Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09DAKAR774
2009-06-22 18:29:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Dakar
Cable title:  

GUINEA-BISSAU KILLINGS UDPATE, IMPACT ON ELECTIONS

Tags:  PGOV PREL PU XY 
pdf how-to read a cable
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O 221829Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY DAKAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2604
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0427
RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
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RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DAKAR 000774 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, AND INR/AA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PU XY
SUBJECT: GUINEA-BISSAU KILLINGS UDPATE, IMPACT ON ELECTIONS

REF: DAKAR 696

Classified By: Ambassador Marcia S. Bernicat for reasons 1.5 B/D

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DAKAR 000774

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, AND INR/AA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PU XY
SUBJECT: GUINEA-BISSAU KILLINGS UDPATE, IMPACT ON ELECTIONS

REF: DAKAR 696

Classified By: Ambassador Marcia S. Bernicat for reasons 1.5 B/D


1. (C) SUMMARY: Following the June 5 killings of Minister of
Territorial Administration Baciro Dabo, National Assembly
Deputy Helder Proenca and others (reftel),the government of
Guinea-Bissau sought to convince skeptical diplomats that
those killed were participating in a coup attempt. The
government later released evidence suggesting that Proenca
tried to enlist armed forces deputy chief of staff Antonio
Indjai, who surreptitiously recorded subsequent
conversations. The events hurt the candidacy of Malam Bacai
Sanha, while apparently buoying Kumba Yala,s prospects. END
SUMMARY.

DIPLOMATIC SKEPTICISM
--------------


2. (C) The government of Guinea-Bissau (GOGB) convoked a
meeting of the diplomatic corps, including PolOff, on June 6,
2009, the day after the killings (reftel),to present the
official version of events. As Interim President Raimundo
Perreira, the Prime Minister and reportedly 22 ministers
(including the defense minister) were out of the country when
the killings took place, the GOGB was represented by the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adiato Nandigna, and the
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Antonio Oscar
Barbosa. The GOGB officials insisted that those killed were
involved in a coup plot and were killed while resisting
arrest. The GOGB presented no evidence to support this
claim. (Note: Subsequently, the GOGB released audio and
video recordings that it claims corroborate the existence of
a plot. End note.)


3. (C) In response, the assembled diplomats expressed their
skepticism and frustration with a lack of transparency on the
part of the GOGB. The French Ambassador, Jean-Francois
Parot, complained that similar meetings with the diplomatic
corps were held following an alleged coup attempt in August
2008, the attack on then-President Vieira,s house in
November 2008, and the March 2009 assassinations of Vieira
and Na Wai, yet the guilty were never held accountable. The
French Ambassador voiced the prevailing skepticism about the
killings among diplomats and in the streets of Bissau, and
bluntly told the GOGB officials that &no one believes you.8



4. (C) The head of the European Union,s security sector
reform (SSR) mission, General Juan Esteban Verastegui,
stressed that European policy makers needed clarity and
transparency, which the GOGB has been unable to provide.
Verastegui warned that the EU SSR mission could be recalled
if the GOGB failed to take steps to end the impunity and to
provide credible information about recent events.


5. (C) In response, Barbosa, a lifelong member of the ruling
African Party for the Independence of Guinea Bissau and Cape
Verde (PAIGC),insisted that he initially shared the
diplomats, skepticism about the alleged coup plot, but was
convinced by the &compelling8 evidence military and
Ministry of Interior officials presented to the Council of
Ministers on June 5. As the tension in the meeting with the
diplomatic corps increased, Nandigna candidly acknowledged
that the authority of the GOGB had been usurped by the armed
forces. As a minister, Nandigna said, she has a target on
her head, and therefore insisted that the members of the GOGB
also want the truth and an end to impunity.

THE OFFICIAL VERSION OF WHAT HAPPENED
--------------


6. (SBU) On June 9, the GOGB released to the media a more
detailed account of what allegedly transpired. According to
the official version, former Prime Minister Faustino Imbali
(who on June 5 was severely beaten by military personnel when
being taken into custody) and Robert Cacheu, director of the
presidential campaign of PAIGC candidate Malam Bacai Sanha,
hatched a plan to kill acting Armed Forces Chief of Staff
Naval Captain Zamora Induta and seize control of the
government and military while Prime Minister Carlos Gomes
Junior and interim President Raimundo Pereira were out of the
country. Imbali and Cacheu allegedly approached acting
Deputy Chief of Staff Colonel Antonio Indjai and asked for
his support, while simultaneously recruiting Gomes' political
nemesis and former Minister of Defense, National Assembly
Deputy Proenca to join the plot. Indjai reportedly agreed,
but immediately shared the details of the conspiracy with

