RULING PARTY - WATCH OUT, WE,RE BACK!

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CONAKRY 000041 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/16/2018 TAGS: PGOV KDEM ELAB ASEC GV SUBJECT: RULING PARTY - WATCH OUT, WE,RE BACK! REF: A. CONAKRY 07 1091 ¶B. CONAKRY 0022 ¶C. CONAKRY 0007 ¶D. CONAKRY 0010 ¶E. CONAKRY 0013 ¶F. CONAKRY 0014 ¶G. CONAKRY 0015 ¶H. CONAKRY 0029 Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) A lengthy conversation with the head of the ruling Party for Unity and Progress (PUP) suggests that party leaders are interpreting last weeks events (reftels) as tacit popular support for President Conte. Highly critical of the unions and the prime minister, the PUP is firmly behind the president and looking to reinforce presidential power as defined by Guinea,s constitution. With what must be millions of dollars being invested in a state-of-the-art new headquarters building, the PUP seems to be sending a clear message ) we,re back, we,re stronger than ever, and we,re planning to win. END SUMMARY. -------------- BUILDING THE PARTY PALACE -------------- ¶2. (U) On January 15, Poloff met with Sekou Konate, the Secretary General of the ruling Party for Unity and Progress SIPDIS (PUP) in a new one-room office building reportedly built to accommodate PUP operations while they await the construction of their new headquarters. During the meeting, a dozen or so PUP supporters chatted together under a mango tree, sometimes shouting to each other in order to be heard over the sounds of heavy construction in the background. Just a few feet away, an army of construction workers continued to work on the foundation for the new office building, for which they broke ground about a month ago. ¶3. (SBU) Remarking on the blueprint plans for the new building, which was displayed prominently on the office wall, Poloff asked Konate about the project. Konate said that the plans had been in the works for years, but that the financing had only recently fallen into place. He proudly showed off the designs, noting that the new building will have three floors. When asked about the source of financing, Konate waved his arm dismissively and said vaguely oh you know, it came from our supporters, those who support Conte., After some prodding, Konate admitted that the bulk of the financing came from President Conte himself as well as a handful of close allies, although he did not name specific individuals. Chuckling under his breath, Konate said you know, we the PUP are not saying this, but our opposition friends have been saying that our new building means that President Conte will rerun in the 2010 election, otherwise, why would he invest in such a huge project for the ruling party?, -------------- UNIONS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THAT IS WRONG -------------- ¶4. (C) Turning to recent political tensions (reftels), Poloff asked Konate to explain the PUP perspective. Konate immediately launched into a long-winded historical review of the last two years as he laid out exactly why he thinks the unions are responsible for the current political and economic situation. According to Konate, the unions have repeatedly overstepped their authority and their recent failed, strike demonstrates that they no longer have the people,s support. Konate emphasized that the unions have never paid the price for their activities, noting that the people killed in early 2007 were largely opposition party members while the PUP suffered the bulk of the physical and material damage. The unions have transgressed into the political domain and the political parties have been marginalized by the consensus government,, he said. ¶5. (C) Linking the unions to the consensus government, Konate implied that all of the prime minister,s failures should be attributed to the unions since they are responsible for putting him in his position. When asked to specify the PM,s shortcomings, Konate gave a detailed laundry list of complaints. Commenting on PM Kouyate,s appointments of ministers, governors, and prefects, Konate said that none of them are saints., When asked to clarify what he meant by CONAKRY 00000041 002 OF 003 that, Konate deftly turned to criticizing the PM for his financing of youth groups. Poloff asked Konate if he could prove that such financing was happening, to which Konate said, Dalaba is proof enough., (NOTE ) The September youth conference in Dalaba was a notorious failure with allegations of bribes paid out to youths by both the PM and the president. END NOTE). Konate then criticized Kouyate for his alleged failure to compete government contracts. When asked if these allegations are based on fact or rumor, Konate said the rumor involves how much money was spent, but not whether it was actually done or not ) that part is fact., ¶6. (C) Konate also holds the PM responsible for Guinea,s delayed legislative elections. He failed to hold elections by December 2007,, Konate said. He added that although the PM pretends otherwise, he is involved in partisan politics. Konate questioned the PM,s frequent absences from the country and in particular, his visits to Libya and General Kadaffi. Konate said that Kouyate should not be cultivating such international relationships, that