VZCZCXRO4948
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHAB #0500 1351333
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 151333Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1312
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEPGBA/CDR USEUCOM INTEL VAIHINGEN GE//ECJ2/ECJ3/ECJ5//

UNCLAS ABIDJAN 000500 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO ASEC IV
SUBJECT: PRIME MINISTER DISCUSSES IDENTIFICATION 
 
REF: ABIDJAN 0495 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY.  On May 14, Prime Minister Charles Konan 
Banny addressed the nation on the televised evening news and 
confirmed reports that the Ministry of Justice will begin 
pilot identification programs on May 18.  Banny also 
announced that identification and disarmament (DDR) would 
occur simultaneously but did not indicate a start date for 
DDR.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2.  (U) Banny,s presentation outlined several key points 
without providing many details.  The target audience for the 
pilot programs will be Ivoirians and foreigners born in Cote 
d,Ivoire, whose births were not properly registered.  The 
minimum age to participate in the program is 13 and all 
participants will receive a birth certificate.  Ivoirians 
meeting the legal standards of citizenship will also receive 
a certificate of nationality.  Banny was careful to explain 
that, although the pilot process will provide these two key 
documents, it will not provide identity cards. 
 
¶3.  (U) Banny also announced that the Minister of Justice, 
Mamadou Kone, would hold a press conference on the pilot 
project on May 15.  According to the Minister's spokesperson, 
Kone will provide more details about the logistics of the 
pilot identification program so that the populations in the 
targeted cities will be able to properly prepare.  (Note: 
the press conference is scheduled for 1500 local time.) 
 
¶4.  (U) There has been little reaction in the press from the 
political parties since the announcement.  President Gbagbo, 
in a May 14 interview with the UN radio station, spoke 
disparagingly of the pilot project, saying it's a way for 
individuals to tell a judge "I'm an Ivoirian but I have no 
papers to prove it."  He conceded, however, that he had 
signed off on the project in the Council of Ministers and 
that his concerns were about the logistical details. 
 
DDR ) maybe not simultaneous ) but moving forward 
============================================= ===== 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Coordinator for the National Program for 
Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (PNDDR) will 
host a meeting May 15, to finalize his recommendations for 
the start of disarmament.  Jean Malan, Head of Operations for 
the PNDDR, confirmed that General Philippe Mangou, 
Chief-of-Staff of the Ivoirian Armed Forces (FANCI) would 
meet with General Hamed Bakayoko, his New Forces (NF) 
counterpart, at the Prime Minister,s office on May 17.  At 
the meeting, the PNDDR Coordinator General, Ouassenan Kone, 
is expected to present his new timeline for disarmament. 
According to Malan, both General Mangou and General Bakayoko 
intend to sign an agreement to begin DDR in compliance with 
the new timeline.  Malan was unwilling to provide any 
additional details. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) COMMENT:  Banny finally seems to be shifting into 
gear.  It is likely that his meetings in Washington and 
Brussels and the looming International Working Group (IWG) 
meeting have spurred him to take concrete action so as to 
avoid embarrassment.  If the identification process actually 
begins on May 18 and the DDR meeting comes off, Banny will 
have something substantial to report to the IWG on May 19. 
However, it is important to note that this initiative is a 
pilot project that does not issue ID cards.  It is a timid 
first step in the direction of issuing ID cards, which will 
be required for voter registration, and which the NF is 
demanding as a precondition for DDR. 
Hooks