DAKAR 00000774 002 OF 003


Induta, and military and domestic intelligence. Indjai
continued to play along with the plot, encouraging Proenca
according to audio and video recordings. During the meeting
with the diplomatic corps, the GOGB presented no evidence
linking Territorial Administration Minister Dabo in any way
to the alleged coup plot, nor did the GOGB attempt to explain
why the military instead of the police had conducted the
arrests. The armed forces have reportedly issued a list with
the names of people suspected of plotting the alleged coup.
No further killings or arrests have been made since June 5.


7. (SBU) On June 12, the GOGB released parts of the audio and
video recordings to the media. Allegedly due to the fact the
audio recordings were collected by holding a tape recorder
near a telephone receiver, and the video recordings were done
through a camera hidden in a pen, the quality reportedly was
very poor. Viewers could not discern faces in the video nor
understand the audio. Consequently the GOGB on June 15
released written transcripts of the audio recordings to the
media.

DISSENT PUNISHED
--------------


8. (C) In the hours following the killings on June 5, State
Information Services Director General Antero Correia
reportedly was instructed to sign the official Ministry of
Interior,s communiqu describing what had transpired.
According to Embassy sources, Correia refused to sign what he
characterized as a fabrication. Military officials promptly
took Correia into custody where he remains, reportedly in
poor health. Correia,s deputy, Samba Djalo, signed the
communiqu and has assumed the role of acting Director
General. (NOTE: Judicial Police Director Lucinda Ahukarie
characterized Djalo as the most active drug trafficker within
the Ministry of Interior. END NOTE) Imbali, who was
allegedly severely beaten, also remains in military custody.
Domingos Brosco, a musician who was at Imbali,s residence at
the time of his arrest, is also in custody.

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
--------------


9. (SBU) On June 15, some members of Dabo,s campaign
committee publicly endorsed Party for Social Renewal (PRS)
candidate and former President Kumba Yala. The following
day, other members of Dabo,s inner circle endorsed Sanha.
The killings and alleged conspiracy, however, dealt a blow to
Sanha,s campaign. Campaign Director Cacheu and top advisors
and former ministers Marciano Silva Barbeiro and Daniel Gomes
-- all named as co-conspirators -- all played key roles in
Sahna,s campaign. Sanha has denied any knowledge or
involvement in the alleged coup. While he was also
originally named as a co-conspirator, independent candidate
Joao Cardoso continues to campaign openly. On June 7,
independent candidate Pedro Infanda dropped out of the race,
citing a lack of security.


10. (C) While the campaign of independent candidate Henrique
Rosa reportedly languishes, Yala has moved to capitalize on
the violence. Yala, who as president was responsible for
making the Balanta ethnic group 90 percent of the military's
officer corps, has reportedly told Balanta audiences that
their group is under attack for allegedly being the
perpetrators of the military violence. The fact that Prime
Minister Gomes was out of the country when the coup allegedly
was to be launched also fueled speculation on the streets of
Bissau that Rosa had a hand in the violence. (COMMENT: The
popular belief that Gomes was responsible for the March
assassinations combined with his government,s failure to pay
civil servant salaries has led to a precipitous drop in his
popularity. Public dissatisfaction with Gomes has spilled
over into frustration with the PAIGC and thus with Sanha. END
COMMENT.)


12. (C) COMMENT: Reports of Proenca,s involvement in a coup
plot are credible, but even if true, cannot justify his
summary killing at the hands of the military. More
disturbing are the circumstances of Dabo,s death, for whom
there is no evidence of involvement in the supposed coup
attempt. Dabo,s killing ) execution-style in his bed --
was more likely retribution for his suspected involvement in
Na Wai's death and/or part of a potential turf battle among
those who facilitate narco-trafficking. The ongoing
violence, coupled with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, open
acknowledgement that the armed forces have subjugated the
civilian authorities emphasizes the need to end the impunity

DAKAR 00000774 003 OF 003


with which the military and transnational criminals continue
to operate. This and the broader challenge of security
sector reform to subject the military to civilian control
cannot, in Post,s opinion, occur without external assistance
to the GOGB. END COMMENT.
BERNICAT