SENEGAL'S FOREIGN MINISTER ON GUINEAN COUP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAKAR 001486

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL/AE, INR/AA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM PINR GV MR SG
SUBJECT: SENEGAL'S FOREIGN MINISTER ON GUINEAN COUP

REF: DAKAR 1442

Classified By: Political Counselor David G. Mosby for reasons 1.5 B/D.


1. (C) Summary: On December 30 following a meeting with
Charge and Political Counselor, Senegalese Minister of
Foreign Affairs Cheikh Tidiane Gadio publicly clarified
Senegal's position regarding the recent coup d'etat in
Guinea; Gadio stated that Senegal is not supporting a
military regime" in Guinea, rather Senegal supports "a
democratic transition." Charge met with the Foreign Minister
to seek a clarification of Senegal's policy regarding the
coup in Guinea as a result of President Abdoulaye Wade's
public backing of the military junta. In spite of Wade's
remarks, Gadio insisted that the position of Senegal
vis-a-vis military coups has not changed and remains in-line
with the AU (as he did when demarched by Ambassador regarding
troubling remarks on the subject of the Mauritian coup,
reported reftel). However, he explained that Senegal's
"vital national security interests" were at stake when coups
take place in neighboring countries such as Guinea and
Mauritania. Nevertheless, Gadio acknowledged the
"difficulty" of Senegal's position and informally requested a
letter from Charge requesting clarification of the Senegal's
position regarding the Guinean coup in order to help Gadio
obtain permission from President Wade to issue a public
clarification reiterating Senegal's opposition to coups and
support for the African Union (AU) position. Shortly after
Charge sent the requested letter, Gadio issued a public
statement reiterating Senegal's opposition to coups. (Note:
Gadio also briefed Charge on his December 17 visit to
Mauritania. Reported septel. End Note.) End summary.

President Wade Expresses Support for Guinean Coup
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2. (U) During a December 26 press conference at the
residence of the Senegalese ambassador to France, President
Wade backed the military junta that recently took power in
Guinea. According to press reports, Wade said, "I think that
this group of soldiers deserves to be supported," following a
phone conversation with coup leader Captain Moussa Dadis
Camara. The President described Camara as an honest and
sincere young man who referred to Wade as "father," going on
to say "I call on all countries, the European Union, and in
particular France, not to throw stones, but to take this
group at their word regarding the organization of elections
and the eventual return to civilian control of the country.
Wade argued that it is not possible to organize elections in
two months as called for by the Guinean constitution,
agreeing with what he claimed the military junta stated,
that it would take at least eight months. On December 27,
Wade sent presidential adviser, Minister-Counselor Ahmed
Khalifa Niasse, as his special envoy to the junta. The
President also made a plane available to the junta for their
trip to drum up support from the governments of other
countries in the region. According to press reports, Wade
will travel to Conakry himself on December 31.

Foreign Minister Invokes National Security Interests
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3. (C) On December 26, Charge accompanied by Political
Counselor met with Foreign Minister Gadio to seek
clarification on President Wade's remarks regarding the
Guinean coup. Charge pointed out that the expression of
support was at odds with the position of the international
community in general and the AU in particular. He noted that
a pattern seemed to be emerging given previous comments Wade
made which appeared to justify and establish acceptance for
the coup in Mauritania and the support Wade showed for
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in the lead up to and
during the African Union/European Union heads of state summit.


4. (C) Gadio acknowledged frankly the difficulty of the
position that Senegal has adopted, saying that he would have
"presented this with more nuance." He insisted that
Senegal's position was not at odds with that of the AU and
that Senegal remains opposed to coups. However, Gadio
emphasized that "Guinea is not Zimbabwe. It's not thousands
of kilometers away." The Foreign Minister said that
Senegal's "vital national security interests" were at stake
in neighboring countries such as Guinea and Mauritania,
noting that many Senegalese live in or have relatives in
these countries. Accordingly, Senegal does not "want to put
gasoline on the fire."


DAKAR 00001486 002 OF 002


Coup d'Etat Merely Codifies Status Quo Under Conte
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5. (C) Gadio suggested that Guinean opponents of the
military junta (and by implication international critics)
were being somewhat disingenuous because, according to him,
the Guinean military has been in control of the country for
the past two years as a result of the long illness of
deceased President Lansana Conte. The opponents of the coup
who were members of the former president's cabinet and
entourage and the Supreme Court should have acted to enforce
the constitution and end the power vacuum created by Conte's
incapacity. Instead, they sat by and allowed the military to
take over because the military is the only functioning
government institution in the country.


6. (C) With regard to the coup itself, Gadio said Senegal
would have preferred that the Guinean President of the
National Assembly and the Supreme Court had agreed to work
with all of the country's institutions and civil society,
including the military, to achieve a consensus on how to move
forward. Unfortunately, they did nothing, resulting in the
military taking the initiative. Gadio went so far as to
wonder aloud if the political class not so secretly wanted
the military to step in, pointing out that many people had
backed the idea of a coup before Conte's death.

Senegal's Position Not Out of Step with AU
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7. (C) While expressing concern about the notion that coup
leader Camara would stay in power for two years, Gadio noted
that the AU-imposed deadline of six months for the
restoration of civilian rule was a tacit acknowledgement of
the complexity of the situation, noting that the AU could
have chosen two or three months for the deadline, but did
not. Gadio said Senegal wants to see a broad-based national
consultation in Guinea resulting in a democratic transition.

Comment: Senegal Will Not Stand on Principle with Regard to
Coups in Neighboring Countries
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8. (C) As its voting record in the UN Human Rights Council
and former UN Human Rights Commission demonstrate, Senegal is
almost always reluctant to directly condemn or single out any
country for criticism for reasons of democratic principle or
human rights (with the notable acception of Israel).
Instead, Senegal prefers to support broad principles in
general, but rely on engagement and compromise in specific
cases. Nevertheless, while Foreign Minister Gadio was
clearly embarrassed by the lack of nuance in President Wade's
remarks, he made clear that Senegal could not, in his mind,
afford to stand on principal with regard to coups in
neighboring countries. According to local political
observers the positions President Wade has taken vis-a-vis
the coups in both Mauritania and Guinea are supported by the
Senegalese people who are wary of potential conflict with
neighbors. Moreover, during his time in office, Wade has
demonstrated that he is at heart a political and diplomatic
pragmatist who is willing to befriend and trade with any
country or regime no matter how unsavory including not only
rogues such as Iran, but also true pariah states such as
North Korea, which is building Wade's massive Stalin-esque
monument in Dakar in exchange for USD 25 million in
real-estate. Gadio's protestations notwithstanding,
Senegal's opposition to coups is rhetorical at best.
SMITH
SMITH