at any of the sessions during the first phase of the dialogue, which ended on 7/6. End Note.) De Tove characterized Olympio's decision to travel to Ouagadougou as a significant and positive development. ¶4. (SBU) As regards next steps, de Tove said he understood that President Faure would meet with Compaore early next week. Shortly after that meeting, the delegations will travel to Ouagadougou and meet with Compaore in plenary session for the purpose of hammering out a final agreement. Such an agreement could emerge sooner rather than later, de Tove opined. ¶5. (SBU) De Tove said the CPP has focused on a framework for fair and transparent legislative elections as the key to a successful dialogue. A newly constituted and representative national assembly offers the surest means of achieving the institutional changes necessary to get Togo back on track. Expanding the government to include the "radical" opposition (the UFC, CDPA, and CAR),as many are speculating, would help set the stage for successful elections but would not be a necessary prerequisite, in de Tove's view. DUNN