GUINEA-BISSAU FEBRUARY 2009 SCENESETTER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DAKAR 000217 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR AF/RSA, AF/W PARIS FOR DEA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL XY PU SUBJECT: GUINEA-BISSAU FEBRUARY 2009 SCENESETTER ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Guinea-Bissau remains at risk of becoming a narco-state. It has become one of the transit points of choice for South American drug traffickers. Its extreme poverty and lack of law enforcement and judicial capacity make it particularly attractive and vulnerable to infiltration and exploitation by narcotics traffickers and other forms of organized crime and, potentially, terrorists. In addition, the country is in urgent need of security sector and public sector reform. The armed forces, which are dominated by one ethnic group, former independence fighters, and participants in the 1998 civil war, will need to be completely restructured. The public sector is too large and the government is unable to pay civil servant salaries. The recently elected Prime Minister seems committed to tackling these issues with the support of the international community. However, he is at odds with the President and members of his own party in the National Assembly. Although his party dominates the legislature, there is a risk that the government could fall in the near term. END SUMMARY. Fragile Democracy at Risk of Becoming a Narco-State -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Your visit to Guinea-Bissau comes at a critical time. The country is struggling to consolidate its fragile progress toward full democratization, reform its security and law enforcement sectors, as well as the rest of the public sector, and combat the growing influence of narcotics traffickers. Current President Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira returned to power in a peaceful election in 2005 and Guinea-Bissau took another tentative step toward political stability by holding successful, free, and fair legislative elections in November 2008, which led to the re-installation of Carlos Gomes Junior as Prime Minister in January 2009. The political party of Gomes, or "Cadogo" as he is known, has a majority of 67 in the 100-member National Assembly. As a result, Gomes, who has a strong counter-narcotics and human rights background, has a mandate to exercise the necessary political will to lead the government's most serious counter-narcotics and security sector reform efforts to date. Over the past four years, the United States has supported President Vieira's episodic attempts to strengthen democracy. ¶3. (SBU) Guinea-Bissau's relatively short history has been conflict-ridden and characterized by coups, but it successfully elected a new President in 2005 and changed governments in April 2007 via a constitutional and peaceful vote in the National Assembly. Led by former Prime Minister Martinho N'Dafa Cabi, the government improved public finance accountability, restarted IMF post-conflict assistance loans, and achieved modest success reaching out to the international community for help in fighting drug trafficking. Unfortunately, political struggles within the National Assembly distracted elected officials from overseeing government expenditures and producing legislation to tackle the difficult problems facing Guinea-Bissau, in particular the reform of its security and public sectors. In a country with no industry and few business opportunities, most elites, like the rest of the population, see government as the only viable employer. This problem is compounded by an outsized military composed disproportionately of officers who are also veterans of the 1998 civil war. The result is a political process intensely focused on self-interest and survival rather than political, social, or economic development, making government and military officials particularly vulnerable to the temptation of narcotics-fueled corruption. Newly-Elected Prime Minister off to Shaky Start -------------- ¶4. (SBU) While Guinea-Bissau continued to make considerable, if halting, progress in consolidating its democracy with the successful 2008 legislative elections, which Embassy Dakar officers observed as a part of the UN's official observer mission, Prime Minister Gomes does not have as strong a mandate as election results suggest. The Prime Minister and President dislike each other intensely and have been at loggerheads in the past regarding the proper role (and authority) of their respective offices. Gomes is also feuding with members of his own party in the National Assembly as a result of personal grievances and complaints about cabinet and government appointments. As a result, the Prime Minister has been forced to rely on the opposition to elect his candidate for chair of the National Assembly and the government's program, leading many to speculate that the government might fall in the near future in spite of the ruling party's overwhelming majority in the National Assembly. DAKAR 00000217 002 OF 003 President and Military Chief of Staff at Odds -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In addition to his conflict with the Prime Minister, the relationship between President Vieira and Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Tagme Na Wai is another source of political instability in Guinea-Bissau. The two were on opposite sides during the civil war and have a troubled personal relationship, although it was Na Wai who facilitated the return of Vieira from his exile in Guinea in 2005. Following the legislative elections, a group of dissidents in the military attempted to assassinate the President. While it is still unclear who is responsible (most point the finger toward former President Kumba Yala or former Naval Chief of Staff Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchute, who has been heavily implicated in narcotics trafficking) it is widely believed that Na Wai's efforts to defend the President were lackluster. This led President Vieira to create a presidential security detail of loyalists under the auspices of the Ministry of the Interior. However, Na Wai's subsequent objection resulted in the force being disbanded almost immediately. Geography Plus Poverty Makes Guinea-Bissau a Traffickers' Paradise -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Guinea-Bissau is one of the poorest, least-developed countries in the world. It ranked 171 out of 177 countries in the 2008 Human Development Index and has a virtually unpoliced archipelago consisting of more than 90 islands. This unprotected coastline and unregulated Exclusive Economic Zone is a haven for narcotics trafficking, due to an utter lack of law enforcement and security capacity in terms of both human and material resources. The economy has never recovered from the effects of the civil war, leaving the government unable to pay public sector salaries. As a result, the enormous profitability of facilitating the transit of cocaine from Latin America to Europe continues to corrupt political and security officials and to undermine the rule of law. This puts the country at great risk of becoming a narco-state and by mid-2008 Guinea-Bissau appeared to be a destination of choice for drug traffickers, even as they have expanded their activities in other West African countries. An estimated 800-1000 kilograms of cocaine are flown every night into Guinea Bissau and an unspecified quantity is increasingly making its way by sea from Latin America. Many of the government and military's most senior officials are now suspected of orchestrating or facilitating trafficking, while low-level officials are particularly susceptible to bribes, as most government workers go months at a time without receiving salaries. ¶7. (SBU) Although the country enjoyed a good harvest for the vital cashew crop in 2008, significant challenges in all sectors inhibit the progress and stability Guinea-Bissau needs to capitalize on its agricultural and natural resources potential. Power shortages and crumbling infrastructure cripple economic output and make life difficult for the population of 1.6 million. Ongoing domestic instability and poor governance have further eroded already debilitated education and health care systems. Vulnerable to AQIM -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Al-Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) terrorists also transit the country regularly. In spite of the fact that the GOGB arrested AQIM elements who sought temporary safe haven in Bissau in January 2008, such activity confirms that the country is vulnerable to terrorist influence. This development is all the more troubling, given the significantly increased activity of AQIM in the region. To help achieve stability in West Africa, a sustained democratic transition in Guinea-Bissau is a critical step toward pushing the traffickers out of the country and denying terrorists a possible base of operations. Security Sector Reform Linked to CN and Political Stability -------------- ¶9. (SBU) The National Assembly has adopted a security sector reform (SSR) strategy. The EU is leading an effort to provide technical assistance in support of this strategy. SSR is key to both counternarcotics efforts -- military and civilian law enforcement officials are implicated in trafficking -- and establishing long-term political stability -- the vast majority of officers and soldiers are members of the Balanta ethnic group and regard SSR as a way of taking away their political power. Guinea-Bissau has nine law enforcement agencies; the national SSR strategy calls for DAKAR 00000217 003 OF 003 reducing that number to four. Prime Minister Gomes has appointed the former Minister of Justice, Carmelita Pires, as the government coordinator for both SSR and CN. Gomes will chair inter-ministerial committees providing oversight for both issues. Demining and Explosive Ordinance Removal -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) continue to pose a humanitarian and socio-economic threat to local and regional populations. A landmine impact survey conducted in 2006 identified 31 out of 32 sectors of the country still have mine and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination. This contamination poses not only a physical threat, it prevents subsistence farming and cash crop harvesting in affected areas and planned rehabilitation projects are impeded by lack of access to conflict-affected communities. Continued U.S. support through NGOs will ensure our investment in building a national demining and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) capability realizes the objectives of returning land to productive use and improving stability and safety through the destruction of excess and unstable military munitions and weapons. With modest support to sustain the capacity developed so far, Guinea-Bissau could become free of ERW within five years. Economic Growth Is Long-Term CN Strategy -------------- ¶11. (SBU) The best counter-narcotics strategy in Guinea-Bissau will ultimately fail if it is not supported by an aggressive effort to improve the incomes of Bissau-Guineans. Poor economic policies on cashew exports that hurt revenues in 2006 were reversed in 2007 and ¶2008. This reform, along with a combination of better rains and higher commodity prices, helped the weak economy rebound slightly. Petroleum exploration continues offshore, but exploitation of a commercially viable source is years away. Foreign investors from China, Angola, Senegal, and other countries are searching for opportunities in other sectors, including restarting bauxite and phosphates mining, tourism to take advantage of untouched natural beauty and sport fishing, and higher-value commercial fisheries. It is clear, however, that substantial development of the country's agricultural resources is the most promising avenue to economic development. Unfortunately, the most significant current economic activity remains the proceeds and bribes related to drug trafficking, including laundering money into houses, hotels, and cars. Bottom Line -------------- ¶12. (SBU) Guinea-Bissau is destined to remain at dire risk of becoming a narco-state unless it implements urgently needed security sector reform while concurrently fighting narcotics trafficking and promoting economic growth. This will take significant input from donor countries in the form of material, training, and technical and operation assistance, as well as support for wider public sector reform and development assistance to jump start the country's economy. BERNICAT