ETHNIC POLITICS IN GUINEA - UNION MANDINGE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CONAKRY 000602

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2018
TAGS: PGOV ASEC KDEM GV
SUBJECT: ETHNIC POLITICS IN GUINEA - UNION MANDINGE

REF: CONAKRY 0600

Classified By: A/DCM SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D


1. (C) SUMMARY. This cable is the second in a series of
reports exploring the role of ethnicity in Guinean politics
(reftel). The Union Mandinge is the youth arm of a broader
ethnically based organization with ties to Upper Guinea and
the Malinke population. A/DCM met with Union Mandinge
leaders on October 7 to discuss the group's organization,
role, and perspective. Although they claimed to be
apolitical and broad-based in their support, their comments
suggest that they work almost exclusively within their own
ethnic group, and that their biases feed their political
views. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) On October 7, Poloff met with the president of the
ethnically based organization "Union Mandinge," Lamine Cisse.
The president was joined by two member of the organization's
executive bureau, Elhadj Ibrahima Kalil Camara and Sekou
Oumar Sacko. Union Mandinge falls under the umbrella of the
Council of Elders, which includes leaders from each of
Guinea's four major ethnic groups. The Council of Elders was
reportedly established as a mechanism for minimizing the
potential for inter-ethnic conflict by fostering dialogue.
It is a well respected group that has participated in
national dialogues in crisis situations, such as during the
civil unrest of early 2007. Union Mandinge is the youth arm
of the broader Mandinge organization sitting on the Council.
Incidentally, all three of the Mandinge youth leaders
appeared to be well into their forties, and sported much grey
hair.

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FROM EMPIRE TO "UNION"
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3. (SBU) When asked about the organization's roots, Cisse
initially referred to the historic Mandinge Empire dating
back to the 1200s, and proceeded to launch into what promised
to be a lengthy history of the group's migration into Guinea.
A/DCM specified that she was asking only about the Union
Mandinge Youth Association, which the president said was
established in 1985. According to the Cisse, the
association's role is to "prevent trouble and reduce
tensions."


4. (SBU) In response to a question about membership, Cisse
said that they have distributed membership cards, but that he
could not estimate the total number of members, although he
said that the group attracts significant support from the
Guinean Diaspora. He added that 1,720 members attended the
last meeting in Conakry, which was held just a few weeks ago.



5. (SBU) According to the president, Union Mandinge meets
once a month in the capital, followed by an Executive Bureau
meeting the next day in order to communicate the results of
the proceedings to satellite associations in the interior of
the country, which are based in Kankan (Upper Guinea) and
N'Zerekore (Forest Region). Cisse said that the group
discusses social affairs, especially socio-economic issues
affecting youths, such as the lack of jobs and economic
opportunity. He added that the group always has an
interesting debate, but lacks the means to take action once
the discussion is over.

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WE ARE NOT POLITICAL
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6. (SBU) When asked whether the group discusses the
political situation, Cisse emphasized that the Union Mandinge
is not a political organization, although he acknowledged
that they do occasionally discuss politics. He said that
"unity among youths" is everyone's primary concern. A/DCM
asked if he meant unity among Mandinges or unity among youths
in general, to which the president hesitated and then replied
"both."

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INTER-ETHNIC COORDINATION
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7. (SBU) Although he emphasized that inter-regional
coordination generally occurs at the Council level, Cisse
said that Union Mandinge regularly reaches out to the three
other ethnic regional youth groups in order to collaborate on
important initiatives. He said that the four groups had
worked together on the recent Guinean celebration of fifty

CONAKRY 00000602 002 OF 003


years of independence, for example.

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GUINEA'S ETHNIC PROBLEM
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8. (C) In response to a question about whether Guinea has an
ethnic problem, Cisse immediately replied "yes, absolutely."
He explained that under Sekou Toure (a Malinke dictator who
ruled the country from 1958 to 1984),all of the ethnic
groups were united as Guineans, and as members of the
communist party. According to the president, there was a
certain "ease to life" under Sekou Toure in that everyone had
food, there were fewer economic problems, and people's
individual ambitions were tempered by the regime.


9. (C) Cisse said that the roots of Guinea's ethnic problem
can be traced to the installation of the Second Republic
under President Lansana Conte (a Soussou). He said that the
military immediately began to fight internally for power,
citing tensions between Conte and then Prime Minister Diarra
Toure (a Malinke). Within the year, Conte eliminated the
prime minister position and redesigned the government around
four ministries essentially representing the country's four
regions and ethnic groups. According to Cisse, this
development encouraged the rise of a certain degree of
ethnocentrism in Guinea, effectively marginalizing one ethnic
group (the Malinkes) to benefit others. Furthermore, he said
that the resulting system contributed to the establishment of
opposition political parties based on little more than ethnic
ties. "We have not reconciled these issues; we are still
ethnocentric," he said.


10. (C) Cisse told A/DCM that current socio-economic
problems are exacerbating the ethnic problem. He said that
the high cost of living is increasing social tensions while
the political situation is ultimately uncertain, causing
various groups to sympathize with those they feel comfortable
with, namely their own ethnic groups. According to the
president, the current government and the opposition
political parties are largely responsible for creating this
situation through ethnic manipulations based on personal
ambitions. "People do not even look at qualifications
anymore; somebody gets appointed to government and the first
thing we look at is what ethnic group they are from," he
said.

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SUPPORT FOR ALPHA CONDE
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11. (C) A/DCM asked about an oft-heard comment that the
Malinkes would never accept a Peuhl president, and vice
versa. The Union Mandinge leader said that the country needs
a qualified leader and that ethnicity should not matter.
However, his Executive Bureau colleague interrupted and
mentioned previous presidential elections, saying that
"everyone knows who should have won," referring to the
runner-up, Alpha Conde (Malinke),the leader of the RPG
opposition party largely identified with the Malinkes. He
added "if we had free and fair elections tomorrow, even
without political campaigns, everyone knows who will win,"
again alluding to Alpha Conde. He then said that the Peuhls
comprise no more than 20% of the population and that the
Malinkes represent the largest ethnic group. (COMMENT. The
standard perception is that the Peuhls represent
approximately 40% of the population, and the Malinkes, 30%.
END COMMENT).

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COMMENT
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12. (C) Although the Union Mandinge leaders claimed to be
broad-based in their support and their objectives, it was
clear that they work almost exclusively within their own
ethnicity. The president came off as relatively moderate,
but his two colleagues were much more prejudiced in their
comments. The leaders were almost reverent when they
referred to Sekou Toure's regime, which is widely viewed as
one of Guinea's darkest periods. Their conviction that Alpha
Conde is a popular leader who already enjoys majority support
is equally troublesome, as most other contacts agree that the
elections, both legislative and presidential, are up for
grabs. The Union Mandinge leaders seemed to agree that
ethnocentrism exists and that it is a dangerous problem. At
the same, when asked about inter-ethnic cooperation, they had
few examples to offer, instead claiming that such
coordination is generally the responsibility of the umbrella
Council of Elders. END COMMENT.

CONAKRY 00000602 003 OF 003


RASPOLIC