PRESIDENT JAMMEH HOSTS GUINEA-BISSAU POLITICAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANJUL 000354 E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/10/2018 TAGS: PREL PU GA SUBJECT: PRESIDENT JAMMEH HOSTS GUINEA-BISSAU POLITICAL LEADERS Classified By: CDA Brian Bachman, Reasons 1.4(b) and (d) Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) President Jammeh hosted representatives of 18 of Guinea-Bissau,s 21 political parties on November 5-6. The stated purpose of the meeting was to try and forge agreement on a code of conduct for the political parties in the November 16 elections in Guinea-Bissau. Jammeh,s speech at the opening of the meeting called on those political leaders to respect the peace during the election, and to respect the results of the election. Jammeh strongly urged them to control their party members and refrain from violence at all costs. Jammeh clearly relished the opportunity to play the role of elder statesman. A Sympathetic Audience -------------- ¶2. (C) Charge was summoned to the Kairaba Hotel at 10 AM on November 5 to attend the opening session of the "Banjul Consultative Meeting", with little explanation as to what it was about, except that we were to attend a meeting with politicians from Guinea-Bissau. On arrival, CDA found that the hall was packed with not just the diplomatic corps, but the entire Cabinet, the Members of Parliament, opposition politicians, the armed service commanders and a huge contingent of supporters from President Jammeh's APRC party, including at least two paid griots (praise-singers) who competed to shout loud praises to President Jammeh at every opportunity, even interrupting speakers to do so. ¶3. (C) The event began after the customary hour and a half wait for the President to show up, during which the Mauritanian ambassador nearly passed out from sitting under the hot lights in the stuffy and overcrowded room and had to be given assistance to leave the building. After a few pro forma remarks from the acting Foreign Minister, the head of the local ECOWAS bureau, the Vice President of the Gambian Independent Electoral Commission, an APRC party militant, and the Cuban Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, President Jammeh took to the stage to loud applause and a shouted torrent of praise from the griots. Statesmanlike or Condescending? -------------- ¶4. (C) Clearly basking in the moment and appreciating the opportunity to demonstrate regional leadership, Jammeh spoke at length to the gathered audience, delivering a stern message on the need for peace and civil conduct during the electoral campaign. Although Jammeh himself says that he hates to be "lectured to" on democracy by the West, he clearly has no problems doing a bit of it himself, at times wagging his fingers at the visiting politicians and imploring them to follow the example of The Gambia, which he claimed had broad ethnic harmony (true) and a solid record of running internationally-recognized elections (not so much). Using the American Example -------------- ¶5. (C) Jammeh drew his loudest applause of the night when, in the midst of a passionate call to abandon "tribalism" and ethnic rivalries, he called on Guinea-Bissau to heed the lesson of the United States. Jammeh stated that the U.S. had lived up to its democratic ideals with the election of Barack Obama, which he also referred to as a "triumph for Africa". To thunderous applause Jammeh said that Obama, a "son of Africa", could not have been elected as a minority if American voters had not been willing to vote for someone of a different racial/ethnic background than themselves. He called on the party leaders of Guinea-Bissau to follow this example and abandon campaigning for election on ethnic or tribal lines. He said that to campaign on ethnic lines would be a step back for the entire region. Lukewarm Response -------------- ¶6. (C) An unidentified spokesman for the party leaders spoke for less than five minutes in response, thanking President Jammeh for hosting the meeting and briefly praising him for his regional leadership and commitment to democracy. Although press reports do not indicate that any civility pact was signed or agreed to, Bissau-Guinean Ambassador Maria Munira Jauad told Charge, over the weekend that the meeting was "useful" and "productive". BACHMAN