This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 PARIS 000553 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/27/2016 
TAGS: PREL PHUM TO DJ CI RW FR
SUBJECT: LONG ARM OF FRENCH LAW:  INVESTIGATIONS IN AFRICA 
 
REF: A. PARIS DAO IIR 6 832 0057 06 (141639Z NOV 05) 
     ¶B. LOME 55 
     ¶C. 05 PARIS 952 
     ¶D. 95 PARIS 4903 
     ¶E. DJIBOUTI 90 
     ¶F. 05 PARIS 974 
 
Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt for reaso 
ns 1.4 (b/d). 
 
1, (C)  SUMMARY:  Several French judicial inquiries and 
litigations concerning Africa are now making their way 
through the legal system.  These involve Cote d'Ivoire 
(judicial inquiry into the killing of a reputed Ivoirian 
bandit and the French military cover-up); Togo-Cote d'Ivoire 
(possible arms trading in Togo with connections to Cote 
d'Ivoire involving former French gendarme Robert Montoya); 
Djibouti (legal conflicts over the 1995 death of French judge 
Borrel); and Rwanda (victims of 1994 genocide suing the GoF). 
 These cases feature active intervention by the relatively 
independent French judiciary with its tradition of 
self-directed investigating judges, which has introduced a 
complicating factor into French bilateral relations with the 
countries concerned.  END SUMMARY. 
 
COTE d'IVOIRE 
------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  On May 13, 2005, three French soldiers serving 
with France's Operation Licorne killed an Ivoirian, reputedly 
the notorious bandit Firmin Mahe, and then tried to cover up 
the incident.  This cover-up eventually reached to the unit's 
battalion commander, Colonel Eric Burgaud, and the commander 
of Operation Licorne at the time, Major General Henri Poncet. 
 Senior GoF and military officials learned of the cover-up in 
October 2005.  Reaction from the top was swift and 
unequivocal -- Defense Minister Alliot-Marie, CHOD Bentegeat, 
and Army Chief of Staff Thorette moved quickly to launch an 
investigation, suspend those involved, and proceed towards 
criminal prosecution.  A third officer, Brigadier General 
Renaud Alziari de Malussene, brigade commander at the time of 
Mahe's death, has been relieved of command of Multinational 
Brigade Northeast in Kosovo.  The different cases against the 
individuals (Poncet, Burgaud, and the three soldiers who 
killed the Ivoirian) are proceeding.  The examining 
magistrate in Poncet's case is "juge d'instruction" Brigitte 
Raynaud, who is also investigating the Togo-Cote d'Ivoire and 
Rwanda cases discussed below.  Raynaud is a member of the 
"tribunal aux armees de Paris" (TAP), which has jurisdiction 
over certain military-related cases. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  As the Mahe case has developed, the individuals 
involved have begun accusing each other and offering 
justifications for their actions.  Burgaud claims that Poncet 
authorized the killing, albeit implicitly, after Mahe was 
apprehended -- by telling him to "drive him (Mahe) slowly to 
the hospital," which Burgaud claims meant "make sure he dies 
before you arrive at the hospital."  Poncet denies this 
accusation and says he helped cover up the killing in order 
only to avoid exacerbating anti-French sentiment in Cote 
d'Ivoire.  One of the three soldiers who killed Mahe claims 
that he did so on Burgaud's order, which Burgaud denies. 
 
¶4.  (C)  COMMENT:  Although there was an initial surge in 
French military protests over the treatment of Poncet and the 
others, it appears that the firm message from Alliot-Marie, 
Bentegeat, Thorette, and other senior leaders -- that this 
kind of behavior would not be tolerated and would not go 
unpunished -- has now been accepted by French officers and 
the rank and file, without unduly injuring service morale. 
That a senior officer such as Poncet was not spared has 
probably made the GoF's decision more acceptable to service 
members.  In pursuing the case, senior officials have 
stressed the need for transparency and their duty to uphold 
the honor of the French Army.  (See Ref A for Army Chief of 
Staff Thorette's assessment.)  Although the French have not 
stated it expressly, part of their reason for moving swiftly 
and publicly in this case may involve a desire to avoid 
criticism of the sort directed against the USG as a result of 
Abu Ghraib and related issues. 
 
