CHARGE MEETS WITH MEMBERS OF NEW GOVERNMENT

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000800 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/29/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM ASEC GV SUBJECT: CHARGE MEETS WITH MEMBERS OF NEW GOVERNMENT REF: A. CONAKRY 0787 ¶B. CONAKRY 0788 ¶C. CONAKRY 0789 ¶D. CONAKRY 0793 ¶E. CONAKRY 0796 ¶F. CONAKRY 0797 Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D ¶1. (S) SUMMARY. Charge met with members of Guinea's new government, the CNDD, on December 27. Vice President Toto Camara talked about enlarging the CNDD and having it act as the country's legislative body. Camara discussed an elections timeline for 2010, but indicated that the CNDD might be open to holding them earlier. He denied any CNDD linkages to narco-trafficking. Charge emphasized the importance of restoring civilian rule through timely democratic elections and indicated that failure to do so could put donor assistance programs at risk. A military liaison officer later reported back that the CNDD wants the USG to reduce diplomatic pressure, specifically requesting that they be allowed to deal with problem personalities (such as mutiny leader Claude Pivi and suspected narco-traffickers) at their own pace. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Charge and DATT met with members of Guinea's new government, the Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD), on December 27. Brigadier General Toto Camara, who is now one of two vice presidents as well as the Minister of Security and Civil Protection, represented the CNDD. He was accompanied by five members of the so-called 19th promotion, the group that had been planning this coup for more than three months. On December 29, a military liaison officer provided further insights into CNDD concerns. (COMMENT. Toto Camara is seen by some as a rival to President Moussa Dadis Camara. Sensitive reporting has suggested that Toto Camara may be strategizing to peacefully replace President Camara with someone else, possibly himself. END COMMENT). -------------- STRUCTURING THE GOVERNMENT -------------- ¶3. (S) In response to a question about how the government will function in the coming months, Toto Camara said that they plan to enlarge the CNDD, thereby allowing for broader civilian representation. When Charge commented that such a council may be politically unwieldy, Toto Camara said that the previous National Assembly had 114 seats and since the CNDD would likely function as the legislative body, it should be able to accommodate more members. �0A;¶4. (S) Charge noted that the USG is concerned that several CNDD members may be linked to narco-trafficking. Toto Camara strongly denied any such linkages, asserting that no one on the Council is in anyway involved in narcotics. (COMMENT. Some of his CNDD colleagues seemed surprised at Toto Camara's statement. END COMMENT). -------------- A TIMELINE FOR ELECTIONS -------------- ¶5. (S) Turning to elections, Toto Camara said that the CNDD plans to hold legislative and presidential elections at the same time. He said that the government had initially set December 2010 as the target because that was when President Conte's mandate was scheduled to end. Charge emphasized that elections in 2010 would be unacceptable for the U.S. Government, and likely for the rest of the international community as well. Toto Camara then asked "when should we have them?" Charge said that she could not tell the government when to hold elections, but that the expectation is that they would be held sometime in 2009. At one point, Toto Camara commented that the voter registration process was flawed and said that they may need to redo the whole process. -------------- DONOR FINANCING AT RISK -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Charge also touched on donor financing, asking members of the CNDD if they were familiar with some of the key decisions coming up, specifically mentioning the IMF's Poverty Reduction Strategy and debt relief under HIPC. Toto Camara responded in vague terms. Charge emphasized that unless the CNDD takes certain steps in the immediate term, the Guinean Government is in danger of losing significant CONAKRY 00000800 002 OF 002 foreign aid from a wide a range of sources, including the United States. She also stressed that the CNDD needs to communicate openly and regularly with the international community. Toto Camara responded by requesting USG assistance in facilitating meetings between the G8 and the CNDD, and then noted that they had already scheduled a briefing for the international community, which is expected to take place on December 30. (COMMENT. Charge is hosting a meeting between the G8 and members of the CNDD later this evening. END COMMENT). ¶7. (S) At one point, Toto Camara said that the CNDD intends to nominate a civilian prime minister, indicating that the announcement would be made by December 29. -------------- NOT TOO MUCH PRESSURE PLEASE -------------- ¶8. (S) A military liaison officer later met with who he called the "intellectuals" of the CNDD, and passed the results of his discussions onto the DATT. Contact said that President Camara is under "extreme duress." He said Camara is being "driven crazy by all the accusations of narcotrafficking-links to the CNDD, as well as the overwhelming "pressures of the office." According to contact, Lieutenant Colonel "Idi Amin" Camara (a member of the CNDD associated with the 19th promotion) has been drafting all of the CNDD's decisions. Contact stressed that the CNDD "intellectuals" want the USG's support, specifically asking that we refrain from further condemning the coup, and that we do not "force them to remove the narcos and illiterates" from the CNDD. Contact said that the CNDD is afraid that the situation will quickly become violent if they have to remove problem personalities from the Council. CNDD members reportedly told Contact that they "have a plan to push them out slowly" and will share it with the USG soon. Contact emphasized that the CNDD was "very concerned about the U.S. position." -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶9. (S) Toto Camara spoke well and seemed to sincerely want the political situation to move forward positively. However, he also seemed disconnected from the interests of the civilian population and possibly even from some of his CNDD colleagues, which may be due to his long absence from the country. Certain comments made by the CNDD suggest that they are still very much in the process of trying to figure out how to run things, and may therefore be open to suggestions. At the same time, they are likely trying to pacify a wide range of competing interests in order to keep everyone together. Continued inclusion of suspected narco-traffickers and problematic personalities such as mutiny leader Claude Pivi on a governing council is likely to be unacceptable to many members of the international community, but the CNDD may be unwilling to budge on this issue. END COMMENT. RASPOLIC