SIRLEAF PLEASED WITH MEETINGS IN OUAGADOUGOU WITH DADIS AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L MONROVIA 000080 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/19/2020 TAGS: PREL ASEC GV LI SUBJECT: SIRLEAF PLEASED WITH MEETINGS IN OUAGADOUGOU WITH DADIS AND KONATE REF: A) OUAGADOUGOU 22 B) RABAT 22 C) CONAKRY 44 Classified by: Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: President Sirleaf, accompanied by Minister of Defense Brownie Sumakai and Minister of State Edward McClain, traveled to Ouagadougou January 17 and 18 to meet with President Blaise Compaore, Camara Dadis, Sekouba Konate, and ECOWAS President Ibrahim Chambas. Sirleaf told Ambassador that Compaore had "done well" in negotiating an agreement between Dadis and Konate that will allow for a six month transition led by Konate. Dadis accepted the agreement grudgingly and agreed to issue a statement saying that he needed time to recuperate and that Konate would be in charge. Konate, for his part, expressed frustration and threatened to quit but finally was convinced to continue. ECOWAS agreed to accompany Konate upon his return to Guinea along with the Special Envoy appointed by Compaore. Sirleaf apparently agreed to work with the international community to find a final abode for Dadis and to discourage efforts to indict him. She expressed satisfaction and relief with the results of the negotiation. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Ambassador met with President Sirleaf on January 18 to get a read out of the President's two-day trip to Ouagadougou. Sirleaf had an over two hour meeting with Dadis where she encouraged him to sign the accord negotiated by Compaore. She told him he needed a period of rest and in the interest of his health and of the country, he should not return to Guinea. Sirleaf described Dadis as attentive but not fully coherent. He told her she was the only person who had spoken to him sincerely and noted that he respected her like a mother. She encouraged him to issue a statement to the people of Guinea saying that he needed time to convalesce and that Konate would be in charge. Sirleaf said that Dadis has expressed an interest in going to Germany and she promised to work with him to identify a location. She asked if the U.S. would be interested, a question which the Ambassador did not think required a response. ¶3. (C) In a separate meeting with Sekouba Konate, Sirleaf reported that he was very frustrated and stated he just wanted to quit. She told him that he had no choice but to stay through the transition. Compaore told her that Konate was sicker than Dadis but he finally agreed to return to Guinea and lead the transition for a six month period. ¶4. (C) Sirleaf also met with Compaore and ECOWAS President Chambas. She thanked Compaore for his efforts and encouraged him to send his newly appointed special envoy along with Chambas and several ECOWAS generals to accompany Konate back to Conakry in order to confirm the international community's support for Konate. ¶5. (C) Sirleaf said that the hardliners in Guinea, among them the Foreign Minister and some of the generals, were pressing Dadis to return by suggesting to him that the ICC would issue an indictment against him for the September 28 events. They were encouraging him to return to Guinea where he would be assured of not being turned over to the ICC. The Foreign Minister also told Sirleaf that he did not like the way Dadis was brought to Burkina Faso. ¶6. (C) In what was clearly an appeal to the U.S., Sirleaf asserted that since Dadis had made the decision to allow peace to prevail in Guinea, he should be allowed to seek medical care and not be threatened with an ICC indictment. She noted that she plans to reach out to South Africa and Germany as well on Dadis' behalf. ¶7. (C) Comment: Sirleaf was relieved and pleased with the results of the meeting and the role she was called upon to play in convincing Dadis to accept the accord. It is worth noting that Sirleaf, in a few short years, has become the voice of reason in West Africa and particularly in the Mano River countries. Sirleaf clearly committed to assisting Dadis in finding a final home but more of concern is the apparent promise she and Compaore may have made to keep Dadis from being indicted. End Comment. THOMAS-GREENFIELD