THE "PEACE AND ZEN" MAN: AN INSIDER'S TAKE ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABIDJAN 000214


STATE FOR INR - BGRAVES

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2019
TAGS: PGOV PINR ECON IV
SUBJECT: THE "PEACE AND ZEN" MAN: AN INSIDER'S TAKE ON
PRESIDENT GBAGBO

REF: A. ABIDJAN 197

B. ABIDJAN 166



1. (C) SUMMARY: President Gbagbo's legal advisor (and
goddaughter) reveals a different side of Cote d'Ivoire's most
senior statesman and political figure, painting him as a man
of "peace and zen" who prefers to focus on the intellectual,
theoretical side of politics and leave the everyday matters
of state management to his subordinates. END SUMMARY


2. (C) Poloff had lunch with Geraldine Odehouri-Brou,
President Gbagbo's legal advisor and goddaughter, on March

26. Brou, a young lawyer in her late thirties, was tapped to
serve as the president's legal advisor two months after the
Ouagadougou Political Agreement (OPA) was signed in March

2007. Her position was formerly occupied by Desire Tagro,
who subsequently became Minister of Interior. Since May
2007, Brou has worked with President Gbagbo on a daily basis
and has accompanied him to all international meetings on the
peace process, including those facilitated by Burkinabe
President Blaise Compaore. She also advises Gbagbo on texts,
decrees, and political agreements - including revisions made
to the OPA.


THOSE IN THE KNOW
--------------

3. (C) Brou says Gbagbo has two circles of advisers: the
inner circle -- and everyone else. His group of advisers as
a whole is similar to "a mini Cote d'Ivoire," she said, with
all ethnic groups, religions, and interest groups
represented. When Gbagbo meets with his advisers to discuss
their concerns, Brou says he usually listens as everyone
thrashes out issues and then abruptly concludes meetings.
During these sessions, he does not reveal his thoughts on the
matters discussed or dictate how he would like issues to be
resolved. Occasionally, a few weeks may even go by before
Gbagbo will again discuss the issues raised in the meeting.
When he does, however, his mind has usually been made up -
much to the consternation of some of his advisers.


4. (C) Brou says this style of presidential management
"drives some of his advisers crazy," because extremely urgent
and pressing issues are not immediately dealt with. Many
advisers have tried to hurry the president along in making
decisions - particularly when it comes to urgent, "burning"
issues - to no avail. Brou attributes this to Gbagbo's
personality: she calls him a "peace and zen" man who is
unperturbed by urgency and the need to respond quickly in
particular situations. The president prefers to take his own
time to come to a decision, she says, and is often stubborn
about following his advisers' recommendations. For this
reason, Gbagbo has a reputation of "not listening to his
advisers," says Brou.


MANAGING THE PRESS AND THE PUBLIC
--------------

5. (C) This belief (that advice falls on deaf ears) is not
entirely deserved, says Brou. Gbagbo is just particularly
intransigent on taking advice regarding matters that he deems
to be of minor importance, she explained. For example,
Gbagbo has repeatedly rebuffed the advice of many of his
advisers to have a full-time communications advisor (similar
to Alain Lobognon in the Prime Minister's Office). Even when
the press publishes negative stories, inaccuracies, or
outright lies, Brou says that Gbagbo is not the slightest bit
concerned and feels no need to respond publicly to explain
his point of view. "He simply doesn't care when they print
completely fabricated stories," she said.


6. (C) Gbagbo also feels little need to take full advantage
of the press as a means of communicating with the public.
Brou says the president prefers to speak to the press "only
when he has resolved or concluded something" and feels there
is little point in constantly explaining his position at
every slight turn of events. For example, when the ComZone
handover ceremony schedule for March 4 was postponed (reftel
B),Gbagbo did not feel it was necessary to explain his
version of why the event did not take place. He told Brou:
"Why explain? The people obviously know the handover did not
take place. I will speak when I have something to say."


7. (C) Although the president pays little attention to the
press, however, this is not to say that he pays little
attention to the public. The president is "brilliant" at
deciphering the unique psychology of the Ivoirian people,
says Brou, and has an extremely nuanced and intuitive
understanding of what motivates, irritates, and moves his
fellow countrymen.


CONSPIRACY THEORIES
--------------

8. (C) Because Gbagbo has not taken more advantage of the
press to explain his positions, however, Brou says the public
and the international community have a very skewed view on
how much power and influence he actually wields. Many events
seemingly ordered by the president are not at all directed by
the presidency, she says. For example, Brou said the
president was unaware that the National Army (FANCI) had
decided to detain Kobena Anaky for questioning after the
small opposition party leader made inflammatory remarks on a
national television program (reftel A). The president only
learned about Anaky's detention after it had already taken
place, and Brou says that FANCI did not consult with Gbagbo
on the matter beforehand.


9. (C) Brou also cited the case of Nouveau Reveil
journalist Nanankouah Gnamanteh, who is currently being tried
for publishing a newspaper article critical of President
Gbagbo. The president did not order Gnamanteh's arrest, Brou
said; the public prosecutor took it upon himself to invoke
legal proceedings against the journalist, whom he said had
violated the penal code. Although Gbagbo was again urged by
his advisers to publicly respond to these recent events
(either by press release or interview),he did not feel it
was necessary to do so.


MANAGING THE STATE, PRESIDENTIAL STYLE
--------------

10. (C) When it comes to managing his subordinates, Brou
says that many of Gbagbo's advisers feel he is "too liberal"
in his management style. Brou and other advisors find it
frustrating that the president is a hands-off manager who
leaves his subordinates alone until they give him a reason to
step in and exert his authority. The president will only
intervene, she says, when someone "really messes up and there
is a big problem." It is not in his nature to pro-actively
manage issues or preempt problems, she said.


11. (C) Brou says that one subject the president is
passionately interested in is politics - particularly when it
comes to comparing the intricacies and nuances of political
theories and systems. When Poloff asked Brou if this
interest extends to economic issues, Brou replied that the
economy is only interesting to the president in how it
relates to politics. Gbagbo's biggest concern at the moment,
she said, is not the state of the economy, but how the
ComZone handover is going to be carried out.


12. (C) COMMENT: Brou's depiction of the president as a
"peace and zen" man is a far cry from the long-held view of
the Ivoirian political class, who see President Gbagbo as a
kind of Machiavellian puppetmaster continually plotting and
orchestrating events behind the scenes. They would not
accept Brou's contention that events seemingly ordered by the
president are carried out without his knowledge. Opposition
party leaders told Emboff, for example, that FANCI Chief of
Staff General Mangou could never have ordered Anaky's arrest
without first consulting Gbagbo or at least being sure that
Gbagbo would support this action. These two views of the
president, however, may not necessarily be mutually
exclusive. If Gbagbo is as Brou describes, he could be using
this hands-off approach as a calculated political ploy to
distance himself from potential political minefields. END
COMMENT


NESBITT