GUINEA-BISSAU: SEVERAL POLITICIANS KILLED BY

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAKAR 000696

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (TEXT, PARA 2)

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, AND INR/AA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PU XY SG
SUBJECT: GUINEA-BISSAU: SEVERAL POLITICIANS KILLED BY
SECRUITY FORCES

Classified By: Classified by AMB Marcia Bernicat for reasons 1.5 (b) an
d (d).


1. (SBU) Summary: On June 5, in the early morning,
Bissau-Guinean security forces killed former Minister of
Territorial Administration Baciro Dabo and National Assembly
Deputy Helder Proenca. Several other alleged conspirators
were taken into custody. The Ministry of Interior's
intelligence service issued a statement accusing the three,
along with others, of conspiring to launch a coup d'etat in
the absence of the Interim President, Prime Minister, Defense
Minister and other cabinet officials who are all out of the
country. According to the government, Proenca and Dabo were
killed while resisting arrest. The Ministry of Interior
released the names of six other people wanted in connection
with the alleged coup plot. End of summary.


2. (SBU) According to the GOGB, Dabo, a presidential
candidate, and Proenca, a dissident of the ruling party,
resisted arrest and were killed in separate shoot outs with
government security personnel. (FYI - It is unclear if the
arresting officials were military or civilian law
enforcement. End FYI) Dabo was killed in his home. Proenca
was killed in his vehicle, along with his driver and a body
guard. The government announced that Robert Ferreira Cacheu,
the campaign manager of presidential candidate Malam Bacai;
Faustino Imbali, a former prime minister; Marciano Silva
Barbeiro, former defense minister; Daniel Gomes, a former
fisheries minister; Verissimo Nancassa, a businessman; and
Tito Danfa, a musician, were all detained for allegedly
plotting to overthrow the government. There are also several
unconfirmed reports that former prime minister Imbali was
killed after being taken into custody. Other reports
indicate he was beaten by government security personnel and
is in the hospital. In addition to the people in custody,
the government announced that four military officers --
Afonso Te, Sandji Fati, Domigos Indi, and Joao Monteiro --
were wanted for their alleged role in the plot. Attorney
General Dr. Louis Manuel Cabral and the Supreme Court
President Maria do Ceu Silva Monteiro have reportedly
taken refuge in the Angolan Embassy. The government
claims that the coup plot was planned in Dakar.


3. (SBU) All of the people killed and detained are regarded
as having been close to former President Joao Bernardo
Vieira. Dabo, for example was responsible for Vieira's
personal security during the 1998 civil war and was accused
by the armed forces of having been involved in the plot to
kill former Armed Chief of Staff Batista Tagme Na Wai.
PolOff has received reports that more people could have been
killed in the government's operation, but families are afraid
to come forward and say what happened.

The Senegalese Reaction
--------------


4. (C) Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade convoked the U.S.
and French Ambassadors, along with the European Commisstion
representative and head of the United Nations Office for West
Africa, to discuss the situation in Guinea-Bissau. Wade
expressed concern about the situation and disbelief that the
Bissau-Guinean interim president and prime minister would
both be out the country at the same time. He said he called
Jean Ping, the president of the African Union Commission, to
say he planned to fly to Bissau to talk with the military and
convoke the ministers to resolve the matter. Wade asked Ping
to recruit another West African head of state to accompany
him on this mission.


5. (C) The French Ambassador suggested in light of the
instability and the possibility of continued violence, as
well as reports that the coup plot was hatched in Dakar, it
might be best for Wade to wait. Wade took the point, but
insisted "we" need to do something. He believed that the
Gambia might be involved in these events noting that former
Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto (who
is under &loose8 house arrest after being accused of
plotting a coup against former President Vieira in September
2008) and former president Kumba Yala (another candidate in
the upcoming Guinea-Bissau presidential elections) are both
in the Gambia at the moment. Wade speculated that Interim
Chief of Staff Captain Zamora Induta was colluding with the
Gambia to overthrow the civilian government in Guinea-Bissau.
The ambassadors cautioned against jumping to conclusions
about the Gambia's role and noted that it is unlikely that
Induta and Na Tchuto, who loathe one another, would be
working together. Wade took the point, but insisted that
having Yala and Na Tchuto in the Gambia together could

constitute a threat to Bissau-Guinean stability.


7. (C) Comment: Several Bissau-Guineans told PolOff they
believed that the government,s allegations of a coup attempt
could be true. However, it is difficult to see how these men
could have expected to be successful. Viewed as Vieira
loyalists, their level of support in the armed forces is
likely to have been relatively low, and without strong
support in the armed forces any coup attempt would be doomed
to failure. Instead, the scenario observers believe is more
credible is that Colonel Antonio Indjai, the acting deputy
armed forces chief of staff, nephew and protg of Na Wai and
commander of the unit whose soldiers are widely believed to
have assassinated President Vieira, is settling scores with
the people he regards are responsible for the murder of Na
Wai.


8. (C) Comment, continued: While the killings will have a
direct effect on the June 28 presidential elections, for the
time being post believes the elections should remain on
schedule. Otherwise, the government will continue to be
headed by an interim president who possesses virtually no
official authority.
BERNICAT