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
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