DISCORD BETWEEN PM AND PRESIDENT INCRASES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 0 OF 03 CONAKRY 000007

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DEC: 01/03/2018
TAGS: PGOV ELAB KHUM KDEM PREL
SUBJECT: DISCORD BETWEEN PM AND PRESIDENT INCRASES
POLITICAL TENSION

REF: A. CONAKRY 0004 B. CONAKRY 0005

Classified By: POL/ECON CHEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) SUMMARY. Political tension in Guinea appears o have
intensified over the last few days. Repots of strained
relations between the president ad the prime minister,
rumors of Conte possibly dsmissing Kouyate, and union
leaders saying that hey are considering resuming nationwide
labor strkes have contributed to increased political
actiity on all fronts. Rumors abound and it has been
difficult to substantiate reports. Although Guina,s
political situation is fragile, the actual fcts and events
may not be quite as dramatic as cotacts suggest. Embassy
will continue to monitorand analyze the situation. END
SUMMARY.


2. C) Over the last 72 hours, there have been a numbe of
significant political developments in Guinea the import of
which are not yet clear. Based oninformation supplied by
contacts, Embassy report the following sequence of events:

--------------
TIMELINE OF RECENT EVENTS
--------------


3. (U) December 31: The PM nd his cabinet visited
President Conte at his hom to wish him a happy new year.
During a nationaly televised broadcast, President Conte made
seveal comments about Kouyate,s administration, which ave
been open to widely different interpretation.


4. (SBU) January 1: An internet news site (ainata.com)
posted a speech allegedly written by resident Conte. The
speech was highly critical f the Kouyate administration and
suggested to soe contacts that Conte may be planning to
dismissthe PM.


5. (U) January 2: The PM convened a Concil of Ministers
meeting, which resulted in therelease of an official
communique around 8:00 PM The communique publicly stated
that the restruturing decree recently signed by President
Conte(reftel A) had been altered. Furthermore, the Counil
stated that it would consider the January 27 ccords and the
March 14 Decree appointing the prme minister as its official
guidance from the prsidency, thereby suggesting that the
government lanned to ignore the restructuring decree. In
th communique, the government also denounced the Janary 1
speech reportedly written by the president saying that it
was not a legitimate document an that the president had not
actually written it.


6. (U) January 2: At around 10:30 PM, Presiden Conte,
reportedly angry over the PM,s communiqu, summoned the PM
and his cabinet to his residene for a meeting.

--------------
WHAT EOPLE ARE SAYING
--------------


7. () The above mentioned events have spawned numerous
rumors throughout the capital, at all levels of sciety. One
contact reported that the President ay have signed a decree
late in the evening of Jnuary 2 stripping the PM of his
powers as head of government. Other contacts suggest that
the president will likely dismiss Kouyate in the coming
weeks. Some contacts say that the president,s speech must
have been written by one of his inner circle, possibly
Secretary General Sam Soumah, without the president,s

SIPDIS
knowledge, as a mechanism for generating political unrest.
Other contacts suggest that such a stirring of the pot, is
very much in character for Conte and that he may very well be
attempting to mix things up.


8. (SBU) Civil society and political party leaders planned
to meet independently late on January 3 to discuss the
political situation. Individual unions also met late on
January 3, in preparation for a broader union meeting, under
the leadership of Unions-Intersyndicale, planned for January

4.

--------------
PM SAYS EVERYTHING IS FINE
--------------


9. (C) During a brief telephone conversation with the
Ambassador, Prime Minister Kouyate said that everything is
fine, but then asked to meet with the Ambassador privately on
January 4. (COMMENT ) The PM did not sound as confident as
he usually does. END COMMENT).