PRIME MINISTER - GUINEA WILL PARTICIPATE IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000779 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV ASEC GV SUBJECT: PRIME MINISTER - GUINEA WILL PARTICIPATE IN OUAGADOUGOU Classified By: AMBASSADOR PATRICIA MOLLER FOR REASON 1.4 B/D ¶1. (U) Summary: During a December 10 meeting between the local Contact Group and Guinea's Prime Minister, the PM stated that Guinea would attend the next International Contact Group (ICG-G) meeting in Ouagadougou. His statement contradicts recent remarks by Minister of Communication, revealing internal confusion over policy. The meeting allowed the International Community to freely express its concerns over the leadership of Guinea, the security situation in Conakry, and the intimidation of journalists by the GoG. End Summary. -------------- CNDD WILL PARTICIPATE IN TALKS -------------- ¶2. (U) At a December 10 meeting at the Prime Minister's office in downtown Conakry, PM Kabine Komara told COMs from the Local Contact Group that the Government of Guinea would dispatch an eight-member team to attend the next ICG-G meeting scheduled to begin in Ouagadougou on December 13. The Prime Minister said he had personally contacted the President and Prime Minister of Burkina Faso to assure them of the Government of Guinea's attendance. He termed as "embarrassing" the December 8 statement made by the Minister of Information at the Presidency, Idrissa Cherif, announcing that the GoG would not take part in talks at Ouagadougou so long as Dadis remained hospitalized. "The ICG-G is an instrument of negotiation," the PM told the COMs. "Not to attend the talks would be an abdication on our part." COMs present included representatives of the US, UK, France, Spain, Germany, EU, AU, and ECOWAS. Guinea's Minister of Territorial Administration was also on hand. -------------- THE ARMY REACTS TO TRAGEDY -------------- ¶3. The Prime Minister attempted to put the best possible face on the recent assassination attempt against CNDD President Moussa Dadis Camara. He claimed that attempt on Dadis' life had reunited the military in a "truly inspiring way." He claimed that much of the bickering and rivalry that characterizes Guinea's armed forces had suddenly been transformed into cooperation and understanding. He noted that the decision to dispatch Dadis to Morocco had been a group decision involving the chiefs of staff, the CNDD and medical doctors from Guinea and Senegal. He went on with unabashed enthusiasm as he described daily meetings between Interim 
Head of State Sekouba Konate and Claude Pivi, Minister of Presidential Security. "I was so pleasantly surprised to hear this," he said. -------------- WHO IS AT THE HELM? -------------- ¶4. (U) He evidently expected the gathered COMs to share his wide-eyed wonder, but they didn't. They wanted to know who was running the country. They noted that Pivi had been named interim leader while Konate was rushing back to Guinea from Lebanon, but that no announcement had been made specifically naming Konate the acting head of state. The PM stated that Pivi had never been named interim leader. He also appeared evasive over any official announcement placing Konate as acting president. -------------- PROBLEMS WITH THE PRESS -------------- ¶5. (U) The Prime Minister also evaded a number of tough questions on security, by stating that the Foreign Minister would be holding a meeting of the diplomatic corps the following day, and suggested that the COMs wait until then. This did not placate the gathered ambassadors. They noted that RTG, Guinea's government radio and television station, had abandoned any pretense of even-handed journalism in order to launch vicious diatribes against the Forces Vives as well as the French Government, which it accused of having a hand in the Dadis assassination plot. COMs also noted that a number of journalists had fled the country as a result of government intimidation. The Prime Minister said only three or four journalists had fled, and emphasized that the Government of Guinea had placed no restrictions on foreign correspondents CONAKRY 00000779 002 OF 002 -------------- CRIME IN THE CITY -------------- ¶6. (U) Concerning insecurity, the Ambassador of Germany and the ECOWAS COM expressed concern over the breakdown of order among Guinean soldiers, and noted that the French Ambassador had been stopped and threatened by drunken soldiers only two days before. The Prime Minister sidestepped the issue, and turned to the attempt to kill Dadis. He stated that the Koundara military installation in downtown Conakry, where the shooting had taken place, was a lawless and renegade military establishment with no sense of respect hierarchy and authority. He then attempted the blame the crime wave of the last months on the deviant denizens of Koundara. According the PM, they were capable of anything, and many had fled with their weapons following the shooting and were still at large. He said that many people had been arrested by the security forces following the attempt on Dadis, but that the PMs office was taking the lead in ensuring that the human rights of the captives were being respected. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (C) Comment: The Prime Minister has frequently been seen as indecisive and powerless, as well as an unconvincing apologist for the CNDD. COMs applauded his decision to take the government of Guinea back to talks at Ouagadougou. Thus assured of Guinea's participation, Conakry-based COMs will depart on Friday to be present for the Sunday ICG-G meeting. Everyone understands, however, that in Guinea participation by the ruling CNDD cannot be taken for granted and that no commitment, however publicly made, is irreversible. End Comment Moller