SAO TOME: GOVERNMENT COLLECTS WEAPONS FROM POLICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIBREVILLE 000502

SIPDIS

KINSHASA PASS TO BRAZAVILLE
YAOUNDE PASS TO MALABO

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/14/2012
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC TP
SUBJECT: SAO TOME: GOVERNMENT COLLECTS WEAPONS FROM POLICE
REBELS AND WEIGHS FURTHER STEPS

REF: LIBREVILLE 0477

Classified By: CDA Nathan Holt for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (SBU) National authorities in Sao Tome and Principe (STP)
have collected a significant quantity of weapons from the
rebellious and now-disbanded "Ninja" police unit. Meanwhile,
a senior government minister claims the Ninjas, who carried
out armed occupations of the national police headquarters
three times in the last two months, have ties to the
political opposition. One Ninja was shot and killed and two
others injured in the latest incident November 4. Ten Ninjas
were subsequently arrested and detained by the army, which
has effectively taken over leadership of the police force in
STP. On November 13 President Fradique de Menezes convened
an emergency meeting of senior leaders to respond to the
Ninja problem and weigh potential changes in the government.
End Summary.

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Weapons Collected
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2. (U) In the aftermath of the latest "Ninja" incident
(reftel),national authorities called on all members of the
paramilitary unit to turn in their weapons. The army also
launched a house-to-house search for weapons in the homes of
Ninjas and their close relatives. In a broadcast on STP
state television November 12, the army displayed a pickup
truck full of weapons collected from the now-disbanded Ninja
unit. Agence France Presse (AFP),in report filed from Sao
Tome, quoted an army spokesman claiming that "almost 80"
weapons had been recovered. The spokesman said the operation
would continue until all Ninja weapons were collected.


3. (C) STP Defense Minister Oscar Sousa told CDA November 10
that various Ninjas had retained possession of a significant
quantity of weapons, despite a signed agreement with the
government under which they were obligated to disband and
disarm. He said that at that time members of the Ninja unit
still held AK-47s, Uzi sub-machine guns, pistols, and "4-5
bigger guns." Of approximately 100 total Ninjas prior to the
latest incident, 10 were currently in detention, Sousa said.
It was not immediately clear whether there were further
detentions in the aftermath of the house-to-house weapons
collection.

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Minister's Allegations
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4. (C) The defense minister accused opposition politicians
of exploiting the Ninja situation, and claimed that
interrogation of Ninja detainees had revealed clear links
between the mutinous police unit and leaders of the political
opposition. Sousa declined to name the opposition figures
involved--referring to them merely as "A" and "B"--but said
they were linked to STP's main opposition party, the
Movimento de Libertacao de Sao Tome e Principe/Partido Social
Democrata (MLSTP/PSD). The MLSTP was Sao Tome's ruling party
until De Menezes' ascent to the presidency in 2001. Sousa
emphasized that the allegations involved individual
politicians, not the MLSTP/PSD as a party.


5. (C) Sousa told CDA that the Ninja rebels had retained the
keys to a government armory at the national police
headquarters until the latest incident November 4. The
police were unable to account for their own weapons
inventory, Sousa said, and national police commander Gilberto
Andrade--who had been taken hostage by the Ninjas during an
incident October 8--was likely complicit with the rebels,
Sousa claimed. Sousa also claimed that the Ninjas intended
to assassinate unnamed political leaders, and were
increasingly involved in organized crime. Andrade's status
was not clear in the aftermath of the latest incident.
Embassy staff in STP reported that the army has taken over
direction of the police force.

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Details of Shooting
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6. (C) Sousa also provided additional details of the
shooting incident November 4. The government moved quickly
when a group of about ten Ninjas re-occupied police
headquarters just after midnight, Sousa told CDA. Starting
at about 3:00 a.m., the army established a wide perimeter
around the police headquarters, incorporating several blocks
of downtown Sao Tome. Well-armed national forces then
advanced on the national police headquarters, where they met
little resistance. By dawn the rebellious police officers
were safely in army custody at a nearby barracks.


7. (C) Then the trouble began. Alerted to the army's
operation, remaining Ninjas converged on the national police
headquarters after daybreak. According to Sousa, they
intended to show solidarity with other members of their
group, whom they erroneously believed were still present at
the site. The newly-arrived Ninjas were unarmed, however,
and some reportedly asked to be arrested along with the other
members of their unit. One of the last to reach the
headquarters, Sousa said, was a female who got into some kind
of altercation with a soldier. The female Ninja, whom the
defense minister claimed was trained in martial arts, struck
the soldier and another Ninja moved to give her aid. At that
point another soldier opened fire, killing the female Ninja
and wounding two others.

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Political Machinations
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8. (C) In a debate at the National Assembly November 9, one
opposition MP called the incident an "outrageous
assassination." Defense Minister Sousa, however, delivered a
detailed rebuttal, and claimed to have documentary evidence
of the Ninja's alleged ties to opposition political figures
and plans to disrupt government.


9. (C) On November 13, Embassy staff reported that STP
President de Menezes convened a five-hour high level meeting
that included the leaders of all political parties
represented in the National Assembly, as well as former STP
President Manuel Pinto da Costa and other leading political
figures. De Menezes told the press after the meeting that he
believes it is time to make changes to the government, an
apparent reference to a long-awaited cabinet reshuffle. It
is also possible that De Menezes could call for new
elections. De Menezes was scheduled to convene a formal
meeting of the State Council November 14. The State Council
meets rarely, and is empowered under the STP constitution to
discuss dissolution of the National Assembly and dismissal of
the government. Its members include the prime minister, the
president of the National Assembly, and the president of the
Constitutional Court.

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Comment
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10. (C) This protracted saga is not yet over. STP's
political and security dynamics are complex--a mix of
legitimate grievances, crude power grabs and something
resembling a family feud. STP's multiparty democracy is
standing up so far to these challenges, but the strain is
evident. End Comment.
HOLT