VZCZCXRO4938
OO RUEHPA
DE RUEHRY #0231/01 1491017
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 281017Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2572
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000231 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PMIL ASEC GV
SUBJECT: EMBASSY CONAKRY - SITUATION REPORT 5 
 
REF: A. CONAKRY 0224 
 
     ¶B. CONAKRY 0225 
     ¶C. CONAKRY 0226 
     ¶D. CONAKRY 0227 
     ¶E. CONAKRY 0228 
 
Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  Soldiers were celebrating into the night 
yesterday after winning government concessions to all 
mutineer demands.  Celebratory activities included 
intermittent firing of guns into the air, some armed 
muggings, and looting of several businesses.  The media 
reports that at least three people have been killed, and 30 
wounded.  The situation this morning appears relatively calm, 
although there is a heightened sense of caution amongst 
citizens.  One contact visited the Ambassador yesterday 
evening and provided some useful insights into what may be 
happening behind the scenes.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) After the Guinean Government (GoG) conceded to all 
of the mutineers' demands around 15:30 on May 27, there were 
still reports of intermittent gunfire into the night, as 
soldiers fired into the air to celebrate their victory. 
Sources have confirmed that gas stations in Matoto and 
Tannerie were looted by soldiers, while unconfirmed reports 
indicate that Total gas stations in Camayenne and Enco 5 were 
similarly looted (all four stations are located in Conakry). 
Embassy has not received any reports of warehouse lootings, 
although there have been unconfirmed reports of some looting 
of smaller shops.  Conakry's largest open air market, Medina, 
was closed yesterday.  The media has reported that at least 
three people were killed and 30 wounded over the last few 
days. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) There have been no reports of gunfire this morning 
and the city appears calm.  Many gas stations remain closed 
and cars are lined up waiting for fuel.  Medina market 
remains closed.  There is less traffic on the road, but 
citizens generally appear to be going about business as 
usual, albeit with some caution.  The French School and a 
French pre-school (which several Embassy children attend) are 
closed through Thursday.  The American School is open. 
 
¶4.  (U) Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare appeared on the 
national news network, Radio Television Guinean (RTG) at 
20:30 on May 27 to announce the results of the negotiations 
with the mutineers.  He did not provide any detailed 
information about the mutiny itself, but confirmed that the 
GoG had agreed to the following demands:  release of all 
soldiers detained for alleged human rights abuses in early 
2007; dismissal of the Minister of Defense; payment of 5 
million GnF to every soldier; and continued negotiations over 
rice subsidies for soldiers.  In addition, he stated that the 
mutineers would not be arrested.  He also noted mutineers' 
demands to dismiss the Chief of Staff and other high ranking 
officers, and said that the GoG would continue to negotiate 
this point.  He did not name a new Minister of Defense. 
 
¶5.  (S) A prominent youth leader who is well connected to the 
Peuhl community stopped by the Ambassador's residence 
yesterday evening for about 30 minutes.  Visibly worried, 
Contact told the Ambassador that he is deeply concerned about 
what he is hearing from members of the president's entourage. 
 He said that the presidency believes that former Prime 
Minister Lansana Kouyate may be implicated in the military 
mutiny.  Contact added that Kouyate was apparently planning 
to leave the country yesterday, but that the new PM and the 
President's cronies were going to prevent him from boarding 
the aircraft.  (COMMENT.  The only international flight on 
Tuesday evenings is to Morocco.  END COMMENT). 
 
¶6.  (S) According to Contact, Kouyate is very close to a 
woman identified as Kadiatou, who is Guinean, but currently 
in Mali.  When the Ambassador asked why Contact thought that 
Kouyate may have been involved in the mutiny, Contact said 
that Kadiatou knew that General Baillo Diallo's (the 
dismissed defense minister) house was going to be looted and 
burned before it happened yesterday afternoon.  Contact 
questioned how someone living in Mali could have access to 
such a specific detail without being connected to someone 
close to the mutiny.  In Contact's opinion, that connection 
could have been Kouyate.  However, he added that regardless 
of whether or not Kouyate is involved, the president 
perceives him as involved. 
 
¶7.  (S) Contact also told Ambassador that the president is 
only appeasing the mutineers, but has no intention of 
actually meeting their demands.  Instead, Contact said that 
 
CONAKRY 00000231  002 OF 002 
 
 
once the situation calms down, the president's entourage will 
identify the leaders of the mutiny and simply "take them 
out."  He said that there will be no arrests, only 
executions.  According to Contact, the president said "just 
let things calm down and I will go after them." 
 
¶8.  (S) When asked about possible personalities involved, 
Contact said that aside from the president and the new PM, 
Fode Bangorah and Ousmane Camara are central actors. 
According to Contact, "these guys don't care about anything, 
they just want power."  From the mutineers' side, he 
identified Biro Conde and Daida Camara as possible leaders. 
(COMMENT.  Embassy does not yet have any additional 
information on these identified individuals, other than the 
former Secretary General of the President, Fode Bangorah. 
END COMMENT). 
 
¶9.  (S) For Contact, one of the more concerning elements of 
Guinea's evolving political situation is a growing ethnic 
dynamic.  With Souare's appointment as PM (a Peuhl), he said 
that many people are encouraging ethnic tensions between the 
Peuhls and the Malinkes.  (COMMENT.  The former PM is 
Malinke). 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10.  (S) The situation remains calm although people seem to 
be more cautious than usual.  However, the apparently 
successful mutiny raises a number of concerns about Guinea's 
current political dynamic.  The fact that the military was 
able to stage a relatively organized mutiny with significant 
backing suggests that the military brass no longer has any 
control over the rank and file officers.  It also suggests 
that someone higher up, either from within the military or 
from outside, was involved.  We have yet to see the civil 
society reaction to the concessions granted, but the release 
of alleged human rights violators is likely to be 
inflammatory.  The situation remains fluid.  END COMMENT. 
CARTER