UNIVERSITY TEACHERS SUSPEND THEIR STRIKE,

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABIDJAN 000614

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/07/2017
TAGS: PGOV ELAB IV
SUBJECT: UNIVERSITY TEACHERS SUSPEND THEIR STRIKE,
OPTIMISTIC FINAL RESOLUTION AT HAND

REF: ABIDJAN 539

Classified By: EconChief EMassinga Reasons 1.4. (b,d)


1. (SBU) On May 30, the university professors and
researchers from the "Coordination Nationale des Enseignants
et Chercheurs" (CNEC) suspended their six-week old strike,
ushering in the resumption of classes nationwide and ending
the looming threat of an annulled school year (reftel). CNEC
took the measure in response to a government commitment to
announce within the next two months a new salary scale, to be
effective from January, 2009. In the interim, as of January
2008, university professors will receive a monthly increase
of USD 200 (on top of an average salary of USD 700 per month
currently) and teaching hospital doctors, pharmacists and
dentists will see a USD 280 monthly rise. The projected new
pay scale slated for 2009 would, if enacted in full, raise
salaries by between 122 and 171 percent over current levels.


2. (SBU) The end of the strike has helped to cool tensions
in Abidjan after FESCI's violent attacks aimed at
intimidating CNEC into returning to work (reftel). While
neither the President's or Prime Minister's camp has said
much about FESCI's unchecked, unpunished rampage (indeed, to
date, no police investigation has been announced and no
arrests have been made),FESCI itself was clearly pleased
with the outcome, as its partisans proudly displayed their
colors around town and especially in the University district
throughout the week following the attacks.


3. (C) Emboff spoke with Alain Lobognon, newly-named
Special Advisor to the Prime Minister and longtime Soro
collaborator from the Forces Nouvelles, about the FESCI issue
on June 4 as part of a wider discussion concerning the
implementation of the Ouaga Peace Accord. Lobognon
recognized that FECSI is a dangerous element that must be
addressed for the peace process to move forward, and said
that, long-term, the PM plans to gradually sap their strength
by aggressively moving to return university students back to
the reopened University of Bouake and other schools in the
former Forces Nouvelles territories. By doing this, the
teeming breeding grounds for FESCI at the University of
Cocody (where the school population nearly doubled after the
beginning of the civil conflict in 2002 as it took in many
students from the University of Bouake and other
instutitions) will gradually lose their ability to generate
the numbers of potential militants (many of whom are marginal
students at best) seen today. Lobognon also said the PM
refrained from publicly involving himself in the aftermath of
FESCI's attacks on human rights groups LIDHO and APDH because
those groups had "unwisely" chosen to associate themselves
with CNEC and its cause, which he said MIDH had more
prudently avoided. Lobognon reported that CNEC had come to
the PM asking for help before FESCI's response, and had been
told that Soro would respond to their demands, but through a
low-key approach. CNEC, according to Lobognon, accepted that
commitment but at the same time went ahead with a press
conference held in the LIDHO HQ, prompting the FESCI
response. Because of this, Soro and his camp were none too
keen to go out of their way to denounce FESCI's actions.


4. (C) Comment. The twists, turns and eventual end of this
latest strike in the educational arena serves to underscore
several salient aspects of the current political dynamic.
One, the government continues to be pushed into wage
concessions by powerful civil servants unions, concessions
that will complicate efforts to bring the expenditures under
control. Second, the FESCI remains a dangerous wildcard;
while there is no indication the President or FPI encouraged
its actions, they have not brought the group to heel after
the fact. Third, the PM appears to be keeping his powder
dry, waiting to pick his battles and looking to the long-term
for solutions to problems not easily addressed now. End
Comment.
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