this is the role of the president, according to Guinea,s presidential regime. He also questioned why the PM is visiting Libya so often, implying that the PM is up to something behind closed doors. ¶7. (C) According to Konate, the unions organized last week,s planned strike in direct coordination with the PM. Konate said that both the unions and the PM saw that the people were not behind them, which obliged the PM to beg the president,s pardon. Konate stressed that the PM,s decline in favor and his general lack of popular support clearly demonstrates that the people support President Conte and are pushing the president to remove the PM. -------------- A SPACE TO TALK -------------- ¶8. (C) Focusing again on more recent events, Poloff asked Konate how he expects the dialogue process to play out. Konate said that the Guinean Bar Association clearly affirmed last week that Guinea is governed under a presidential regime and that the president ultimately holds the power. According to Konate, the committees only provide a space for dialogue, essentially giving people a place to talk. When asked what they would talk about and to what end, Konate said that the committee,s main job is to make sure people understand the correct application of the January 27 Accords. -------------- WE ALWAYS WIN THE ELECTIONS -------------- ¶9. (C) Turning to Guinea,s delayed legislative elections, Poloff asked Konate what the PUP is doing to prepare itself. Konate said that they are essentially waiting for an official election date and then they will move forward with their preparations. He noted that the PUP will hold a national convention in order to select candidates and then detailed how each prefecture would have the opportunity to nominate its own candidates. At the end, however, he said the national executive bureau will then look at the list and correct it if necessary., When asked what he meant by correct, it, Konate smiled and gestured dismissively with his hand: oh you know, sometimes prefectures don,t nominate the right people, they ignore the most popular candidates, so we fix that and change the names., ¶10. (C) When asked about campaign plans and the PUP,s message, Konate said that we are going to tell people the reality., Poloff asked Konate to define the reality, to which he replied, we need national unity, we need to share the riches, and we need to avoid ethnic divisions., Konate emphasized that the PUP is the only party that is truly multiethnic and they will be campaigning hard on that point. ¶11. (C) Anyway, we,re not worried about elections,, Konate added, we,ve won every past election in this country., Poloff joked with him, pointing out that past elections were widely viewed as flawed. Once again, Konate waved his hand dismissively and said no, no, the elections were not fraudulent., According to Konate, the losers were just making a lot of noise because they had failed to win. Poloff pointed out that the elections were considered flawed by domestic and international observers alike. Konate said yes, but that just shows that they were listening to the wrong people., -------------- CONAKRY 00000041 003 OF 003 COMMENT -------------- ¶12. (C) Konate,s demeanor and commentary represent an almost 180 degree turnaround from his attitude when Poloff last met with him in October (reftel A). At that time, he was reserved and carefully optimistic, as he emphasized that the party remained united throughout the country. Konate was critical of Kouyate, but clear that the PUP supported the PM in general in so much as he was appointed by the president of the republic. During the January 15 meeting, Konate was visibly energized and almost giddy with renewed optimism for the future of the PUP. He spoke freely as he offered up criticism after criticism, both of the PM and of the unions. Konate seemed to want to convey a clear message: the PUP is back, and it is bigger and stronger than ever. ¶13. (C) If Konate is any indication, and his attitude seems to echo that of the president of the National Assembly (reftel B),the PUP seems to believe that their power has been firmly reestablished, and that it is only a matter of time before things return to normal., Despite the party,s very careful and quiet political activities over the past few months, last week,s events seem to have prompted the PUP to throw caution to the wind as they seek to reaffirm the president,s power, and ultimately, their own political position. However, Konate,s comments suggest that the PUP is out of touch with reality. While the population may not support Kouyate, they generally seem to support the idea of a consensus government and they certainly are not interested in perpetuating Conte,s presidential regime. If violence erupts in the streets, the PUP,s new building is likely to be one of the first taken down by rioters, just as other PUP and government structures were destroyed by an angry populace in early 2007. Furthermore, Konate,s sentiments do not bode well for the dialogue process agreed to by the unions and others last week. For Konate, it seems that this is just an exercise to keep people involved in the process rather than a legitimate mechanism for resolving very real political tensions. END COMMENT. CARTER