SIERRA LEONE FORIEGN MINISTER: ICC INDICTMENT NOT

C O N F I D E N T I A L FREETOWN 000098

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2019
TAGS: PREL PHUM SL
SUBJECT: SIERRA LEONE FORIEGN MINISTER: ICC INDICTMENT NOT
IN THE INTERESTS OF THE PEACE PROCESS

REF: FREETOWN 79

Classified By: Ambassador June Carter Perry for Reason 1.4 (B)


1. (U) Foreign Minister Zainab Bangura summoned the
Diplomatic Corps on 5 March to inform them that President
Koroma was taking a vacation and undergoing a routine medical
checkup in New Delhi as a guest of the Indian Government.
Bangura also expressed concern that the ICC indictment of
Sudanese President Bashir was "not in the interest of the
Peace Process" and that President Koroma was considering a
state visit to Guinea sometime later in the year.


2. (C) Foreign Minister Zainab Bangura thanked the
diplomatic corps for their "tremendous support" during her
tenure at a convocation March 5th. She promised more change
at the ministry "whether people like it or not" and noted her
new Director General Soulay Daramy (the number three person
in the Ministry) was a career diplomat who would greatly
assist her in orienting the structure of the ministry to
support the President. She noted that the President had
followed an exhaustive schedule, and had other trips to look
forward to in the near future, including trips to Germany and
Guinea. Bangura, who many suspected was likely to lose her
job in the Cabinet reshuffle (reftel),seemed much more
relaxed than in other recent meetings prior to the reshuffle.



3. (U) Bangura stated that the President "needed a break"
and was going to India for a much needed rest and a routine
medical check-up as a guest of the Indian government. She
added that there was no Sierra Leone Embassy in India, no
Sierra Leonean population, and his staff had taken his cell
phones, which should guarantee a peaceful holiday.


4. (C) Turning to international affairs, she predicted that
Guinea-Bissau's situation might develop along more favorable
lines than in Guinea, as the Army was adhering to the
constitution, and the leaders of the competing factions had
both been killed. When questioned by the U.S. Ambassador
about Guinea, Bangura noted that "there was no good coup" but
stopped short of specifically condemning the regime. In
answering another question about Bashir's ICC indictment, she
noted that it "was not in the interest of the peace process,"
but avoided any categorical characterization of Sierra
Leone's position, only noting that 30 African countries had
signed the ICC and the AU would need to address the
implications of Bashir's indictment.


5. (C) Comment: Having kept her job following the cabinet
reshuffle, Bangura appeared relieved and even invigorated;
she promised significant changes in the ministry, although
one wonders what kept her from making the changes earlier in
her administration. Her mention (in an off-hand manner) of a
State Visit by Koroma to Guinea was troubling, as it would
send a signal that Sierra Leone recognized the junta; even if
a visit does not occur, Bangura is still struggling to
balance Guinea's stability with the illegitimacy of the
regime. On Bashir, one would have hoped for a stronger
position in support of the ICC, in light of Sierra Leone's
own experience with civil war and its own international
tribunal, the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
PERRY