ARRESTS, APPOINTMENTS, AND MACHINATIONS: A

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CONAKRY 000110 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL GV SUBJECT: ARRESTS, APPOINTMENTS, AND MACHINATIONS: A POLITICAL ROUNDUP FOR 27 JANUARY TO 17 FEBRUARY REF: A. CONAKRY 88 ¶B. CONAKRY 93 Classified By: A/POLCHIEF T. SCOTT BROWN FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (U) SUMMARY. Politics in Guinea continue to be fluid since the coup d'etat on 23 December 2008. Given these circumstances, post will transmit as needed roundups of presidential appointments, military arrests, and any other political machinations. This roundup covers the period between 27 January to 18 February, and includes a host of almost daily CNDD announcements and presidential appearances between 2 February and 9 February. END SUMMARY. -------------- -------------- CNDD MEMBERS CONFIDES THAT MANY ARE EMBARRASSED BY DADIS -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) CNDD member Alpha Yaya Diallo told Pol LES on 4 February that many CNDD members are increasingly embarrassed by CNDD President Moussa Dadis Camara. Before his appointment to the CNDD, Diallo was a long-time Embassy contact at the Bureau of Customs. Dadis named Diallo as the Deputy Director of Customs the week of 2 February. ¶3. (C) According to Diallo, Dadis' declarations and appointments have been problematic for some CNDD members. He said that Dadis' public replacement of the Customs Director (ref A) was not well received by civil servants within Customs. Diallo told Pol LES that the presidential decree appointing the new director had not been signed as of 4 February, and that officials are divided, some in support of the new director, others in support of the former director. ¶4. (C) Diallo described how during his visit, Dadis had publicly reproached a female Customs employee for having divorced her husband. Diallo said that many female Customs employees were offended and viewed Dadis' comments as a very public encroachment on individual privacy. -------------- IS DADIS USING COCAINE? -------------- ¶5. (C) Dadis' erratic behavior at public gatherings has led several foreign observers to suspect that he is possibly under the influence of cocaine. Observers note Dadis' brief disappearances during public gatherings followed by an apparent personality change upon his return as possible evidence that Dadis is indulging in cocaine during these absences. His behavior during the contact group meeting was particularly worrisome (septel). -------------- DADIS TO PRESIDE OVER CABINET MEETINGS -------------- ¶6. (U) Dadis Camara announced on 5 February that effective immediately, he would personally chair the weekly cabinet meeting. As the Prime Minister traditionally presides over the meeting, many contacts perceive Dadis' announcement as further evidence of the PM's lack of authority. -------------- FORMER PM FALL QUITS U.N. MISSION IN BANGUI -------------- ¶7. (C) Francois Fall, a former prime minister who served just two months in that position in 2004 and who currently heads a U.N. mission to Bangui, reportedly planned to inform his organization on 17 February that he would resign and return to Guinea on or about 1 March. Earlier this month, Fall suggested to Charge that he planned to return to Conakry in June to form his own political party and enter the political arena (ref B). -------------- CNDD APPOINTS SEVERAL PROVINCIAL PREFECTS -------------- ¶8. (U) Per presidential decree on 1 February, Dadis Camara appointed new prefects in two provincial cities. In Dubreka, a provincial city in Maritime Guinea 25 kilometers from Conakry, the president appointed Lieutenant Mamadou Bondabon Camara, who served previously as an army inspector. In CONAKRY 00000110 002 OF 003 N'Zerekore, the provincial capital of Guinea's Forest Region, civil servant Ibrahima Sylla II replaced Colonel Bourema Conde, who was reassigned to active-duty military service. -------------- CNDD TO SEND MINISTERIAL DELEGATIONS TO NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES -------------- ¶9. (U) The CNDD on 9 February announced that the Guinean Government will send ministerial delegations to Senegal, Mali, and Burkina Faso to conduct "case studies" on democracy and governance. -------------- CNDD HOLDS 40TH DAY SERVICE FOR CONTE -------------- ¶10. (SBU) The CNDD held services on 6 February to mark the 40th day after the late Lansana Conte's death in the former president's home village of Lansanya. The former First Lady Henriette Conte, along with Conte's third wife Hadja Asmaou Conte, received guests. CNDD Vice President and Minister of Security Toto Camara represented the junta and praised Conte for his good deeds, humanism, and tolerance. The Presidents of Mali and Guinea-Bissau attended the ceremony and gave brief, positive remarks. Also in attendance were five of Conte's ex-prime ministers--Lamine Sidime, Sidya Toure, Francois Fall, Cello Dallein Diallo, and Lansana Kouyate--and many other ministers who served under the former president. Both Muslim and Christian leaders organized religious aspects of the event. Conte's controversial fourth wife who was allegedly the source of much political intrigue late in Conte's presidency, Kadiatou Seth Conte, reportedly did not attend the ceremony. -------------- CNDD ARRESTS FORMER MINISTER TIBOU CAMARA -------------- ¶11. (U) On 15 February, security forces arrested former Minister of Communication Tibou Camara, who served in ex-President Lansana Conte's final government under Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare. Soldiers reportedly arrested Camara for economic crimes and are holding him at Camp Alpha Yaya. In the weeks leading up to the 23 December coup d'etat, several press reports had accused Camara of embezzling state funds. ¶12. (U) Three days earlier on 12 February, Camara had tried to flee the country with the First Lady of the Gambia, who had come to Guinea for a ceremony honoring Guinea's late president. Camara, the Gambian first lady's brother-in-law, supposedly disguised himself in Mauritanian dress and covered the lower part of his face to sneak onto the plane. According to sources, the plane had already taxied onto the runway when air controllers refused takeoff clearance. Immigration authorities then boarded the plane to seize Camara, who offered no resistance. Though the Gambian first lady protested, an immigration officer reportedly told her that "all former ministers are forbidden to leave the country," and that Camara "would not be allowed an exception." -------------- PIVI ARRESTS PRESIDENT OF DIAMOND ASSOCIATION -------------- ¶13. (U) On 1 February, former mutiny leader and Minister of Presidential Security Claude Pivi arrested El Hadj Daouda Cisse, president of Guinea's association of diamond miners, for his involvement in the disappearance of 500 carats of the precious stones 15 years ago. A source close to Cisse explained that the case had been tried years ago and that Cisse had been acquitted of any involvement. However, the source continued: "But, you know, when it's Pivi, only President Dadis can do anything. Also, Pivi demanded GNF 100 million (about $22,000) for his release." As of 18 February, Embassy could not confirm if authorities continued to hold Cisse in custody. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶14. (C) Embassy continues to observe widespread popular CONAKRY 00000110 003 OF 003 support for Dadis Camara, despite internal embarrassment among CNDD members. The junta leader's decision to preside over cabinet meetings, coupled with his ongoing shift of cabinet posts from the Prime Minister's office to the Presidential Palace, suggests that the PM is now almost completely irrelevant in the political process. While the CNDD continues to arrest "economic predators" such as Tibou Camara, no system has yet been put in place to try them for their alleged crimes, raising concerns of indefinite detention and possible human rights violations. END COMMENT. RASPOLIC