COMPAORE BEWILDERS LOCAL CONTACT GROUP WITH CALL

S E C R E T CONAKRY 000625 SIPDIS ABUJA FOR MCCULLOUGH; OUGADOUGOU FOR LAEUCHLI E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV GV SUBJECT: COMPAORE BEWILDERS LOCAL CONTACT GROUP WITH CALL FOR POLITICAL DIALOGUE REF: CONAKRY 624 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Kent C. Brokenshire for Reason 1.4 B/D ¶1. (S) Summary: President Compaore's call for a resumption of dialogue between CNDD president Dadis Camara and political actors struck the Local Contact Group in Conakry as ill-advised and naive. Compaore made his appeal despite hearing numerous statements from foreign Chiefs of Missions arguing that no dialogue is possible following the September 28 massacre and systematic rape of women at the stadium. Two COMs made clear that Dadis must leave. Compaore's conciliatory offer of mediation also undercut a pointed US message delivered the same day directly to Dadis urging his resignation and departure from Guinea (Reftel). End Summary ¶2. (U) President of Burkina Faso Blaise Compaore, the AU/ECOWAS-appointed mediator for Guinea, told the Local Contact Group on October 5 that he intended to restart political dialogue between CNDD president Dadis Camara and the country's political players. The goal of such an initiative, he said, is to resolve the current political impasse and eventually open the way for elections. He noted that dialogue was a necessary element in any durable resolution. "We must find a common road," he said. ¶3. (C) To the gathered COMs, Compaore's approach seemed both naive and futile. The local contact group had attempted such an approach in January shortly after Dadis seized power, but had abandoned the strategy by June after it became apparent that Dadis was not interested in any meaningful political dialogue that would lead to elections. "This is going back to square one," quipped the British Ambassador. ¶4. (C) One after another, the COMs of the nations and institutions represented in the local group explained to Compaore that the stadium massacre of September 28 had completely changed the political dynamic, and so horrified the population that political dialogue with the junta was no longer possible. The CNDD has decisively lost whatever credibility it may have had. The Ambassadors of Spain and Germany stated that the military was the Guinean public's greatest enemy, and that Dadis must depart. Their comments drew wide agreement in the group. The Local Contact Group will meet October 8 to come up with a common response. ¶5. (S) The schedule for Compaore's October 5 visit included two meetings with Dadis, one following Compaore's arrival in the morning, and one just prior to his departure in the evening. Between these encounters, Dadis met with DAS William Fitzgerald who delivered a direct message from the Department and White House (Reftel) urging Dadis' resignation from office and departure from the country as the surest means of assuring an effective transition toward democracy. With Compaore offering dialogue, and the US demanding departure, Dadis will likely opt to pursue the former. ¶6. (U) DAS Fitzgerald cleared on this cable. BROKENSHIRE