RELIGIOUS LEADER WORKING ON NATIONAL DIALOGUE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000333 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV ASEC KDEM GV SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS LEADER WORKING ON NATIONAL DIALOGUE Classified By: A/DCM SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. According to Monsignor Gomez, leader of the Christian Counil, Guinea's reconciliation of past grievances will take time. Gomez said that Guinea's political and civil society actors lack a spirit of national unity and purpose. He said that Lansana Conte is at the root of Guinea's current political problems, but added that Guinea's institutional core is also hollow. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) On June 20, the Anglican Archbishop of Guinea and head of the Christian Council, Monsignor Albert Gomez met with Ambassador Carter in order to respond to a letter the Ambassador sent last week. In the letter, the Ambassador commended the Christian Council for its timely declaration condemning the recent violence between the military and police, as well as the resulting human rights abuses. The Ambassador also invited Monsignor Gomez to speak at the Embassy's upcoming Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) meeting in late July. The A/DCM and Econoff participated in the meeting. ¶3. (C) Gomez thanked the Embassy for recognizing and lending support to the Christian Council's declaration, noting that the U.S. Embassy was the first among several international partners to do so. In response to the Ambassador's request for him to speak at the next HRWG, Gomez said he regretted that he could not participate because he is already scheduled to attend the international Anglican conference during the same timeframe. He offered to send another representative from the Council (the Catholic Archbishop),which the Ambassador accepted. Gomez stressed that national dialogue aimed at reconciliation is important, and that he and the Christian Council, as a neutral organization, are looking to facilitate such a dialogue as soon as possible. -------------- FALSE HORIZON FOR RECONCILIATION -------------- ¶4. (C) When asked about the newly created Ministry of Reconciliation, Gomez said that he had doubts about its true purpose, or even its ability to accomplish anything meaningful. He agreed with the Ambassador that the GOG may be attempting to "reconcile" deep-seated societal grievances in an abbreviated timeframe in advance of the50th Anniversary of Guinean independence in October. Gomez said that national reconciliation will be a long process, as Guineans must not only come to terms with the recent past, but also the "trauma" of Sekou Toure's regime. He agreed that the parameters for dialogue must be clearly established in order to address fifty years of concerns. -------------- NO NATIONAL SPIRIT -------------- ¶5. (C) Gomez said that there is no spirit of commonwealth in Guinea. Furthermore, Gomez said that most political actors in Guinea, including the unions, political parties, and civil society, do not understand their societal role. "The unions are supposed to represent the workers, but they are getting involved in politics instead," he said. When A/DCM asked whether the political actors are sincerely committed to national dialogue and reconciliation when many of them also appear to be interested in shoring up their own support bases in anticipation of filling a perceived power vacuum, Gomez said that it would be a challenge because no one is putting forth an actual agenda or program of what they would do if they had power. "I am in the business of religion," he said, "and it is our job to provide hope." -------------- HOLLOW INSTITUTIONAL CORE -------------- ¶6. (C) Turning to the broader issue of the current state of the GOG, Gomez said that the Guinean political system is dysfunctional. He agreed with Ambassador Carter that most problems with the state can be traced back to President Conte. He said that he thinks the president's entourage keeps him disconnected from the broader GOG by, which is exacerbated by the president's village-chief mentality. Gomez said, however, that he thought Conte is not only being manipulated by his entourage, but that he also lacks the lucidity to understand that the institutional core of the Guinean state is in fact hollow and entirely unrepresentative of the general population. CONAKRY 00000333 002 OF 002 ¶7. (C) Ambassador Carter said that Gomez has the full support of post, and that post would work with him to find ways to help, especially with logistical aid that the Christian Council might need to organize its national dialogue. The Ambassador noted that any aid provided by the U.S. Embassy would need to be done discretely in order to avoid the impression that the dialogue is being pushed upon Guinea by the West. Gomez fully agreed with the Ambassador's approach. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) As noted in previous discussions, Monsignor Gomez seems to be one of the few leaders in Guinean civil society not seeking personal gain. He has a generally balanced, neutral view of Guinea's complex political situation, and is well respected both within the Christian and the Muslim communities. Gomez may be the one person capable of bringing people together for an effective dialogue. However, in the past, Guineans have proven to be very good at dialoguing and weak on taking concrete action. The key challenge will not be actually getting everyone to the table. Rather, the key challenge will be getting everyone to sincerely commit to the dialogue and then follow through on implementing whatever national strategy comes out of it. Gomez echoed the same concerns about the potential collapse of the Guinea state, voiced by the G8 group in a recent chat with the Minister of Finance. END COMMENT. CARTER