VZCZCXRO1012
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHAB #0718/01 1871816
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 061816Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1545
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 1377
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0322

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 000718 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
KINSHASA PASS TO BRAZZAVILLE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPKO ASEC IV
SUBJECT: COTE D'IVOIRE: UN SECRETARY GENERAL CHAIRS 
MINI-SUMMIT IN YAMOUSSOUKRO 
 
 
Classified By: POL/ECON Jim Wojtasiewicz, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary. UNSYG Annan chaired a mini-summit on Cote 
d'Ivoire in which participants set several deadlines to 
accelerate key elements of the peace process, including 
identification, DDR,  and organization of elections.  There 
was no discussion of possible scenarios if presidential 
elections are postponed beyond October but the SYG announced 
plans to hold a meeting on Cote d'Ivoire on the margins of 
the UN General Assembly in September to assess the situation 
and take any necessary measures.  Opposition figures 
professed satisfaction with the Yamoussoukro meeting but we 
will have to see if the measures agreed upon are in fact 
implemented.  Since the first deadlines are set for July 15, 
we will not have long to wait.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On July 5, UN Secretary General Koffi Annan made a 
short visit to Cote d,Ivoire to host a "mini-summit" on the 
Ivoirian peace process.  The meeting was attended by Nigerian 
President Obasanjo, South African president Mbeki, Republic 
of the Congo Foreign Minister Adada, Ghanaian Foreign 
Minister Akuffo-Addo, and representatives of the presidents 
of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali.  On the Ivoirian side, it 
was attended by all but one of the country's principal 
political leaders: President Gbagbo; Prime Minister Banny; 
former Prime Minister Ouattara, leader of the opposition RDR 
(Rally of Republicans) party; and Guillaume Soro, leader of 
the rebel New Forces (FN).  Conspicuously absent was former 
President Bedie, leader of the opposition PDCI (Democratic 
Party of Cote d'Ivoire).  Bedie was represented by PDCI 
Secretary General Djedje Mady. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
¶3. (C) The meeting took place from 1430 to 1830 at the Felix 
Houphouet-Boigny Foundation in Yamoussoukro.  We understand 
that Annan originally wanted to hold this meeting on the 
margins last weekend's African Union (AU) summit, but Gbagbo 
refused and the venue was changed to Yamoussoukro according 
to Abou Moussa, ONUCI Deputy UN Special Representative of the 
Secretary General. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
¶4. (C) The participants issued a communique at the end of the 
meeting that set several deadlines.  By July 15, 50 mobile 
courts are to be deployed throughout the country to expedite 
the citizen identification process in preparation for voter 
registration and elections.  Also by July 15, a DDR 
(Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration) monitoring 
committee is to be created including representatives from the 
UN Peacekeeping Mission in Cote d'Ivoire (ONUCI), the French 
Licorne peacekeeping force, the Prime Minister,s office, and 
the chiefs of staff of the Ivoirian Armed Forces (FANCI) and 
the FN armed forces (FAFN).   By July 15, President Gbagbo is 
to issue a decree authorizing the Independent Electoral 
Commission (CEI) to change the electoral code in order to 
facilitate elections.  (The current electoral code requires 
voter lists to be made available for public inspection for at 
least ninety days after they are finished, a requirement that 
would be impossible to meet if elections are to be held by 
October 31.).  By July 31, the pre-regroupment phase of 
disarmament, in which ex-combatants from FANCI and the FN are 
assembled in designated locations under their own command 
structures, is to be completed; pro-Gbagbo militias are to be 
dismantled; and local offices of the CEI are to be deployed 
throughout the country.  (the FANCI has indicated that it has 
already completed pre-regroupment of its troops.  FN 
spokesman Sidiki Konate told us July 6 that the FN have 
pre-regrouped 30,000 of 33,000 troops in 45 sites.  He 
expected that the remaining FN troops would be pre-regrouped 
in five additional sites over the next few days and the 
process should be completed by Sunday, July 9.  The DDR 
monitoring committee is tasked with certifying that the 
pre-regroupment process has been completed successfully.) 
 
¶5.  (U) The communique also reiterated the importance of free 
circulation for UN peacekeeping forces, especially to observe 
the DDR process.  It called on political leaders to urge 
journalists associated with their parties to contribute 
constructively to peace process and noted that people who 
incite hatred are subject to UN sanctions. 
 
¶6. (C) The communique reaffirmed paragraph 6 of the Pretoria 
2 agreement, which states in part, "The leaders reaffirmed 
that the CEI is the sole institution in charge of the 
electoral process and the National Institute of Statistics 
(INS) should report to the CEI on matters relating to the 
elections."  (Note: The purpose of this language was to 
declare unambiguously that the INS, which is controlled by 
Gbagbo cronies, is subservient to the CEI, which the Pretoria 
Agreement made truly independent.  However, Gbagbo has taken 
 
ABIDJAN 00000718  002 OF 002 
 
 
to asserting that paragraph 6 means exactly the opposite -- 
that the INS alone is in charge of voter registration and 
needs only to keep the CEI informed of what it is doing.) 
 
¶7. (U) The communique also called for a donors conference to 
be convened to assure adequate financing for the elections, 
as soon as sufficient progress has been marked in the 
electoral process. 
 
¶8. (U) Finally, the communique welcomed the Secretary 
General's intention to organize a meeting in September, on 
the margins of the UN General Assembly, to assess the 
situation in Cote d'Ivoire and take measures as appropriate. 
 
¶9. (C) PDCI Secretary General Djedje Mady told us July 6 that 
the opposition was pleased with the outcome of the meeting, 
but, as always, it remained to be seen whether the agreement 
would in fact be implemented.  FN spokesman Sidiki Konate 
told us the same day that the FN also felt that the meeting 
was positive and frank.  He said all agreed that the peace 
process is on track but needs to be accelerated.  Konate 
confirmed that the purpose of the presidential decree 
concerning the electoral process would be to eliminate the 
90-day waiting period between the completion of voter 
registration lists and the holding of elections.  Konate 
acknowledged that there was still some ambiguity concerning 
the relative roles of the CEI and the INS, and there will 
need to be good will on the part of both institutions to 
implement that part of the communique correctly.  He said the 
CEI intends to put the voter registration process out to 
public tender.  The INS will be free to bid on this tender, 
but will only be selected if it is the best institution to do 
the job.  Both Mady and Konate indicated that there was no 
discussion of post-October scenarios if the elections cannot 
be held by then but expected that the issue will be addressed 
if necessary in September at the UN. 
 
¶10. (C) Comment.  The Ivoirians have shown repeatedly that 
they are happy to sign agreements in which they promise the 
moon to each other and to the international community but 
then lack the political will to follow through on their 
promises.  This latest agreement represents one last burst of 
energy and enthusiasm to try to get to the elections more or 
less on time.  With the first deadlines only nine days away, 
it will become clear very soon whether this time the 
Ivoirians are serious.  End Comment. 
Hooks