NIGERIA-CAMEROON: BAKASSI HANDOVER - A WEDDING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 YAOUNDE 000817 SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/W, AF/C, INR/AA DOE FOR GEORGE PERSON E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/13/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV PBTS PHSA CM NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA-CAMEROON: BAKASSI HANDOVER - A WEDDING AND A FUNERAL REF: A. ABUJA 01526 (NOTAL) ¶B. STATE 086216 (NOTAL) Classified By: CDA STEPHEN FOX FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) Summary: The handover of final control of the Bakassi Peninsula from Nigeria to Cameroon took place in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, on August 14 as scheduled, amid tight but spotty security and obviously poor coordination between the two governments. It was clearly a difficult ceremony for the Nigerians, but one of great national pride for the Cameroonians. Cameroon,s official response has been muted, focusing on the event as the next step in the legal process that resulted from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision of 2002 and the Greentree Agreement of 2006. The two national delegations were headed by their respective Justice Ministers, who have led the negotiations; the UN was represented by former USG for Political Affairs Sir Kieran Prendergast, who will head the follow-up commission. End Summary. No Love Lost -------------- ¶2. (C) Throughout the trip to Calabar, poor communication between the governments of Cameroon and Nigeria was evident. The Cameroonians told the Embassy repeatedly that our representatives would not need visas; when we arrived, the Director of Border Security came to our hotel to summon the U.S. representatives (Charge and defense attache) back to the airport for lack of visas. The problem was solved within 15 minutes, but not before the Director raised it with the Minister of Interior, who had to get authorization specifically from President Yar,Adua. The following morning, the Cameroonian Consul General in Calabar (and Ambassador-designate to the U.S.) expressed outrage to us that we had been &summoned off by armed men.8 We reassured him of completely professional treatment by the Nigerian government. (Comment: we attribute the incident most likely to inadequate communication between the two sides as to what constituted visa requirements for the &Cameroonian delegation8 and a literal-minded working level immigration official handling the stack of passports. End Comment). ¶3. (C) Later that evening, the Cameroonians invited the Yaounde-based representatives of the witness states (U.S. plus the German Charge) to join them at the Consul General,s residence for dinner. At the last minute, they canceled the invitation to the residence for all and moved the dinner to the restaurant at the hotel. (Comment: Given the security concerns, any event at a location as prominent and obvious as the CG,s residence was questionable from the outset and it is doubtful that had the Government of Nigeria (GON) been aware of it they would have let it be scheduled. End Comment.) Ceremony Marked by Clear Lack of Coordination -------------- ¶4. (C) The Cameroonian delegation told us as we prepared to leave the hotel that the caravan would stop en route to the site of the ceremony at an intermediate location to wait until time to begin and would meet the representatives of the British and French governments at the intermediate location. The convoy actually proceeded directly to the banquet hall in the Governor,s residence complex and was joined shortly afterwards by the British High Commissioner and French Ambassador from Abuja. Plans to use this location clearly had been made well in advance, as there was a TV satellite truck parked in front, with dozens of press representatives awaiting the arrival of the delegations. The Cameroonian delegation was held at the Governor,s mansion; when the mistress of ceremonies announced that the ceremony was delayed by &the late arrival of one of the delegations,8 a rumor circulated that it was because the Cameroonian delegation was demanding assurances that the last of the Nigerian security forces had left Bakassi. They later denied that this was the case and complained that they had been left in the dark and not contacted. ¶5. (C) The ceremony began at 11:35 a.m. (95 minutes after YAOUNDE 00000817 002 OF 003 scheduled time) with the playing of both national anthems ) but without either delegation in the room. Shortly thereafter, the delegations, headed by Nigerian Attorney General (AG) Michael Aondoakaa and Government of Cameroon (GRC) Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Amadou Ali, joined the UN representatives, Sir Kieran Prendergast and Said Djinnit, onstage. Security officers ) menacingly dressed in black, wearing sunglasses in the relatively dim room, and with automatic weapons across their chests ) attempted to keep the press off the stage at the beginning of the ceremony with some success. Remarks Highlight Difficulties, Symbolism -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Said Djinnit, UN