¶5.  (C)  COMMENT CONT'D:  A further twist to the case emerged 
in December 2005 when questions arose in the media as to 
whether Firmin Mahe was really the notorious bandit the GoF 
claimed he was and whether the person killed was not Firmin 
Mahe but rather an innocent namesake, Nestor Mahe.  French 
officials quickly stated that these issues were irrelevant to 
the charges against the accused -- they had killed someone 
illegally and then covered it up, and the victim's precise 
identity did not change those facts.  According to the press, 
Judge Raynaud intends to obtain DNA samples of the victim in 
order to make a positive identification, and is planning to 
travel to Cote d'Ivoire to exhume the body, with the 
cooperation of Ivoirian officials, on January 31.  Her 
mission may be complicated by the need to organize logistics 
rapidly and the fact that the grave is located in rebel 
territory.  Until the victim's identity is established, the 
possibility that the military killed the wrong person has 
only added insult to injury, injecting a note of ridicule and 
incompetence into an already sad story.  Further complicating 
matters, AFP reported on January 26 that a military court in 
Cote d'Ivoire had issued an international arrest warrant for 
General Poncet and Colonel Patrick Destremau, for their role 
in the suppression by French forces of demonstrations in 
Abidjan on November 9, 2004, which resulted in the death of 
several Ivoirians.  END COMMENT. 
 
TOGO-COTE d'IVOIRE 
------------------ 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Ref B notes the seizure of several warplanes in 
Togo belonging to former French gendarme Robert Montoya. 
This too has become the subject of French judicial inquiry, 
with Judge Raynaud investigating the lethal bombing of French 
military forces in Cote d'Ivoire on November 6, 2004.  She is 
now investigating the Montoya affair in Togo because of its 
possible connection to Cote d'Ivoire and the possibility that 
Montoya furnished or helped furnish the planes involved in 
the bombing.  Raynaud reportedly traveled to Togo on January 
10 to seek information from the GoT on Montoya and arms 
trafficking.  Le Monde reports that General Poncet (the 
former Operation Licorne commander under investigation for 
the Mahe incident described above) has told French 
authorities that Montoya helped the Cote d'Ivoire regime 
"with respect to furnishing arms and probably technicians." 
Paris daily Le Monde on January 11 described Montoya's long 
connection with several African regimes, his experience over 
many years in Africa on security issues, arms dealing, and 
advising African leaders, and his long involvement in 
clandestine affairs.  When serving as a gendarme, Montoya was 
a member of the Elysee's anti-terrorist cell during the 1980s. 
 
¶7.  (C)  COMMENT:  Montoya is one of several French citizens 
with close and questionable ties to Togo, including former 
Eyadema advisor Charles Debbasch and former European 
Parliament Deputy Michel Scarbonchi (Ref C).  Former GoT 
Interior Minister Francois Boko, now in exile in Paris (Ref 
D), has previously mentioned to us his belief, consistent 
with Poncet's claims, that some war materials used by the 
regime in Cote d'Ivoire, including aircraft, originally 
transited through Togo.  We will discuss this further with 
Boko during our next meeting with him.  END COMMENT. 
 
DJIBOUTI 
-------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Ref E notes Djibouti's bringing the Borrel case to 
the International Court of Justice on January 9, seeking to 
compel French investigative judge Sophie Clement to provide 
case files to the GoD.  The case involves the 1995 death of 
French Judge Bernard Borrel in Djibouti, where he was 
conducting an investigation.  His death under mysterious 
circumstances was ruled a suicide, a conclusion his widow has 
contested ever since.  She claims that he was murdered and 
has persisted in pressing her claim both on her own and by 
engaging the French legal system, which has led to Judge 
Clement's investigation (Ref F).  In taking the case to the 
ICJ, Djibouti also accuses Clement of overreaching, in 
attempting to obtain the testimony of senior GoD officials 
(including President Guelleh) pursuant to her investigation. 
The ICJ filing follows the GoD's reported decision in October 
2005 to cease cooperating with Clement's investigation. 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  Mrs. Borrel has been adept at bringing media 
attention to this case and the media have generally been 
sympathetic.  Public attention increased in October 2005 on 
the 10th anniversary of Bernard Borrel's death.  Several 
groups demanded and petitioned that the GoF cooperate more 
fully with Mrs. Borrel's and Judge Clement's investigations. 
Defense Minister Alliot-Marie on October 18 announced the 
declassification of 23 MoD documents, which she claimed 
complied with the judge's requests for MoD information.  Mrs. 
Borrel's lawyer said that other classified documents should 
be made available. 
 
