Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ABIDJAN54
2007-01-18 11:06:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Abidjan
Cable title:  

TWELFTH MEETING OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKING

Tags:  PREL PGOV UNSC ASEC IV 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO1519
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHAB #0054/01 0181106
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 181106Z JAN 07 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2451
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 0076
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0394
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 1508
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 000054 

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KINSHASA PASS TO BRAZZAVILLE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/17/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV UNSC ASEC IV
SUBJECT: TWELFTH MEETING OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKING
GROUP: MORE USEFUL THAN USUAL

Classified By: POL/ECON Jim Wojtasiewicz, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 000054

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

KINSHASA PASS TO BRAZZAVILLE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/17/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV UNSC ASEC IV
SUBJECT: TWELFTH MEETING OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKING
GROUP: MORE USEFUL THAN USUAL

Classified By: POL/ECON Jim Wojtasiewicz, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (C) Summary. At an unexpectedly short twelfth meeting of
the International Working group (IWG),Prime Minister Banny
sought to convince the group that the political situation
here is not at a total impasse, but he had almost no progress
to show. Rebel FN (New Forces) leader Soro stressed the
overarching importance of settling once and for all the
question of who is Ivoirian, in order to finally resolve this
country,s crisis. He challenged the international community
to use its leverage to force President Gbagbo to cede Prime
Minister Banny real power; otherwise he questioned whether
the international community had any right to expect Banny to
carry out the tasks envisioned for him under UNSCR 1721. The
final communique from this meeting recommends that the
Security Council urge a more robust, pro-active African
mediation effort, and that the Security Council visit here in
support of that effort. These both seem like good ideas --
for once the IWG seems to have come up with more than empty
words at the end of the day. End Summary.


2. (U) The IWG held its twelfth meeting on January 12, 2007
in Abidjan, co-chaired as usual by Congolese Foreign Minister
Rodolphe Adada and UN Special Representative of the Secretary
General in Cote d'Ivoire (SRSG) Pierre Schori. In attendance
were European Union Commissioner for Development Cooperation
and Humanitarian Assistance Louis Michel; French Cooperation
Minister Brigitte Girardin; Ghana Foreign Minister Nan Addo
Dankwa Akufo-Addo; German Minister of State at the Federal
Foreign Office Gernot Erler (representing the EU presidency);
Niger Foreign Minister Aichatou Mindaoudou; South African
Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad; ECOWAS Executive
Secretary Mohamed Ibn Chambas; UN High Representative for

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Elections in Cote d'Ivoire (HRE) Gerard Stoudmann; Special
Representative of the AU Chairman Jean Marie Mokoko; and
representatives from Benin, Guinea, Nigeria, the United

Kingdom, the United States, the AU, the World Bank, and the
International Organization of French Speaking Countries
(Francophonie).


3. (C) The meeting was unexpectedly short, in part because it
was somewhat disrupted by meetings that President Gbagbo had
requested, separately, with co-chairs Adada and Schori,
French Minister Girardin, and EU Commissioner Michel.


4. (C) As usual, Prime Minister Banny briefed the group on
efforts since the last meeting to move the country closer to
elections. Banny acknowledged that his tandem with President
Gbagbo is broken, and efforts to implement UN Security
Council resolution 1721 are near impasse. He said the
re-launching of identification throughout the country (to
register the 3.5-4 million undocumented people born in Cote
d,Ivoire) is stalled because President Gbagbo has so far
refused to sign the decree appointing new judges for the
tribunals that will issue certificates of nationality.
However, he said his staff had finished a long painstaking
series of consultations with all interested parties,
including political parties, the rebel FN, magistrates, and
court clerks, and the ground is cleared for identification to
go forward as soon as Gbagbo signs the decree. Furthermore,
Banny said there were enough existing tribunals in Abidjan to
relaunch identification there the following week. Banny told
the IWG that the return of civil administration to the North
is continuing, and he noted that the junior finance minister
delegate had traveled to the North to discuss with the FN the
restoration of the banking system there.


