JOURNALISTS ACCEPT MONEY FROM DADIS

UNCLAS CONAKRY 000258

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KPAO XY GV
SUBJECT: JOURNALISTS ACCEPT MONEY FROM DADIS


1. Summary: After a story appeared on the website Aminata.com
claiming that the President of the CNDD, Dadis Camara, met with
several journalists and handed out large sums of money, public
affairs staff contacted several journalists to get to the bottom of
the story. There are conflicting accounts on why the meeting was
called and who received payments, but it is clear that several
leading journalists did receive payments of $2,000 from the junta
leader. End summary.



2. On April 27, 2009, a group of Guinean journalists met with
Captain Dadis Camara at Camp Alpha Yaya. Conflicting reports emerged
from this meeting over why it was called and who received payments.
One of the participants said that Dadis announced a meeting with
private media as early as February but that meeting was cancelled.
This meeting was a result of that original communique but was called
hastily so not everyone was aware of it. Other sources say the
meeting had nothing to do with the February communique but was
called by Thierno Bah of Le Dfis newspaper. Another source said
Dadis himself called the meeting to talk about the negative coverage
he was receiving from some of the press. One reporter who covered
the meeting said that a member of l'Association Guineenne des
Editeurs de la Presse Independante (AGEPI) who is close to Dadis
called the meeting in order to help Dadis get his message out.


3. All sources agree that Dadis handed out cash to at least some of
the participants in the amount of 10,000,000 Guinean francs each,
approximately $2,000 US. One reason for the conflicting accounts is
that Dadis met with the journalists in small groups, so not everyone
saw who got the money. Nor is it certain that he delivered the same
message. Some sources say that everyone received the money, while
others say that the international correspondents and the director of
Le Lynx/La Lance refused the money. (Note: The correspondents of
BBC, RFI, and West Africa Democracy Radio all say that they left the
meeting before the money was handed out and did not receive any
money. They have asked Aminata.com to clarify that on the website.
Mr. Diallo is out of the country and could not be reached.) Dadis
told the journalists present that the money was intended as a gift.
According to one source, the average salary of a news director at a
newspaper is 7,500,000 GNF, about $1,500 US a year.

The participating journalists were as follows:

--Thierno Bah, Le Dfis newspaper
--Mori Fofana, AGEPI (Association of Independent Guinean Press)
--Moussa Ibn Cont, vice president of AGEPI and Director of La
Nouvelle newspaper
--Souleymane Diallo, Director of Le Lynx/La Lance newspapers
--Fagnimba Sayon Cond, Director of La Croisade newspaper
--Hassane Kaba, Director of Le Standard newspaper
--Gil Mori Cond, l'Enquteur newspaper
--Baila Bah, La Verit newspaper
--Alpha Camara, L'Observateur newspaper and Bloomberg correspondent
--Fidel Momou, FreeLance (former Director of L'Enquteur)
--Aminata Camara, Reporter at Guineeactuelle
--Goumass Daff, Director of Gnouma Magazine
--Amadou Diallo, correspondent of BBC Afrique
--Mouctar Bah, correspondent of RFI/AFP
--Abdourahmane Diallo, Correspondent of West African Democracy
Radio
--Ben Daouda Sylla, Correspondent of Africa #1



4. Comment: It is a common practice in Guinea for politicians and
officials to pay off journalists and editors to receive positive
coverage in their newspapers. Some of the newspapers represented at
this meeting had been critical of Dadis after he indicated that he
might run for President. What is more disturbing is the presence of
so many senior correspondents and some of the more respected Guinean
journalists, such as Souleymane Diallo, who has written a book on
ethics for Guinean journalists. Even though they may not all have
accepted the money, their reputations could be tainted.



5. It has been speculated that this could be an attempt to curry
favor with the media in case Dadis does decide to run for President.
Even though he has stated to the international community that he
does not intend to run, he is more ambiguous when dealing with the
public. It should also be noted that none of the private radio
stations were invited to this meeting. If Dadis wants to curry
favor with the media it is odd that he would not include the media
that reaches by far the largest audience in Guinea. End comment.
RASPOLIC