Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08CONAKRY41
2008-01-16 14:02:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Conakry
Cable title:  

RULING PARTY - WATCH OUT, WE,RE BACK!

Tags:  PGOV KDEM ELAB ASEC GV 
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VZCZCXRO3961
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHRY #0041/01 0161402
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 161402Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2064
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 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
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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