YOUTH LEADER TALKS ABOUT POTENTIAL COUP AND

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 CONAKRY 000620 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2018 TAGS: PGOV PMIL PREL ASEC GV SUBJECT: YOUTH LEADER TALKS ABOUT POTENTIAL COUP AND TRANSITION PLANS REF: A. CONAKRY 520 ¶B. CONAKRY 525 ¶C. CONAKRY 538 ¶D. CONAKRY 568 ¶E. CONAKRY 588 Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D ¶1. (S) SUMMARY. An underground youth movement appears to have joined forces with a group of young military officers intent on organizing a coup d,etat. Initially focused on a democratic movement forcing democratic change, the youths may now be facing a slippery slope of choices that could ultimately undermine the very democracy they hope to establish. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (S) On October 17, Poloff met with youth leader Thierno Balde at the Embassy to discuss the status of discussions between various youth leaders and young military officers of the so called &19th promotion,8 who are reportedly working together to organize a coup d,etat. Thierno had initially been trying to organize an underground youth movement to demand the president,s resignation, but now appears to have shifted his focus from the civilian side to the military (reftels). -------------- THE ENTOURAGE CIRCLES -------------- ¶3. (S) According to Thierno, military contacts have told him that Conte,s health continues to deteriorate, and that he now is not even capable of speech. Thierno said that this situation is encouraging members of Conte,s entourage, such as Minister Secretary General of the Presidency, Alpha Ibrahima Keira, to try and maneuver themselves and others so that they are best positioned to seize power if the president dies. Referring to rampant rumors about the prime minister,s imminent dismissal, Thierno said &this is why (former Finance Minister) Kassory is the name people are putting forward as Prime Minister Souare,s likely successor.8 Thierno added that many of these political players are using the ðnic card8 to try and manipulate different groups. ¶4. (S) Thierno told Poloff that Guineans are clearly worried about the current political situation. Having just come from Friday mosque, Thierno said he was surprised to hear his imam tell the youths that they &have to do something8 because the government has failed to address critical issues. According to Thierno, the imam was referring to Guinea,s growing drug trafficking problem. -------------- COORDINATING A COUP D,ETAT 
 -------------- ¶5. (S) When asked whether he is still working with junior military officers on a coup plot, he replied &yes.8 A lawyer by trade, Thierno said he was hoping to soon finalize the proposed constitutional amendments he is drafting, which the military reportedly plans to force the National Assembly to adopt. ¶6. (S) Poloff asked about a young officer recently identified through sensitive sources, Alpha Ousmane Diallo. Thierno said that he knows him and his family very well and that Diallo is a prominent member of the 19th promotion. However, Thierno clarified that Diallo is the son of a former president of the National Assembly, not the son of former Prime Minister and opposition leader Cellou Diallo, as previously reported. According to Thierno, Diallo is a &strict military guy, rigid in his beliefs, committed to the coup, and highly respected among the rank and file soldiers. ¶7. (S) Thierno added that the youth leaders are very concerned about what the military transition will look like if the coup is successful, noting that &we do not want another Conte for 25 years; we have to know who will be in charge and who will play what role.8 He said that this is one reason the youths are looking very closely at the military officers they are working with in order to try to weed out those who might be seeking power. However, Thierno admitted that they may not be able to control the situation. &Once they are in charge, it will be very difficult for us to intercede,8 he said, &that is why we have to have the transition mapped out before we get started.8 -------------- CONAKRY 00000620 002 OF 003 SOONER OR LATER... -------------- ¶8. (S) When Poloff asked about a possible timeline for the coup, Thierno acknowledged that discovery is always a risk, but that the military officers are confident that they can continue to operate undetected. Thierno emphasized that no one wants bloodshed, which is why they are working so hard to recruit support. &The Presidential Guard is our main obstacle, but if we can get a few key officers, we will be better positioned to avoid violence,8 Thierno said. He added that there is one key player who might be convinced to join forces with the coup plotters, but that they are unlikely to make any inroads with senior presidential guard officers. Further complicating the issue, according to Thierno, is the fact that a number of the presidential guard are actually from GUINEA Bissau and therefore not interested in Guinea. ¶9. (S) Thierno told Poloff that his military collaborators already have clear control over Camp Alpha Yaya and Camp Boiro, as well as a shooting range near the airport. &The only thing we,re missing is the presidential guard and military aircraft,8 he said. When Poloff asked what he meant by military aircraft, Thierno vaguely referred to a back-up plan aimed at