¶10.  (C)  COMMENT:  As noted Ref F, MFA officials have tried 
to minimize the impact of the on-going investigation, 
describing the case as an "irritant" that should have little 
or no effect on France's military presence in Djibouti. 
Nonetheless, MFA officials have expressed to us their 
frustration, stressing the independence investigative judges 
enjoy in France's legal system and the MFA's lack of success 
in convincing the GoD that its ability to control judges such 
as Clement is limited.  The MFA's January 11 public statement 
after the International Court of Justice was drawn into the 
case is typically dead pan:  "France has well taken note of 
the International Court of Justice's January 10 press 
release.  Djibouti's request to the ICJ has not been formally 
transmitted to France by the Court.  As soon as it is 
officially transmitted, it will be the object of attentive 
examination." 
 
¶11.  (C)  COMMENT CONT'D:  Judge Clement's continued refusal 
to release files to the GoD has exacerbated the MFA's 
problems, with both Djibouti and the French judiciary.  About 
one year ago, on January 29, 2005, the MFA announced publicly 
that the GoF would provide Djibouti with the Borrel case 
files.  This did not sit well with the judiciary, which had 
(and continues to have) control of the files and which did 
not appreciate the suggestion that the MFA had the power to 
provide them to the GoD or anyone else.  The professional 
organization representing France's magistrates was also 
upset, claiming that the MFA's promise to the GoD was an 
improper attempt to pressure Judge Clement to convey the 
files to Djibouti.  The MFA was never able to find a way to 
provide the Borrel files to Djibouti. 
 
¶12.  (C)  COMMENT CONT'D:  We expect that the MFA, 
notwithstanding the escalating legal battle between the GoD 
and the French judiciary and Mrs. Borrel, will do its best, 
on the one hand, to try to work constructively with Djibouti, 
emphasizing its inability to control Judge Clement to 
Djibouti's liking.  At the same time, the MFA will likely 
continue to explain privately to judicial officials the 
implications of the case, while trying to avoid giving the 
impression that the MFA is hindering Mrs. Borrel's attempts 
to investigate her husband's death.  END COMMENT. 
 
RWANDA 
------ 
 
¶13.  (SBU)  The French continue to examine their consciences 
over the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, wondering what went wrong 
and what they could have done better.  Six Rwandan survivors 
of the genocide formalized the issue when they brought suit 
in February 2005 against the GoF, accusing the French 
military of "complicity in genocide" by allegedly allowing 
Rwandan troops and Hutu extremists to enter camps where 
Tutsis sought refuge.  The French troops, part of the 
UN-mandated Operation Turquoise, are also accused of such 
things as putting Tutsis in helicopters and then throwing 
them out to their deaths.  The GoF has denied the charges. 
 
¶14.  (SBU)  On December 23, 2005, the "procureur" 
(prosecutor) of the TAP opened judicial proceedings in the 
case ("information judiciaire," akin to a preliminary 
hearing) after months of investigation.  In October 2005, he 
had declared that the case was not sufficiently supported to 
warrant a trial.  The TAP "juge d'instruction" -- once again, 
Brigitte Raynaud -- continued to investigate to gather 
further evidence that would make the case suitable for trial. 
 In November 2005, Raynaud obtained witness statements 
(apparently from the six plaintiffs) by traveling to Kigali 
to take their testimony, which she provided to the prosecutor 
on December 5.  Raynaud's work was apparently sufficient to 
allow the prosecutor to move the case forward rather than 
dismiss it or ask for more evidence. 
 
¶15.  (C)  COMMENT:  Perhaps in response to this case and a 
new book, there has been a small flurry of debate these past 
weeks over the Rwandan genocide and France's role.  In 
November 2005, well-known investigative journalist Pierre 
Pean published "Noires fureurs, blancs mensonges" ("Black 
Rage and White Lies"), which he claims "refutes the notion 
that France was an accomplice of the Rwandan genocide in the 
same way that Germany was during the Holocaust."  He 
describes the book as "revisionism without any qualms."  Its 
defense of French actions in Rwanda tends to buck the trend 
of authors more critical of France.  Pean takes on other 
well-known journalists such as Colette Braeckman and Le 
Figaro's Patrick de Saint-Exupery, who have been apt to place 
a measure of responsibility on France for what happened in 
Rwanda.  The debate has continued in the press -- General 
Jean-Claude Lafourcade, for example, published a defense of 
Operation Turquoise in Le Monde on January 5, but Patrick 
May, in a January 13 reply, countered by refuting 
Lafourcade's points and citing flaws in the General's 
analysis.  The Rwandans' lawsuit, if it goes forward, will no 
doubt fuel the arguments on both sides, but whatever its 
outcome, is not likely to end the debate or ease consciences. 
 END COMMENT. 
 
 
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm 
Stapleton