FARBA SENGHOR-PRESIDENT WADE,S FALL GUY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAKAR 001067

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/W, AF/RSA AND INR/AA
PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL UN SG
SUBJECT: FARBA SENGHOR-PRESIDENT WADE,S FALL GUY

REF: REF A) DAKAR 857 REF B)DAKAR 765 REF C) DAKAR 637

Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY POLITICAL COUNSELOR DAVID MOSBY FOR REASON
S 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. 1. (C) SUMMARY: On August 28, Farba Senghor, Minister of
Air Transportation and, more importantly, public relations
officer for the ruling Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) was
forced to resign his ministerial post because of his alleged
role in recent attacks on the newsrooms of "L'As" and "24
Heures Chrono," in Dakar "(Ref A). Senghor's removal, on the
orders of President Abdoulaye Wade, culminates a two-month
long battle between the government and the media. Sources
near the President told Poloff that this whole polemic was
actually planned by Wade himself. However, Senghor was
dismissed because his behavior went further than what the
President had envisaged. End Summary.


2. (C) Mamdadou Omar Ndiaye (strictly protect),a long time
Embassy contact with connections in Wade's inner circle, told
Poloff that Wade purposely politicized the beating by police
of two sports journalists (REF B) following a soccer match in
Dakar two months ago. Ndiaye said that at the time Wade was
increasingly worried about the effects of an opposition-led
"National Dialogue" (REF C). As a result, during a meeting
of the PDS's Political Bureau shortly after the journalists
were beaten, Wade ordered his barons to go after the press to
divert independent media attention from the National
Dialogue, which Wade reportedly characterized as, "The only
decent action undertaken by the opposition so far."


3. (C) According to Ndiaye, the whole point was to make the
press worry about its own survival. In that respect, the
plan seems to have worked; for the past two months the
newspapers have reported on virtually nothing but the
harassment of journalists by the government. A few days
after the meeting of the PDS Political Bureau, Senghor went
on national TV where he declared that the government was
going to cancel its subscriptions to private newspapers and
stop advertising in all non-government media. In addition,
media organizations would be forced to pay years of back
taxes which would have bankrupted them (REF A). The
"Government vs. the Press" preoccupation has apparently also
distracted journalists from following-up more thoroughly on
Senegal's increasingly difficult economic situation and
credible information of massive misuse of budget resources by
ministry and agency officials closely linked to special
presidential projects.


4. (C) Ndiaye, who is also a senior member of the Committee
to Protect Journalists, went on to say that Senghor's fall
from favor began when his bodyguard and driver were arrested
along with ten others (Note: those people have now been
sentenced to between five to six years in jail and are
currently appealing that ruling. End note) for being involved
in the attack against the newsrooms, and when the Prosecutor
General said that Senghor had ministerial immunity and thus
could not be questioned. It was at this point that Wade
reportedly told his chief of staff, Pape Samb Mboup, that
"(Senghor) is becoming a burden." Mboup met with Omar Ndiaye
and the latter agreed that Senghor's resignation would
satisfy the media community. Wade then told Senghor to
resign and face possible prosecution.

Plots Within Plots
--------------


5. (C) The fight between the press and the government was
also prolonged when the hawkish Minister of Interior, Cheikh
Tidiane Sy, did not allow the policemen accused of beating
the sports journalists to be brought up on charges. Sy is a
Wade loyalist and a known hard-liner with little finesse.
When the newsrooms were attacked, however, Wade and Sy were
out of the country and the far more balanced and moderate
Minister of Justice, Madicke Niang, was in charge of both
Ministries. Upon hearing of the newsroom attacks, Niang
ordered the police to arrest those involved. The head of the
respected weekly magazine "Nouvel Horizon," Abdoulaye Bamba
Diallo, suspects Niang purposefully ordered the
Prosecutor-General to declare that Senghor could not be
questioned in order to force the President to fire him in
order to calm an increasingly tense situation.

And Yet Nothing Has Really Changed
--------------


6. (C) Comment: While the dismissal of one of Wade's
favorite loyalists was dramatic, it remains to be seen
whether or not Senghor will be convicted. "After all,"
Diallo pointed out, "Wade would never sacrifice his errand

DAKAR 00001067 002 OF 002


boy and we all know that whatever Senghor is saying is what
Wade wants him to say. He will go out of the door and come
back through the window." (Note: Senghor is also widely
considered a favorite of First Lady Vivianne Wade).


7. (C) Comment continued: It is also interesting to note
that the presidential decree removing Senghor from office
specifically states that if the latter were charged, the High
Court of Justice would be the competent body to try him.
This decision was confirmed by President Wade on September 10
following a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
This court is made up entirely of National Assembly deputies,
of whom 130 out of 150 belong to the ruling PDS. Moreover,
in spite of his alleged sanctioning of the press crackdown
and the role that one of his closest political allies played
in the crackdown, Wade has emerged unscathed from the attack
on the newsrooms. Equally important from Wade's perspective,
the opposition-sponsored National Dialogue has dropped off
the radar and media reporting on the government's
increasingly dire budget situation has been anemic at best.

BERNICAT