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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0628
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000163 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W, INR 
ALSO FOR AID/AFR 
TREASURY FOR OFFICE OF AFRICAN NATIONS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PINS PREL GV
SUBJECT: STERN WARNING TO NEW PRIME MINISTER AGAINST USE OF 
FORCE AGAINST CIVILIANS 
 
REF: CONAKRY SITREP 29: 2/10/07 
 
Classified By: DCM Julie Winn, Reason 1.4(b, d) 
 
¶1.  (C) At 1000 hours, February 10, the U.S., French, German, 
and British ambassadors, the U.N. resident representative, 
and the EC head of delegation met with newly appointed Prime 
Minister Eugene Camara to deliver a stern warning against the 
use of force against civilians.  We also urged Camara to 
contribute to a peaceful, consensual resolution of the 
current crisis. 
 
¶2.  (C) (Note:  We had arranged this meeting with Camara as 
Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, i.e., before his 
appointment as Prime Minister on the evening of February 9. 
End note.) 
 
¶3.  (C) Prime Minister Camara responded that he had learned 
of his appointment on the radio last night like everyone 
else.  He claimed to have been surprised.  He said he had no 
personal political ambitions.  He stated that his main 
objectives were to clean up Guinea,s public finances and to 
stimulate economic development.  He stressed that he would be 
willing to work with all Guineans, irrespective of their 
political affiliations, who were willing to contribute to 
these goals. 
 
¶4.  (C) Prime Minister Camara said he fully understood our 
warning against the use of force against civilians.  He 
recalled that he had an established track record as a man of 
dialogue and inclusiveness.  He committed himself to doing 
everything within his power to avoid further killing.  He 
said he would bring our demarche to the attention of 
President Conte and the chiefs of the security forces.  He 
added, however, that if further killings occur, these 
killings would be despite his best efforts to prevent them. 
(Note: We have reports of some killings, both in the interior 
and in Conakry, including two persons allegedly shot by 
Conte's presidential guards when protesters stopped the 
presidential convoy in the suburbs early morning of February 
10.) 
 
¶5.  (C) Prime Minister Camara said that the government wants 
the investigations into the January 22 killings to be as 
transparent and inclusive as possible.  (Note:  The labor 
unions and the bar association have declined to participate 
in the investigatory process, which they perceive as 
necessarily biased in favor to the government.)  When asked, 
Camara said that he personally would not oppose international 
participation in the investigations. 
 
¶6.  (C) With regard to the unrest which has erupted since his 
appointment last night, Prime Minister Camara said that he 
would meet informally today with the unions, civil society, 
and the political parties in an effort to restore calm.  He 
repeated that he remains open to working with all/all 
Guineans who are willing to help clean up public finances and 
restart the economy. 
 
¶7.  (C) Prime Minister Camara said he expected to form a new 
cabinet of ministers within the next few days.  We urged him 
to aim for a government of broad national consensus. 
 
¶8.  (C) When asked, Prime Minister Camara said that 
preparations continue for the legislative elections set for 
June 2007, despite the fact that these elections have been 
overshadowed by the current, strike-related violence.  He 
said that the National Assembly would be called into special 
session over the days just ahead to adopt the new electoral 
laws, the drafts of which were the product of negotiations 
among all concerned parties in late 2006. 
 
¶9.  (C) Prime Minister Camara also indicated that he knows 
the limits of his power vis-a-vis President Conte.  He made 
it clear that the head of state, i.e., President Conte, 
remains responsible for the military. 
 
¶10.  (C) Comment:  Eugene Camara accurately described himself 
as sober and low-key, as a man of dialogue, and as a man open 
to working with all Guineans willing to contribute to the 
development of the country.  His main defect, however, is 
that he has served in President Conte,s governments for the 
past ten years.  This experience has contaminated him in the 
eyes of the general public and has rendered him unacceptable 
to most Guineans as their prime minister.  The appointment of 
 
CONAKRY 00000163  002 OF 002 
 
 
this fairly anodyne, non-controversial man as prime minister 
has provoked violence in the streets.  Indeed, the popular 
sentiment is for regime change, for President Conte,s 
ouster, not for a new prime minister, whatever his personal 
qualities or talents. 
MCDONALD