VZCZCXYZ0013
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBP #1237/01 3001406
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
R 271406Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6360
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

S E C R E T BAMAKO 001237 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/25/2016 
TAGS: PREL PINR PINS PGOV ML
SUBJECT: MALI'S POLITICAL SEASON BEGINS - CONTROVERSIAL 
BOOK SMEARS ATT AND HIS ADMINISTRATION 
 
REF: A. BAMAKO 01154 
     ¶B. BAMAKO 01005 
     ¶C. BAMAKO 00521 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Aaron Sampson for reasons 
1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1.(S) Summary:  The Rally for Mali (RPM) recently provided 
the Embassy with a bootleg copy of the anonymous book, 
"ATT-Cracy: The Promotion of a Man and his Clan," that has 
triggered a heated debate over the author's identity and the 
book's allegations of presidential corruption and abuse of 
power.  Published last month in France under the pseudonym 
"Le Sphinx," "ATT-Cracy" is intended as a sweeping indictment 
of Amadou Toumani Toure's (ATT) presidency.  Initial Sphinx 
suspects ranged from National Assembly President Ibrahim 
Boubcar Keita (who has denied any involvement) to a handful 
of disgruntled former Ministers.  Outraged by the book's 
accusations, ATT has launched an investigation of his own 
(although the Malian leader has been criticized on the street 
-- and within his entourage -- for his failure to respond 
publicly to the charges).  A recent letter reportedly from 
the Sphinx claims "ATT-Cracy" was written by a group of 
former and current members of the State Security forces. 
Although the book is largely a compilation of old and 
unsubstantiated rumors, the allegations -- along with the 
government's inaction in the face of fighting in Mali's north 
between Tuareg rebels and the GSPC -- have laid ATT and his 
government open to charges of weakness and corruption. 
Minister of Territorial Administration, General Kafougouna 
Kone, has emerged relatively unscathed from the controversy, 
and ATT will rely on Kone to steer his two central political 
issues in the coming months- the Algiers Accords and the 
management of the 2007 elections.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Sphinx Sparks Scandal and Speculation 
------------------------------------- 
 
2.(C) In September the French printing house L'Harmattan 
published "ATT-Cracy: The Promotion of a Man and His Clan" by 
an anonymous author known as "le Sphinx."  Several local 
newspapers subsequently published large extracts of the text, 
which remains difficult to locate in Bamako despite having 
reportedly already run through its initial printing of 30,000 
copies in France.  Last week boxes of photocopied bootleg 
versions of "ATT-Cracy" appeared at Rally for Mali (RPM) 
headquarters and the National Assembly office of presumed 
presidential challenger Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (IBK). 
 
3.(C)  The book accuses ATT, his family and most of his key 
Ministers of creating a "cult of personality" to facilitate 
rampant financial and political corruption.  The Sphinx 
argues that ATT's consensus-model of politics is nothing more 
than window-dressing for a single-party, autocracy similar to 
the one that was overthrown, in part by ATT himself, in 1991. 
 Although the accusations are largely unsubstantiated and at 
times far-fetched, "ATT-Cracy" nonetheless levels some 
potentially explosive, albeit ham-handed, allegations.  These 
include claims that: 
 
  --former President Alpha Oumar Konare and ATT worked 
together to contrive a way for Mali's Supreme Court to void 
over 500,000 votes largely for IBK during the 2002 
presidential election. 
  --France preferred ATT over other potential presidential 
candidates due to his "indecisive, furtive, irresponsible and 
double-crossing" personality. 
  --ATT allowed French Interior Minister Nicholas Sarkozy to 
use Mali a "lab experiment" for France's controversial 
selective immigration policy. 
  --the Office of the Auditor General, whose salary 
approaches more than USD 6,000 per month, was created to 
shield those close to ATT and threaten his opponents. 
  --ATT's children and family have benefited from large 
government contracts. 
  --the Aga Khan foundation, which owns Mali's only domestic 
airline and has a 35% stake in the public electric and water 
company, received preferential treatment from ATT based on 
Aga Khan's support of First Lady Toure Lobbo Traore's 
foundation for Malian children and development projects in 
ATT's home town of Mopti. 
  --Trade Minister Choguel Maiga enriched himself off the 
sale of cereal products intended to mitigate the effects of 
drought and hunger in Mali's rural areas. 
  --several upper level officials in Mali's Security and 
Defense Ministries, as well as key ATT allies including 
Solidarity Minister Djbril Tangara and Energy Minister Ahmed 
Semega, have enriched themselves at the government and 
peoples' expense. 
 
 
 
  --other political leaders not included in ATT's government, 
such as Alliance for Democracy in Mali (ADEMA) president 
Dioncounda Traore and CNID president Mountaga Tall, "sold 
their souls to the devil" to ingratiate themselves with ATT. 
  --ATT's status as the first Head of State to visit Iranian 
President Ahmadinejad and subsequent decision to rescind visa 
requirements for Iranian citizens "could turn our country 
into a transit site, even a sanctuary, especially in northern 
Mali, for eventual Iranian terrorists." 
  --ATT and First Lady Toure Lobbo Traore received large sums 
of cash from Libyan leader Qadhafi in return for 
authorization for Libya to open its ill-fated consulate in 
Kidal. 
  --ATT revealed his weakness by allowing Qadhafi to behave 
"as though he had conquered a new Libyan province" during his 
April 2006 visit to Timbuktu.  "With Presidents Moussa Traore 
and Alpha Oumar Konare," writes the Sphinx, "Qadhafi would 
have never been allowed to behave this way." 
 
