PRESIDENT GBAGBO VISITS NEW FORCES STRONGHOLD;

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 001236 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID ECON UN IV SUBJECT: PRESIDENT GBAGBO VISITS NEW FORCES STRONGHOLD; CONDITIONS IMPROVING SLOWLY IN THE NORTH REF: ABIDJAN 1157 Classified By: Ambassador Wanda L. Nesbitt for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: From November 28-30, President Gbagbo visited the north of Cote d'Ivoire for the first time since becoming head of state. Press reports were favorable and key Gbagbo aides noted that large crowds welcomed the President. The visit demonstrated that the general public is anxious for a return of government provided services if still skeptical about the outcome of the peace process. In many ways, the President's trip also marked the beginning of his re-election campaign. Gbagbo promised new schools, better roads, clean water, etc. that seemed meant to win over potential voters. Embassy officials have also made several trips to previous conflict areas recently and noted that while life is slowing returning to normal, major challenges remain, especially rekindling the economy in the west and north. End Summary. A Return of Government Authority - or at Least the Appearance of It -------------- ¶2. (C) Amidst heavy security, northerners welcomed President Gbagbo as he made his first foray north. Accompanied everywhere he went by PM Soro, the President's visit signaled a reassertion of government authority in the north, and symbolized his and the PM's commitment to ending hostility between the north and south. PM Soro was praised widely for organizing huge crowds to welcome the President, although Gbagbo's popularity in the north remains questionable. Deputy Cabinet Director Sarata Ottro Zirignon-Toure, in a meeting with Polcouns on December 5, commented that there was a symbiotic relationship between the President and northerners, and compared the feeling to that of family members meeting after a long separation. She said northerners acknowledged Gbagbo as the President and head of state. Zirignon-Toure was also complimentary of the New Forces (NF) and Prime Minister Soro's role in organizing the trip noting that there was good cooperation between the armed forces (FANCI) and the NF in providing security for the visit. ¶3. (U) President Gbagbo made numerous promises that his administration will now need to fulfill. He promised three new girls schools (in Korhogo, Bondoukou and Odienne) in recognition of the fact that girls in the north are often �A;kept at home to work while their brothers are sent to school. He also promised to undertake significant road works by February 2008, both to improve existing transportation networks and pave new roads. He also promised that the government would pay 9 billion CFA in arrears to cotton farmers. At each of three stops, the President said that he had come to the north to talk of peace. He called on the population to work for peace and the reunification of the country. He also assured each audience that elections would take place in 2008. ¶4. (C) In a December 11 meeting, Ivorian Popular Front (Front Populaire Ivoirien - FPI) Secretary General Sylvain Miaka Ouretto told Polcouns that the President's trip was an important part of the implementation of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement (OPA). Ouretto said that the trip served to tear down psychological barriers still separating the country between the north and south. Ouretto noted that the Constitution provides that elections cannot be held if any part of the country is occupied; Gbagbo's trip showed that the war is over and elections can take place. He also stated that the President plans to visit other former rebel-held territories i the north as well as in the west. Ouretto saidnortherners want the state to return and "solve th problems that they cannot resolve themselves." Embassy Observations in the North -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Embassy officials have also trveled recently in former conflict areas. Ambassaor traveled to Man, in the southwest of the counry, to participate in December 1, World AIDS Day ctivities, and also made stops in Danane and Guilo. Man was the site of one of the most serious cashes between the FANCI and NF and the damage isstill visible. Bullet-riddled buildings, and abadoned hotels and businesses are common. Most roadlocks had been dismantled, however, and Embassy ersonnel were told that gun-toting rebels were muc less evident than they had been just a few week earlier. Government appointed prefects had recetly returned to both Man and Danane. The prefect of Man was living and working out of a local hotel while his office and residence were being restored. The New Forces commander (ComZone) was still in place but reportedly not interfering with the prefect's efforts to reassert his authority. It was clear, however, ABIDJAN 00001236 002 OF 002 that the relationship was not a comfortable one. In conversations with local leaders, the Ambassador was told repeatedly of a dire need for schools, clinics, and basic infrastructure repairs. Most striking, however, was the frustration that local residents expressed openly about the fact that many NF leaders had enriched themselves over the past few years and done nothing to help the average family meet its needs. ¶6. (SBU) DCM and Poloff traveled to Bouake, Korhogo, and Ferkessedougou December 5-8 to meet with government officials and visit USG-funded projects. DCM met with the secretaries-general of all three prefectures as well as NF SIPDIS and United Nations Operations in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) officials. All interlocutors noted that the President's visit transpired without incident. They all saw the trip as having practical and symbolic meaning, representing hope that the political will exists to bring the country out of crisis. Government officials noted that the President observed first hand the poverty and the suffering of northerners and the administrative challenges faced by the newly-deployed civil administrators. They described a virtual all hands effort to prepare for the trip and Emboffs noted that both Korhogo and Ferkessedougou appeared clean, with fresh paint on government buildings. The secretaries-general of the Korhogo prefecture noted that when the prefect arrived in Korhogo in July, he lacked equipment and vehicles. Within two days of the President's visit, the prefecture received 25 of the 27 vehicles that it needed. During his trip to the north, the President did not visit Bouake, Soro's home base. Emboffs noted that Soro is quite popular there; tee shirts bearing his image were sold throughout the market areas and a gigantic poster of a smiling Soro was prominently displayed at a major crossroads. ¶7. (C) In a December 5 meeting, the secretaries-general of the Bouake prefecture expressed optimism that the peace process would move forward, but blamed the lack of momentum on the unwillingness of international donors to provide funding for the identification and elections processes. They said that the Bouake prefect has a difficult working relationship with the New Forces and that while in theory they work together, in reality the prefect must work through the NF leadership to complete even day-to-day tasks. The secretaries-general further noted that the NF have not SIPDIS vacated all government buildings and no administrator below the level of the prefect in Bouake has an office, but works from the prefect's residence. ¶8. (C) In a follow-on meeting, the NF cabinet director, Colonel Sinima Bamba, contradicted the secretaries-general and assured DCM that the NF have indeed vacated all government buildings (except for the offices that they occupy). Bamba emphasized that the will exists to accelerate the peace process and carry out elections. Citing a lack of financial resources as the main obstacle to peace, Bamba called on international donors to support the government. Echoing the same refrain that Gbagbo and Soro raised in their meetings with the Deputy Secretary during his November visit to Abidjan (reftel),Bamba said Ivorians can move forward once they have the necessary funds. Bamba also noted that there is a history of donors promising aid, but not following through when resources are needed. He seemed oblivious, however, to the need for government accountability. ¶9. (C) Comment: President Gbagbo's trip to the north was a political success and highlighted the degree to which the population genuinely desires the return of a competent administration. Whether Gbagbo-appointed prefects and administrators will be able to succeed in satisfying the public's demands remains to be seen. Despite poor conditions, Embassy personnel found that a spirit of cautious optimism prevails in the north. The country's leadership has declared peace and stated that the nation is "whole" again, but it is clear that many physical and psychological barriers must still be dismantled. For example, the New Forces still control most of the road network in the north, including access to some remote villages. In the west, Emboffs counted more roadblocks in the government-controlled southern zone than in the newly "liberated" areas around Man. In the Bouake region, Emboffs observed that the New Forces wore tattered uniforms and seemed to rely on bribes to sustain themselves. Conditions vary from one region to the next but overall there are signs of a revival of commerce and growing hope for a return to normal life. End Comment. NESBITT