representative to the Mixed Commission that has managed the lead-up to the event, highlighted the &remarkable foresight and unrelenting efforts8 of the two governments that created &yet another milestone in cooperation.8 He also cited great progress in demarcating the land border between Cameroon and Nigeria that is also part of the process. &As an African, I think we should all take pride in this. Most borders in Africa have not been marked yet.8 He also promised that the people of Bakassi &will not be left behind.8 ¶7. (SBU) Nigerian AG Aondoakaa,s remarks were notable for the tone. He &specially welcome(d) the representative of the United Nations Secretary General and the entire UN delegation,8 but only noted that &I must also welcome the delegation of the government of Cameroon,8 characterizing his role as being &saddled with the painful but most important task of completing the . . . handing over (the) Bakassi peninsula to the government and people of Cameroon. As painful as it is, we have a responsibility to the International Community to promote international peace and cooperation and advance the cause of African brotherhood and good neighborliness. Most importantly however, this is President Umaru Musa Yar,Adua,s practical demonstration of his administration,s total commitment to the rule of law.8 He reviewed steps the GON has taken to address economic and resettlement concerns of those residents of Bakassi who wished to return to Nigeria and concluded with thanks to Cameroonian, UN and witness state officials. ¶8. (C) Security officers, who had been front and center during Aondoakaa,s remarks, backed away during those by Cameroon,s Minister Delegue for Justice (No. 2 to Justice Minister Ali) Maurice Kamto; Ali does not speak English and no translation was provided. Kamto thanked the GON for &its warm welcome,8 noting that the ceremony was on Nigerian soil. He paid &profound homage to the two architects of the Greentree Agreement, Presidents Obasanjo and Biya,8 noting particularly the courage and foresight of Obasanjo and UNSYG Kofi Annan. He expressed the hope that the agreement would inaugurate a long period of peace between the two countries and reassured the residents of Bakassi that the GRC would meet their basic human needs. He concluded, &Long live fraternity between Nigeria and Cameroon. Long live international peace and security.8 ¶9. (SBU) Sir Kieran Prendergast read a short personal message from UNSYG Ban Ki-Moon, which characterized Greentree as &testimony to the political will of the two governments to move beyond a difficult past.8 Signing ) Crowd Control Breaks Down -------------- ¶10. (C) As the ceremony moved to conclusion, with the signing of the document and exchange of flags, security onstage collapsed, with TV and newspaper reporters flooding the stage, blocking each other from view, and completely obscuring the stage for observers. Observer states, representatives had to press through the crowd and lean over the table to sign the multiple copies of the document that were passed around. No one save the most aggressive of journalists (and perhaps television audiences) could see the symbolic exchange of flags that was to have capped the ceremony. YAOUNDE 00000817 003 OF 003 ¶11. (C) After short consultations between the two delegations in a separate building, the Cameroonians departed the compound in a security convoy with the Nigerian delegation, but at the first intersection outside the compound headed a different direction - with no security ) to the airport. Letting Their Hair Down, Finally -------------- ¶12. (C) The flight back to Yaounde was markedly different than the previous day,s activities had been. Delegates were animated and excited; Minister Ali was joking and drinking champagne at the front of the plane. As the plane touched down in Yaounde, passengers broke into a round of applause and an emotional chorus of the Cameroonian national anthem. That night, though, on television, Kamto was sober and conciliatory in his discussion of the day,s events. He cited the political difficulties the process had presented for Nigeria, the challenges of integrating Bakassi into the country, and the need for Cameroon to improve security without alienating the population. Twice when reporters tried to suggest that this was a victory for Cameroon over Nigeria, he refused to be goaded, characterizing it as a victory for both countries and for Africa. Comment -------------- ¶13. (C) As the reaction when the plane touched down ) and Friday,s newspaper headlines in Yaounde and Douala ) demonstrated, this agreement was a significant boost to national pride for Cameroon. The government,s sober public statements are being carefully crafted to avoid alienating their powerful neighbor again as much as to help ease their assumption of control of Bakassi. They know there is a long and difficult process ahead to assert real control, and that they will need cooperation from Nigeria to succeed. The repeated breakdowns of security and the most basic communication between the governments during the orchestration of the ceremony demonstrate just how far they have to go. FOX