preventing the president and others from possibly fleeing the country. ¶10. (S) According to Thierno, there are some plotters who want to go forward with the coup immediately while others prefer to take their time and make sure the plan is thoroughly thought out. However, Thierno told Poloff that he thinks the military will take action soon, &perhaps before the end of the month.8 He later said that they may decide to wait until Conte dies and then step in, or they will force his resignation through a coup. -------------- GETTING RID OF THE &OLD GUARD8 -------------- ¶11. (S) When asked if he or others had been in contact with political parties or other elements of civil society, Thierno emphatically said that they had not. &We cannot bring back the old generation because they are the problem,8 he said. He said that all the opposition parties are led by former government leaders who made themselves rich off the system, specifically pointing a finger at former Prime Minister Sidya Toure. &We have to make sure that when elections happen, that we are not just electing the old guys who were part of the old system.8 ¶12. (S) According to Thierno, the only way to avoid this eventuality is to force an amendment to the electoral code, prohibiting those government officials accused of corruption from putting themselves forward as candidates. Poloff commented that such a tactic sounded undemocratic and encouraged the possibility of a &witch hunt.8 Thierno then backtracked and said &that is why we need 18 months to organize elections; we need to have time to have these people stand trial for corruption,8 suggesting that only those individuals convicted on corruption charges would be prevented from running for office. Poloff pointed out that Guinea,s justice system has its own challenges that may make it difficult to effectively prosecute corruption at the current time. Thierno waved off this concern, agreeing only that it should be a fair process. ¶13. (S) Poloff asked if they could not achieve the same objective by simply allowing for independent candidature. Thierno agreed that this might be an option, but said that it probably would not work because the older generation is too close to their memories of Sekou Toure, and unlikely to change. Thierno said that Alpha Ibrahima Keira's (the President's Minister Secretary General) father was one of the &top guys8 at Camp Boiro, where thousands of people were allegedly killed during Sekou Toure,s regime. He then said that former Prime Minister Lansana Kouyate was actively trying to bring back Sekou Toure,s style of government. When Poloff asked for a specific example, Thierno said that Kouyate,s wife wanted everyone to wear white to an official event, which is something that Sekou Toure had frequently done. -------------- GUINEA CAN BE AN EXAMPLE FOR ALL -------------- ¶14. (S) Thierno then went on at length about various CONAKRY 00000620 003 OF 003 American revolutionary leaders, pointing out that Thomas Jefferson was only 28 years old when he was drafting the Declaration of Independence (COMMENT. He was in fact 33 or 34 years old at the time. END COMMENT). He said that he is envious of other democracies in the world, and wants to bring those same principles to Guinea. &One day, I want to say that I was part of changing this system,8 he said. He then mentioned that he had observed a member of Nelson Mandela,s family in South Africa, who was clearly treated with great respect by many people. &We can be like that,8 he said. Before leaving, he told Poloff &if we do this right, GUINEA can be an example for all of Africa.8 -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶15. (S) In September, Thierno was advocating for a peaceful youth movement to force political change, which appeared inherently democratic. Faced with deep divisions among the youth groups he was trying to pull together, he has since adjusted his priorities and is collaborating with young military officers intent on pulling off a coup d,etat. Even when he first joined forces with the military, Thierno was still talking about a civilian transitional government focused on holding elections within six months. He now appears to be willing to accept a predominantly military transition, with elections twelve to eighteen months down the road. In part, these changes may be a reflection of the competing interests of the many different people who are trying to organize the coup and subsequent transitional government. ¶16. (S) At the same time, Thierno and other civilian youth leaders may now be sliding down an increasingly slippery slope. In seeking to usher in democracy, they may actually be sacrificing the fundamental underlying elements that make a democracy strong. The fact that they are willing to force the National Assembly to adopt &democratic8 amendments at gunpoint raises questions about what else will be considered acceptable. Eighteen months is a long time for young military leaders to be in power, and Thierno,s hesitant conviction that the military will willingly step down when asked to do so seems somewhat naive, although they may very well do as they promise. Always passionate about his cause, Thierno,s enthusiasm may now be approaching a dangerous blend of zealous fervor and patriotism that could ultimately derail the democratic ideals he reportedly believes in. END COMMENT. RASPOLIC