ECOWAS: AMBASSADOR YATES MEETS WITH ECOWAS' CHAMBAS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000710

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/23/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR PU TO NI
SUBJECT: ECOWAS: AMBASSADOR YATES MEETS WITH ECOWAS' CHAMBAS

REF: A. PRAIA 65

B. ABUJA

Classified By: Political Counselor Walter N.S. Pflaumer for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: On April 21, visiting Africom Deputy
Commander Ambassador Mary Carlin Yates met with ECOWAS
President Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas to discuss regional affairs
and the next steps in cooperation between Africom and ECOWAS.
Ambassador Sanders, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political
Affairs, Peace, and Security Colonel Mahamane Toure, Poloff
(notetaker),and Marine Attache were also present. The
discussion covered Africa Command's possible plans to help
develop the maritime component of the ECOWAS Standby Force
(ESF),progress in implementing Security Sector Reform (SSR)
in Guinea-Bissau, and support for helping Togo to develop its
democratic institutions. The tone of the conversation was
warm and frank, and illustrates the incremental growth of
trust between ECOWAS and Africom. END SUMMARY.

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Maritime Security
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2. (C) On April 21, Ambassador Yates met with ECOWAS
President Mohamed Ibn Chambas to discuss recent events in
West Africa and the future of cooperation between Africa
Command and ECOWAS. In response to the admiration Ambassador
Yates expressed for the rapid ongoing formation of the ESF,
Chambas acknowledged that ECOWAS member states had a long way
to go to develop the ability to respond to the destabilizing
threats posed by illegal fishing, narcotics smuggling, and
human trafficking. Commending Ambassador Yates on the
inclusion of regional shipriders in the current visit of the
USS Nashville to the region as a part of Africa Partnership
Station (APS),Chambas expressed interest in Ambassador
Sanders' suggestion to include an ECOWAS shiprider in future
APS tours as a way of promoting the development of ESF's
maritime capabilities. Ambassador Sanders mentioned that
Post's new Naval Attache position had been created partially
with assistance to the ESF in mind, and Ambassador Yates
added that she would raise with Africom Commander General
Ward the possibility of adding an ESF member to Africom's
staff. Chambas enthusiastically affirmed the idea, and noted
his caution that the other African regional organizations
would also want a similar slot, but that ECOWAS should be
first.

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Guinea-Bissau
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3. (C) Chambas then mentioned the recent conference in Cape
Verde (reftel),designed to coordinate Security Sector Reform
(SSR) efforts for Guinea-Bissau among international donors.
He said that the time for talking was done, and that a
concrete plan of action must be drawn from the discussion.
Based on the results of a census of Guinea-Bissau's armed
forces, he anticipated the need for a "golden handshake"
retirement package and/or pension to remove from the scene
soldiers who would only hamper SSR efforts. He said that
ECOWAS had pledged 5 million dollars as seed money to any
eventual pension fund. New, ethnically balanced armed forces
could then be stood up, similar to efforts in Liberia.
Responding to Ambassador Yates' inquiry about the potential
of these ex-soldiers to create mayhem while in the pay of
Bissau's notorious narcotraffickers, Chambas somewhat
breezily dismissed that possibility, saying they would be
"sidelined, with no weapons or institutional backing." He
noted that ECOWAS has thus far pledged its support for an
action plan for Guinea-Bissau's SSR, and the expected

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substantial additional contributions from the international
community. He asked rhetorically that if Mexico and Colombia
as "capable states" could not win their drug wars, what
chance did West African states have against these same
traffickers? He also eagerly assented to Ambassador Sanders'
offer to have Post's International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement officer meet with his ECOWAS staff working on
anti-corruption issues.

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Togo
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4. (C) Finally, Chambas said that he was pleased with the
pace and direction of Togo's efforts to strengthen its
democratic institutions and move away from the military rule
of the past. He said that Togolese President Faure
Gnassingbe was a reformer who must work hard to "fight the
elements that would return Togo to its (military-dominated)
past," and said his upcoming visit on April 21 was intended
to be a show of support for the President. Togo also needs
the international community's help in SSR efforts, he noted,
saying that the situation was precarious and that Togo was
possibly still vulnerable to another coup. He hoped, though,
that those thirsting for power would realize that next year's
elections gave them the chance to vie for it legally.
Chambas agreed with Ambassador Yates that Togo had a lot of
work to do in policing its borders, especially against
Colombians who are using Togo as a narcotics smuggling base.


5. (C) COMMENT: Chambas seems to welcome what Africa Command
has to offer, and is enthusiastic to expand its role in the
region. This is a welcome change from the past two years,
when he, like many of ECOWAS member states' leaders, was
openly expressing reservations about the intentions behind
the creation of the new command. Programs like APS and the
Africa Center for Strategic Studies are showing their value
and promise hope to a region seemingly at sea in the face of
overwhelming problems. While the "Africom brand" still must
be handled with care in the region, especially in Nigeria,
the prognosis for future military cooperation is good. We
may be finally reaching the end to the West African region's
concern about the intentions of the Command and finally be on
the road to this worry being a thing of the past. END
COMMENT.


6. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Lagos.
SANDERS