----------------------------------------- 
Seeking the Sphinx in the Security Forces 
----------------------------------------- 
 
4.(C)  In Mali, which is largely unaccustomed to this form of 
political mud-slinging, the publication of "ATT-Cracy" set 
off an immediate hunt for its author(s).  ATT has reportedly 
charged National Assembly vice-president Mountaga Tall with 
identifying the Sphinx.  Tall is the president of the 
National Committee for Democratic Initiatives (CNID), which 
holds 13 seats in the National Assembly and is one of the two 
parties that outmaneuvered IBK and the RPM for spots the now 
controversial Independent National Electoral Commission (ref 
A).  Tall is also widely believed to harbor presidential 
ambitions for 2012.  According to reports, Tall planned on 
traveling to Paris to meet with lawyers and pressure 
L'Harmattan to reveal the Sphinx's identity.  At the same 
time, ATT has been widely criticized on the street here, and 
within his own circle, for his failure to respond publicly to 
the charges levied by the Sphinx. 
 
5.(C)  One of the first and most obvious suspects was 
National Assembly President, RPM leader and presumed 
presidential challenger IBK.  Although IBK denied any 
connection to the Sphinx, his RPM party is eagerly selling 
photocopied versions of "ATT-Cracy" outside RPM events for 
approximately USD 20 a copy.  After reading extracts of the 
text in the Malian press, many concluded that "ATT-Cracy" 
lacked the style and sophistication of a seasoned political 
leader like IBK. 
 
6.(C)  Another popular suspect is former Minister of Defense 
and Chief of Security Soumeylou Boubey Maiga.  Maiga, who is 
seriously considering a presidential bid (ref B), has a 
professional resume that lends itself to such speculation 
given the Sphinx's detailed knowledge of the Malian security 
and defense forces.  Maiga has also denied any link to the 
Sphinx and recently sued a local newspaper for libel after it 
ran a story accusing him of having delivered copies of 
"ATT-Cracy" to Malian media outlets.  In a conversation with 
the Embassy, Maiga reiterated that he was not the Sphinx, 
suggesting that "ATT-Cracy" was the product of multiple 
authors within the Security forces, but offered to replace 
the Embassy's bootleg copy with an original first edition. 
 
7.(C)  On October 24 several newspapers published a letter 
purportedly from the Sphinx, identifying the authors of 
"ATT-Cracy" as members of the Malian Security forces and 
threatening to expose one presidential scandal per month from 
now until the April 2007 elections.  "There is no reason to 
dispatch someone to Paris," said the letter in reference to 
Mountaga Tall's mission, "as our leaders are in the habit of 
doing in times of uncertainty.  We are a group of active and 
former State Security agents.  Our role is not to examine the 
character of a leader but to shine a light on his actions and 
deeds."  The Sphinx, the letter concluded, "is not here to 
save the nation, since alone this is not possible, but to 
shock the State by ensuring that its secrets and cover-ups 
are put before the public eye so that each citizen is able to 
assume his responsibility." 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
One ATT Ally Without Mud: General Kafougouna Kone 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
8.(C)  While the Sphinx has slung mud at President Toure and 
most of his closest allies, one key figure in ATT's 
administration is portrayed in a positive light:  Minister of 
Territorial Administration, General Kafougouna Kone. 
Although the RPM has pilloried Kone for signing the Algiers 
Accords with the Tuareg rebels and contriving to leave the 
 
RPM off the Independent Election Commission, le Sphinx - who 
also vehemently denounces the Algiers Accords - has nothing 
but praise for General Kone.  Referring to a meeting between 
Kone, the Tuareg rebels and Qadhafi's Cabinet Director in 
Kidal in April 2006 (ref C), the Sphinx writes:  "In contrast 
to ATT, who is more complacent and weak toward the Libyans, 
General Kafougouna Kone had the merit to send Iyad ag Ghali 
packing and did not hesitate to give Qadhafi's Cabinet 
Director a piece of his mind over the question of Mali's 
territorial integrity." 
 
-------- 
Comment: 
-------- 
 
9.(S)  The Sphinx's charges are a combination of old news and 
innuendo, and the author or authors clearly have a political 
agenda.  The claims of fraud in the 2002 presidential 
election, for example, represent a favorite theme of IBK, who 
has always maintained ATT "stole" the election from him. 
Most observers at the time, however, gave little credence to 
the charges.  At the same time, allegations of high-level 
corruption feed the Malian public's perception that most 
ministers use their time in office to feed at the public 
trough.  Whether any or all of the charges are proven to be 
accurate, ATT and his government have been weakened further 
by the controversy.  Many southern Malians had already been 
angered by their government's passive reaction to the 
Algerian-sponsored Tuareg attacks on the GSPC in the north, 
and the charges levied in "ATT-Cracy" only increase the heat 
on ATT and his key allies.  In this regard, the Malian 
president will need to rely ever more on the soft-spoken 
Kone, who was ATT's commanding officer before the latter's 
1991 coup, since the Minister has charge of both the 
implementation of the Algiers Accords and planning for the 
2007 presidential and legislative elections. 
McCulley