Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BRAZZAVILLE207
2009-07-08 15:37:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Brazzaville
Cable title:  

CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE: CAMPAIGN UPDATE, 8 JULY

Tags:  PGOV PHUM CF 
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P 081537Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1472
INFO AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
AFRICOM
AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS PRIORITY 
USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY 0028
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE
UNCLAS BRAZZAVILLE 000207 

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR AF/C

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM CF
SUBJECT: CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE: CAMPAIGN UPDATE, 8 JULY

Opposition Games

UNCLAS BRAZZAVILLE 000207

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR AF/C

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM CF
SUBJECT: CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE: CAMPAIGN UPDATE, 8 JULY

Opposition Games


1. (SBU) The Opposition Front on July 7 held its biggest rally in Brazzaville so far outside the Massamba-Debat Stadium not far from the Embassy. Police estimated the crowd to number 700-800, while FSN poloff who was present put the figure at about 1,000. Although all three Front candidates were present on the dias, Mathias Dzon stood out as by far the most prominent-he was the only candidate to speak, and he spoke before a crowd that was mostly wearing Dzon hats and T-shirts. This was the first time
we had seen large numbers of opposition supporters wearing clothes emblazoned with images of their candidates.


2. (SBU) Dzon in his speech repeated the Opposition's call for a delay in the elections and for a "concertation" of all the presidential candidates to take place before the election in order to assess the conditions for a free, fair election and recommend measures to fix the process. Though Dzon called for
the elections to be delayed, he made no threat to boycott. He also asked supporters to refrain from protests in the street and from any action that could be considered provocative or threatening to social peace. Instead, he said supporters should stay at home and, starting at 5am on July 8, make noise by
banging together pots and pans ("concert des casseroles"). None of the Americans or local staff heard any evidence of the "concert."


3. (SBU) FSN political assistant late on July 7 was told by Dzon spokesman Jean Keba that the government had agreed to postpone the elections. Supposedly, the announcement is to be made
today, July 8, after a meeting between the police leadership and the presidential candidates to discuss how to avoid violence and disorder where the. Comment: This makes no sense. The entire government from the president on down has been consistently repeating that the elections will go forward on schedule on July 12. We can only guess-perhaps elements in the opposition were gripped by a strong case of wishful thinking or were trying to manipulate us into making an inappropriate statement or action. End Comment.

Violence: So Far, So Good


4. (SBU) The opposition political rally and concurrent Sassou concert/rally of July 7 passed without incident-no one hurt and no arrests. Though the widespread fear of violence has caused an unknown, but not insignificant, number of Congolese to move out of areas feared to be dangerous, so far the campaign has been remarkably peaceful. Police expect political passions-and therefore the potential for violence-to peak during the last two to three days of the campaign. Nonetheless, police contacts

have consistently reassured RSO FSN assistant that with some 20,000 security force personnel mobilized throughout the country they will be able to handle to keep the lid on. Similarly, the Minister of Territorial Administration on July 7 told the diplomatic corps "the catastrophic scenario does not exist."


5. (SBU) Comment: We are continuing to keep an eye out, but the lack of violence so far is striking. We were never expecting violence at a level of 1997 or 2002 owing to the government's large deployment of security forces and its monopoly on the means of violence as compared with the situation during the
earlier elections. The major militias that threatened the peace in past years are now disbanded and their leaders on the government's side. Moreover, the population is war weary-far more interested in getting out of harm's way than in looking for trouble. No one heard pots and pans banging early this
morning-another good sign. But we have been expecting at least a little trouble and are pleasantly surprised at the calm, so far.

Government to Diplomats: This Will Work


6. (SBU) Minister of Foreign Affairs Basile Ikouebe convoked Ambassador for a one-on-one session on July 8, the day after Ikouebe and Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization Mboulou briefed the diplomatic corps on the election. In both meetings the message was clear: the elections will go ahead; Congo has managed elections before and knows how to make this work; the voter rolls and election procedures are not perfect but dead people will not vote; some opposition candidates are cultivating ties with foreigners in order to "manipulate the opinion" of the population so people
will stay away from the polls, leave their homes and engage in civil disobedience; the police will maintain the peace and protect embassies.


7. (SBU) Ikouebe was particularly curious about opposition candidate Mathias Dzon's June 23-25 visit to the US and especially his meeting at the State Department. He told Ambassador that since his US visit Dzon has been telling people that he has the "backing of the US." Ikouebe fully understands that our door is always open for peaceful opposition figures to visit and emphasized that Dzon is exaggerating what occurred in the US as a motivational talking point for his militants.


8. (SBU) In the one-on-one, the Ambassador told Ikouebe that both the government and the opposition had made mistakes. Among them: the opposition had failed to push the government at the beginning of the process in November last year and lacked unity and a coherent campaign platform. The government, however, had also erred, in particular by failing to offer a precise explanation in response to opposition allegations of vote padding, by establishing a procedure that effectively disenfranchised the UPADS when its candidate was disqualified after the filing deadline, and in the lack of transparency
around campaign spending, where one candidate seems to enjoy a tremendous financial advantage.

EASTHAM