Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08CONAKRY36
2008-03-25 14:43:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Conakry
Cable title:
CONTE BACK AT THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE
how-toVZCZCXRO4206 PP RUEHPA DE RUEHRY #0036 0851443 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 251443Z MAR 08 FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2327 INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
C O N F I D E N T I A L CONAKRY 000036
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM ASEC GV
SUBJECT: CONTE BACK AT THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE
REF: A. CONAKRY 0023
B. CONAKRY 0024
Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D
C O N F I D E N T I A L CONAKRY 000036
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM ASEC GV
SUBJECT: CONTE BACK AT THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE
REF: A. CONAKRY 0023
B. CONAKRY 0024
Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D
1. (SBU) Following widespread press speculation about his
physical health (reftel A),President Lansana Conte returned
to Conakry on March 21 after having spent some weeks at his
country home, located about an hour outside the capital.
Conte toured the city in his presidential motorcade on March
22, probably to help dispel persistent rumors.
2. (C) According to an LES staff member who spent some hours
at the presidential palace the evening of March 21, there was
a flurry of activity around the president late into the
evening. A red beret presidential guard told LES that Conte
was not aware of Chantal Colle,s deportation (reftel A)
until he returned to Conakry, and that he was very upset
about it. According to the guard, Conte spat expletives as
he vowed to respond by firing both the prime minister and the
minister of interior and security. LES staff said that a
steady stream of visitors came to see the president that
evening, including the president of the national assembly,
and the head of the national police. Local press reported
that key presidential insiders met for some hours at the
palace, specifically naming Chief of Protocol Idrissa Thiam,
Secretary General Sam Soumah, and a number of former
SIPDIS
government officials, including former ministers. The LES
staff member who was there commented that it was a very tense
environment, and observers expected the president to fire the
PM and/or the minister of interior and security that same
evening.
3. (SBU) Instead, Chantal Colle,s lawyers organized a press
conference, which was held on the afternoon of March 22. An
LES staff member who was present said that Colle was
represented by a team of five lawyers, including Boubacar
Sow, the former head of the Guinean Bar Association who was
dismissed after he misrepresented his organization during the
heightened tensions in early January 2008 (reftel B).
Another of her lawyers, Abas Bangorah, is one of the three
civil society representatives on Guinea,s National
Independent Electoral Commission (CENI). Colle,s lawyers
reportedly claimed that her deportation was illegal and that
she will be suing the Ministry of Interior and Security. Her
legal team pointed out that the Ministry confiscated Colle,s
Guinean passport even though Colle was born in Guinea and did
not obtain French citizenship until the age of 16. (Note.
Colle held dual citizenship. End Note). According to LES,
the lawyers argued that even if Colle were considered a
foreigner, the law requires a period of four months for
evaluation before someone can be legally deported.
4. (C) LES staff report that there are a number of rumors
informally circulating as to why the president has not yet
responded more harshly to Colle,s deportation. According to
some LES contacts, Conte,s first wife, Henriette Conte, was
actually behind the deportation and working closely with the
minister of interior to make it happen. Contacts said that
Henriette may have supported the deportation, not only
because of Colle,s alleged intimate relationship with the
president, but also because Colle was actively pushing to
reinstate the former Secretary General, Fode Bangorah, into
an official government position.
--------------
COMMENT
--------------
5. (C) Rumors as to the state of Conte,s health have died
down, and while he appears to be recovering, he was likely
sick for some time as noted by several different contacts in
recent weeks. The furor over Chantal Colle,s case also
appears to be diminishing, but LES and contacts generally
believe that the story is not yet finished. The consensus
government,s move to deport Colle is likely another
calculated power play in Guinea,s ongoing political drama,
but Conte has yet to make a definitive countermove, and when
he does, Kouyate usually loses. END COMMENT.
BROKENSHIRE
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM ASEC GV
SUBJECT: CONTE BACK AT THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE
REF: A. CONAKRY 0023
B. CONAKRY 0024
Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D
1. (SBU) Following widespread press speculation about his
physical health (reftel A),President Lansana Conte returned
to Conakry on March 21 after having spent some weeks at his
country home, located about an hour outside the capital.
Conte toured the city in his presidential motorcade on March
22, probably to help dispel persistent rumors.
2. (C) According to an LES staff member who spent some hours
at the presidential palace the evening of March 21, there was
a flurry of activity around the president late into the
evening. A red beret presidential guard told LES that Conte
was not aware of Chantal Colle,s deportation (reftel A)
until he returned to Conakry, and that he was very upset
about it. According to the guard, Conte spat expletives as
he vowed to respond by firing both the prime minister and the
minister of interior and security. LES staff said that a
steady stream of visitors came to see the president that
evening, including the president of the national assembly,
and the head of the national police. Local press reported
that key presidential insiders met for some hours at the
palace, specifically naming Chief of Protocol Idrissa Thiam,
Secretary General Sam Soumah, and a number of former
SIPDIS
government officials, including former ministers. The LES
staff member who was there commented that it was a very tense
environment, and observers expected the president to fire the
PM and/or the minister of interior and security that same
evening.
3. (SBU) Instead, Chantal Colle,s lawyers organized a press
conference, which was held on the afternoon of March 22. An
LES staff member who was present said that Colle was
represented by a team of five lawyers, including Boubacar
Sow, the former head of the Guinean Bar Association who was
dismissed after he misrepresented his organization during the
heightened tensions in early January 2008 (reftel B).
Another of her lawyers, Abas Bangorah, is one of the three
civil society representatives on Guinea,s National
Independent Electoral Commission (CENI). Colle,s lawyers
reportedly claimed that her deportation was illegal and that
she will be suing the Ministry of Interior and Security. Her
legal team pointed out that the Ministry confiscated Colle,s
Guinean passport even though Colle was born in Guinea and did
not obtain French citizenship until the age of 16. (Note.
Colle held dual citizenship. End Note). According to LES,
the lawyers argued that even if Colle were considered a
foreigner, the law requires a period of four months for
evaluation before someone can be legally deported.
4. (C) LES staff report that there are a number of rumors
informally circulating as to why the president has not yet
responded more harshly to Colle,s deportation. According to
some LES contacts, Conte,s first wife, Henriette Conte, was
actually behind the deportation and working closely with the
minister of interior to make it happen. Contacts said that
Henriette may have supported the deportation, not only
because of Colle,s alleged intimate relationship with the
president, but also because Colle was actively pushing to
reinstate the former Secretary General, Fode Bangorah, into
an official government position.
--------------
COMMENT
--------------
5. (C) Rumors as to the state of Conte,s health have died
down, and while he appears to be recovering, he was likely
sick for some time as noted by several different contacts in
recent weeks. The furor over Chantal Colle,s case also
appears to be diminishing, but LES and contacts generally
believe that the story is not yet finished. The consensus
government,s move to deport Colle is likely another
calculated power play in Guinea,s ongoing political drama,
but Conte has yet to make a definitive countermove, and when
he does, Kouyate usually loses. END COMMENT.
BROKENSHIRE