VZCZCXYZ0006
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLC #0502/01 3181638
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 141638Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9981
INFO RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 0412
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 0276
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 1406
RUEHLU/AMEMBASSY LUANDA 0981
RUEHYD/AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE 0852
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIBREVILLE 000502 
 
SIPDIS 
 
KINSHASA PASS TO BRAZAVILLE 
YAOUNDE PASS TO MALABO 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/14/2012 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC TP
SUBJECT: SAO TOME:  GOVERNMENT COLLECTS WEAPONS FROM POLICE 
REBELS AND WEIGHS FURTHER STEPS 
 
REF: LIBREVILLE 0477 
 
Classified By: CDA Nathan Holt for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (SBU) National authorities in Sao Tome and Principe (STP) 
have collected a significant quantity of weapons from the 
rebellious and now-disbanded "Ninja" police unit.  Meanwhile, 
a senior government minister claims the Ninjas, who carried 
out armed occupations of the national police headquarters 
three times in the last two months, have ties to the 
political opposition.  One Ninja was shot and killed and two 
others injured in the latest incident November 4.  Ten Ninjas 
were subsequently arrested and detained by the army, which 
has effectively taken over leadership of the police force in 
STP.  On November 13 President Fradique de Menezes convened 
an emergency meeting of senior leaders to respond to the 
Ninja problem and weigh potential changes in the government. 
End Summary. 
 
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Weapons Collected 
----------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) In the aftermath of the latest "Ninja" incident 
(reftel), national authorities called on all members of the 
paramilitary unit to turn in their weapons.  The army also 
launched a house-to-house search for weapons in the homes of 
Ninjas and their close relatives.  In a broadcast on STP 
state television November 12, the army displayed a pickup 
truck full of weapons collected from the now-disbanded Ninja 
unit.  Agence France Presse (AFP), in report filed from Sao 
Tome, quoted an army spokesman claiming that "almost 80" 
weapons had been recovered.  The spokesman said the operation 
would continue until all Ninja weapons were collected. 
 
¶3.  (C) STP Defense Minister Oscar Sousa told CDA November 10 
that various Ninjas had retained possession of a significant 
quantity of weapons, despite a signed agreement with the 
government under which they were obligated to disband and 
disarm.  He said that at that time members of the Ninja unit 
still held AK-47s, Uzi sub-machine guns, pistols, and "4-5 
bigger guns."  Of approximately 100 total Ninjas prior to the 
latest incident, 10 were currently in detention, Sousa said. 
It was not immediately clear whether there were further 
detentions in the aftermath of the house-to-house weapons 
collection. 
 
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Minister's Allegations 
---------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) The defense minister accused opposition politicians 
of exploiting the Ninja situation, and claimed that 
interrogation of Ninja detainees had revealed clear links 
between the mutinous police unit and leaders of the political 
opposition.  Sousa declined to name the opposition figures 
involved--referring to them merely as "A" and "B"--but said 
they were linked to STP's main opposition party, the 
Movimento de Libertacao de Sao Tome e Principe/Partido Social 
Democrata (MLSTP/PSD).  The MLSTP was Sao Tome's ruling party 
until De Menezes' ascent to the presidency in 2001.  Sousa 
emphasized that the allegations involved individual 
politicians, not the MLSTP/PSD as a party. 
 
¶5.  (C) Sousa told CDA that the Ninja rebels had retained the 
keys to a government armory at the national police 
headquarters until the latest incident November 4.  The 
police were unable to account for their own weapons 
inventory, Sousa said, and national police commander Gilberto 
Andrade--who had been taken hostage by the Ninjas during an 
incident October 8--was likely complicit with the rebels, 
Sousa claimed.  Sousa also claimed that the Ninjas intended 
to assassinate unnamed political leaders, and were 
increasingly involved in organized crime.  Andrade's status 
was not clear in the aftermath of the latest incident. 
Embassy staff in STP reported that the army has taken over 
direction of the police force. 
 
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Details of Shooting 
------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) Sousa also provided additional details of the 
shooting incident November 4.  The government moved quickly 
when a group of about ten Ninjas re-occupied police 
headquarters just after midnight, Sousa told CDA.  Starting 
at about 3:00 a.m., the army established a wide perimeter 
around the police headquarters, incorporating several blocks 
of downtown Sao Tome.  Well-armed national forces then 
advanced on the national police headquarters, where they met 
little resistance.  By dawn the rebellious police officers 
were safely in army custody at a nearby barracks. 
 
¶7.  (C) Then the trouble began.  Alerted to the army's 
operation, remaining Ninjas converged on the national police 
headquarters after daybreak.  According to Sousa, they 
intended to show solidarity with other members of their 
group, whom they erroneously believed were still present at 
the site.  The newly-arrived Ninjas were unarmed, however, 
and some reportedly asked to be arrested along with the other 
members of their unit.  One of the last to reach the 
headquarters, Sousa said, was a female who got into some kind 
of altercation with a soldier.  The female Ninja, whom the 
defense minister claimed was trained in martial arts, struck 
the soldier and another Ninja moved to give her aid.  At that 
point another soldier opened fire, killing the female Ninja 
and wounding two others. 
 
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Political Machinations 
---------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C) In a debate at the National Assembly November 9, one 
opposition MP called the incident an "outrageous 
assassination."  Defense Minister Sousa, however, delivered a 
detailed rebuttal, and claimed to have documentary evidence 
of the Ninja's alleged ties to opposition political figures 
and plans to disrupt government. 
 
¶9.  (C) On November 13, Embassy staff reported that STP 
President de Menezes convened a five-hour high level meeting 
that included the leaders of all political parties 
represented in the National Assembly, as well as former STP 
President Manuel Pinto da Costa and other leading political 
figures.  De Menezes told the press after the meeting that he 
believes it is time to make changes to the government, an 
apparent reference to a long-awaited cabinet reshuffle.  It 
is also possible that De Menezes could call for new 
elections.  De Menezes was scheduled to convene a formal 
meeting of the State Council November 14.  The State Council 
meets rarely, and is empowered under the STP constitution to 
discuss dissolution of the National Assembly and dismissal of 
the government.  Its members include the prime minister, the 
president of the National Assembly, and the president of the 
Constitutional Court. 
 
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Comment 
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¶10.  (C) This protracted saga is not yet over.  STP's 
political and security dynamics are complex--a mix of 
legitimate grievances, crude power grabs and something 
resembling a family feud.  STP's multiparty democracy is 
standing up so far to these challenges, but the strain is 
evident.  End Comment. 
HOLT