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.

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FALSE HORIZON FOR RECONCILIATION
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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.

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NO NATIONAL SPIRIT
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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."

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HOLLOW INSTITUTIONAL CORE
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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.

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COMMENT
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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