VZCZCXYZ0009
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLC #0049/01 0291340
ZNY CCCCC ZZH (CCY AD740C91 MSI9348-695)
P 291340Z JAN 07 ZDS
FM AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9541
INFO RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 0378
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 0968
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 1355
RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON 0651
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0332
RUEHLU/AMEMBASSY LUANDA 0944
RUEHNJ/AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA 0417
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0855
RUEHYD/AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE 0757
RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS 0653
RHMFISS/COMUSNAVEUR NAPLES IT
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIBREVILLE 000049 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY - Correcting text in paragraph 6 
 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
KINSHASA ALSO FOR BRAZZAVILLE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/26/2117 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MASS GB TP AO
SUBJECT: GULF OF GUINEA COMMISSION SECGEN READY TO ASSUME 
RESPONSIBILITIES 
 
REF: 2006 LIBREVILLE 00560 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Barrie Walkley for reasons 1.4 b and d 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY.  The treaty establishing the Gulf of Guinea 
Commission was ratified in 2006 by the requisite number of 
states and the Gulf of Guinea Commission entered into force. 
The Commission -- comprising Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, 
Cameroon, Sao Tome and Principe, the Republic of Congo, 
Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo -- can be a 
useful vehicle for addressing maritime security concerns 
throughout the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea.  There have been 
problems establishing the Commission HQ in Angola.  The first 
head of the Commission is Carlos Gomes of Sao Tome and 
Principe; deputies from Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria have 
not yet been named. END SUMMARY 
 
¶2. (U) In February, 2001, a treaty establishing the Gulf of 
Guinea Commission was signed by the heads of state of Gabon, 
Equatorial Guinea (EG), Cameroon, Sao Tome and Principe 
(STP), the Republic of Congo, Nigeria and the Democratic 
Republic of Congo (DRC).  Gabon was the primary force behind 
the Commission, which can be a useful vehicle for addressing 
maritime security concerns (the individual states of this 
oil-rich region currently lack the capacity to police their 
own waters and have no other mechanisms to promote maritime 
security jointly).  EUCOM has had consistent interest in the 
formation of the Commission. 
 
¶3. (U) In order to enter into force, the treaty required 
ratification by two thirds of the parties (i.e., six of the 
eight signatories).  In 2006, Angola became the sixth country 
to ratify the treaty (joining Gabon, Nigeria, EG, STP and 
Congo). Cameroon, now that the Bakassi peninsula dispute is 
settled, is (according to the Gabonese) ready to pursue 
ratification; RDC's parliament undoubtedly has more urgent 
matters to consider for the time being. 
 
¶4. (U) According to Foreign Minister Jean Ping, not all 
countries have yet deposited ratification documents with 
Gabon; nonetheless, the treaty is in force and the Gulf of 
Guinea Commission exists -- at least legally. 
 
¶5. (U) When the Commission was proposed, it was determined 
that the HQ would be in Gabon and that the Secretary General 
of the Commission would be former president of Sao Tome and 
Principe, Miguel Trovoada, with Deputy SecGens from EG and 
Nigeria.  (FYI: Miguel Trovoada was so interested in the job 
that he decided not to run in the 2006 STP presidential 
elections.)  However, at a meeting in Libreville in August 
2006, Angola offered to provide a Luanda office building for 
the Commission and a residence for the SecGen -- and also to 
pay all Commission operating costs for the first year.  The 
offer was accepted. 
 
¶6. (C) At that point, STP President Fradique de Menezes 
refused to endorse Miguel Trovoada for the SecGen position. 
De Menezes, who has notoriously poor relations with Dos Santos, 
was unhappy that the HQ would be in Luanda with a political 
enemy, Trovoada, at its head.  De Menezes did not object to 
Trovoada's being in Libreville (in fact, he saw it as a 
useful way to keep Trovoada out of STP).  For de Menezes, the 
problem with having Trovoada in Luanda was that Trovoada has 
been a lifetime leader of the MLSTP, a political party 
opposed to de Menezes and long supported by Angola. De 
Menezes feared that Trovoada and Angola would jointly work to 
undermine him. 
 
¶7. (U) As a compromise, Carlos Gomes -- also from STP-- was 
selected as the Commission SecGen.  It was decided that Gomes 
would visit Libreville to be "anointed," in a sense, by Omar 
Bongo before officially assuming his duties. (The meeting 
with Bongo -- the prime force behind the Commission -- is 
seen as the equivalent to a swearing-in.)  Gomes visited 
Luanda in November 2006 and complained that the residence he 
was being offered by the Angolans was far from the city and 
would require too much commuting time.  According to STP 
 
Presidential Chief-of-Staff Nando Rita, the problem has now 
been solved and Gomes is ready to assume his 
responsibilities.  Gomes has not yet been to Libreville for 
the meeting with Bongo.  Neither EG nor Nigeria has presented 
the names of the Dep SecGen candidates. 
 
¶8. (C) COMMENT: It is encouraging that the Gulf of Guinea 
Commission Sec Gen is finally ready to assume 
responsibilities.  The Commission is the only regional 
organization that combines an ECOWAS country (Nigeria) with 
CEEAC states.  It is uncertain, however, how effective the 
body will be in approaching matters such as regional maritime 
security.  It is also uncertain how effective Carlos Gomes 
will be as SecGen (he unfortunately does not have the stature 
of Miguel Trovoada, who was president of STP from 1991 to 
2001 and is well-known throughout the eight countries making 
up the Commission). 
 
WALKLEY