VZCZCXYZ2099
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRY #0162/01 0641516
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 041516Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2220
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

UNCLAS CONAKRY 000162 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM ASEC GV
SUBJECT: PRESIDENCY STIRS UP CONTROVERSY AGAIN - APPOINTS 
TWO NEW OFFICIALS 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  While Prime Minister Lansana Kouyate was 
off strengthening bilateral ties with Gabon and Equatorial 
Guinea last week, the presidency took advantage of the PM,s 
absence to stir up controversy once again.  On March 1, Conte 
issued two presidential decrees, one naming a new prefect to 
Kindia and the other, a new president for the National 
Communications Commission (CNC).  Both appointees have shady 
reputations and at least one is a staunch supporter of the 
president.  The decrees appear to be another challenge to 
Kouyate.  If he comes out on bottom as he did in early 
January 2008, the population is likely to see these 
appointments as evidence of further weakening of the 
consensus government.  END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------- 
HAVE I GOT A JOB FOR YOU! 
------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The new prefect of Kindia, Abdoulaye Siller Camara, 
fills a position left vacant by the death of the former 
prefect in February.  A contact at the Ministry of Interior 
and Security (MIS), who also happens to be from Camara,s 
neighborhood and a former classmate, told POL LES that Camara 
is from Dubreka and closely connected to Elhadj Sekhouna 
Soumah, a member of Conte,s inner circle who is well 
protected by the presidency.  According to contact, Camara 
visited Conte a few weeks ago, accompanied by Sekhouna 
Soumah.  Conte reportedly asked Camara what he had been up 
to; Camara told the president that he had not been doing 
anything since the January 2007 labor strike.  Contact said 
that Conte instructed his Secretary General, Sam Soumah, to 
draft up a decree to appoint Camara as Prefect of Kindia. 
(NOTE - Sekhouna Soumah is likely a distant relative of Sam 
Soumah's although the exact connection is unclear.  They are 
both from the same region.  END NOTE). 
 
¶3.  (SBU) MIS contact also told POL LES that he suspects the 
Minister of Interior never saw the decree before it was 
signed, which is unusual since it involves an appointment of 
one of his subordinates.  According to contact, there are 
some clear errors in the decree that would not have been 
included if the document had been properly cleared.  Breaking 
with standard protocol, the appointment decree reportedly 
does not detail any of Camara,s previous experience, nor 
does it list the Guinean equivalent of his social security 
number. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Camara is widely viewed as corrupt, having 
reportedly mismanaged and embezzled funds during his previous 
stint as prefect of Dinguirare.  Prominent union leader Dr. 
Ibrahima Fofana told Poloff on March 4 that Camara was the 
first government official to be chased out of office during 
the civil unrest in early 2007 and his reappointment 
signifies further deterioration of an increasingly tenuous 
political situation.  Fofana emphasized that the PM retains 
the right to appoint prefects and the president,s action is 
in strict violation of the January 27 protocol, similar to 
his January firing of the communications minister.  Various 
youth organizations in Kindia have expressed their 
dissatisfaction with the appointment, and according to the 
press, have notified officials of their intent to demonstrate 
on March 5 in protest. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Governor of Kindia, who was appointed by the PM 
in July 2007, told LES over the telephone that she could not 
comment on Camara,s appointment because she has not 
personally met him yet.  She said that it &is too early to 
say anything.8  However, the governor added that she does 
not want trouble in Kindia.  She added that the reports of 
youths, intent to demonstrate are unfounded and that no 
demonstrations are planned. 
 
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AND WHILE I'M AT IT... 
---------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Conte,s appointment of Tibou Kamara as the new 
president of the CNC is also stirring up controversy.  The 
CNC is the chief regulatory body of the media in Guinea, and 
while the president maintains direct authority over the 
institution, the appointment of yet another controversial 
figure in the wake of the president,s appointment of a new 
communications minister continues to raise questions about 
the future direction and autonomy of the press.  Tibou Kamara 
is a close associate of former prime minister and opposition 
political party leader Cellou Dalein Diallo.  The CNC 
recently suspended Tibou for slander against the prime 
minister, but in a complete turnaround thanks to the 
president, he is now running the organization that suspended 
him for questionable reporting.  According to various 
contacts, Tibou's appointment is illegal because Guinean law 
mandates that certain officials, including the president of 
the CNC, must be more than 40 years old at the time of 
appointment, and Tibou is only 35. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶7.  (SBU) Every time the PM leaves the country, he gives the 
president and his entourage another opportunity to manipulate 
Guinea,s tenuous political balance of power in favor of the 
president.  However, it is unclear as to whether the 
president orchestrated this latest development himself or 
whether it was one of his cronies.  The prefect,s 
appointment is being interpreted as another twist of the 
knife in the heart of the January 27 Accords while the CNC 
appointment is enraging the press.  There has already been 
some public reaction, but it is unclear to what extent the 
population will demonstrate its dissatisfaction with these 
appointments.  The fact that there is a mechanism in place to 
review the implementation of the January 27 Accords (the 
Committee de Suivi) may mitigate any immediate reaction, but 
the seeds of discontent will continue to fester under the 
surface until the underlying leadership problem is resolved. 
If the appointments go uncontested, they are likely to be 
interpreted as further weakening Kouyate,s executive powers. 
 END COMMENT. 
CARTER