5. (C) FN leader and deputy prime minister Soro also
addressed the group. He explained that he had only accepted
President Gbagbo,s offer of a direct dialogue on the
condition that this would be a means to accelerate the
implementation of UNSCR 1721. Soro added that he also
planned to consult fully with political opposition leaders to
work out a common position before entering into this direct
dialogue with Gbagbo. Soro said frankly that the Prime
Minister has only theoretical powers -- Gbagbo,s sacking of
the management of RTI (Radio TV Ivoire),a clear violation of
the Pretoria Agreement, proves that the government has no
power. Soro asked rhetorically whether the international
community has any power in Cote d,Ivoire. If not, he
suggested that it should not expect the Prime Minister to be
able to implement UNSCR 1721. Soro characterized Cote
d,Ivoire,s crisis as first and foremost an identity crisis.
The question of who is Ivoirian must be settled thoroughly,
once and for all. He said he continued to have misgivings
about the new procedures for identification, whereby birth
certificates and certificates of nationality must be issued

ABIDJAN 00000054 002 OF 002


by separate courts -- in July, all parties including Gbagbo
had agreed that these would be issued simultaneously by the
same courts. Soro said he would be prepared to consider
going forward under the new procedures but only if they can
be implemented in such a way as to give identity papers to
each and every Ivoirian. At this point, Soro said it does
not appear that President Gbagbo really wants all Ivoirians
to be identified, and it is up to Gbagbo to prove differently.


6. (C) In the question and answer session, French Minister
Girardin asked directly why Banny has not signed the decree
appointing new judges himself, using the decree powers
envisioned under UNSCR 1721. Banny answered evasively that
he understood well from the previous IWG meeting that such
powers are indeed envisioned under UNSCR 1721. Soro added
bluntly that if the Prime Minister did sign any decree,
fifteen minutes later the President,s spokesman would appear
on television declaring Banny,s decree invalid. Co-chair
Adada and Francophonie Ambassador Kouyate noted that Banny
had proposed that the tribunals issuing nationality
certificates be mobile, like the courts issuing birth
certificates, but Gbagbo still insists that they must remain
fixed, and they asked whether this was acceptable. Banny
responded that he would reluctantly accept it. Soro
reiterated that the modus operandi that had been agreed on,
for the same mobile courts to issue both, was being
unilaterally blocked. He reiterated that identification is
too important to be implemented partially, and it is up to
President Gbagbo to find a way to deliver the citizens their
documents.


7. (C) UN HRE Stoudmann, AU Special Representative General
Mokoko, ONUCI Force Commander General Amoussou, and Licorne
Force Commander General Lecerf all gave short presentations
on the complete lack of progress on identification and
disarmament.


8. (C) A relatively brief and straightforward communique was
accepted with little debate. The communique notes the total
impasse in the implementation of UNSCR 1721, mainly due to
the refusal of some Ivoirian parties to accept it. It
indicates that the international community has no objection
to President Gbagbo,s proposed direct dialogue with Soro,
but only if it focuses on the implementation of UNSCR 1721.
Finally, the communique recommends that the Security Council
urge the AU and ECOWAS to call all the main Ivoirian parties
together as soon as possible to unblock the current impasse,
and that a mission of the Security Council visit Cote
d,Ivoire to underscore support for the AU/ECOWAS mediation
and press the Ivoirians directly to fully implement UNSCR

1721. The meeting ended at 5:00 p.m., instead of after 9:00
p.m.as was the case for the previous three meetings.


9. (C) The next meeting will be February 23.


10. (C) Comment. Soro is right that the IWG has little
leverage to break the current impasse if the Ivoirians
themselves, including of course Soro, refuse to budge from
their entrenched positions. That said, both of the
suggestions in the communique -- a more robust, pro-active
African mediation effort and a Security Council visit here in
support of that effort -- seem like good ones. For a change
the IWG seems to have come up with more than just empty words
at the end of the day. End Comment.

Hooks