COMPAORE: ARBITRATOR OF REGIONAL CONFLICTS.

C O N F I D E N T I A L OUAGADOUGOU 000665

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL UV
SUBJECT: COMPAORE: ARBITRATOR OF REGIONAL CONFLICTS.

Classified By: CDA Samuel C. Laeuchli for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

1.(C) SUMMARY: President Compaore has worked hard in recent
years to develop his image as peace mediator for West Africa.
Actively involved in advancing the peace processes in Cote
d'Ivoire and in Togo, he is also an interlocutor in Guinea
and to some extent Gabon. Compaore's mediation is intended
to forge his reputation as a pan-African statesman and
overcome the legacy of his earlier, more controversial
involvement in regional conflicts. In the past few weeks,
Ouagadougou has seen a flurry of mediation activity with
Compaore at its center as facilitator. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) President Compaore has put himself in the limelight
in his role as arbitrator of regional conflicts. He has
also been involved to some degree in the electoral process in
Guinea, Mauritania and Gabon. In recent weeks, the President
of Burkina Faso has hosted a number of key meetings in
Ouagadougou that have served to reaffirm his peace-broker
stature and distance himself further from his regional
interventions. West and Central African heads of State and
opposition leaders have approached him for "counsel" and to
help initiate dialogue. Ouagadougou and the Burkinabe
Presidency have become a preferred stop for conflict
resolution in the region.


3. (SBU) On August 9, Compaore hosted the seventh meeting of
the Ivorian evaluation committee (Ouagadougou Political
Accord). Compaore remains dedicated to the Ivoirian peace
process and has said he would remain actively involved in it
until a final resolution. In Togo, Compaore's mediation has
been aimed at keeping the political process on track. On
July 28 Compaore went to Lome to see President Faure
Gnassingbe and received updates on the political process.
Most recently (4-7 August) the ruling Togolese RPT party and
the two main opposition parties UFC and CAR requested
Compaore's assistance to advance the stuttering political
agreement.


4. (SBU) On August 10, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara sent
Guinean Defense Minister General Sekouba Konate to
Ouagadougou to solicit Compaore for support. Gabonese
Minister of Communication Laure Olga Gondjout also met with
Compaore on August 10 to discuss media coverage of the
upcoming Gabonese presidential elections and rising political
tensions in Gabon.


5. (C) COMMENT: It appears that Compaore is simultaneously
focusing on his short, medium and long-term image and legacy,
and he is probably attempting to write a history for himself
that portrays him as a peace builder. In the short term,
Compaore's facilitation raises the profile of his Presidency
and puts Burkina Faso on the political map. In the medium
term, Compaore reaps political benefits from that very same
international exposure. He becomes a reputable statesman,
and this stature finds an echo in domestic politics where he
can use it for internal political clout. Finally in the long
term, as Compaore works to forge his post-presidency legacy,
his mediation efforts may focus the judgment of history on
the constructive peace-building efforts of recent years
rather than his past involvement in regional conflicts. END
COMMENT.
LAEUCHLI