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. -------------- FROM EMPIRE TO "UNION" -------------- ¶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 �A;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. -------------- WE ARE NOT POLITICAL -------------- ¶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." -------------- INTER-ETHNIC COORDINATION -------------- ¶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. -------------- GUINEA'S ETHNIC PROBLEM -------------- ¶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. -------------- SUPPORT FOR ALPHA CONDE -------------- ¶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). -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶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