P R 251659Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1088
INFO AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 
AMEMBASSY PARIS 
AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE

UNCLAS BRAZZAVILLE 000196 
 
 
PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS;DEPT FOR AF/C 
SSARDAR,KWYCOFF,SFOX;DEPT FOR AF/EX JSWAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM ECON PGOV CF
SUBJECT: BRAZZAVILLE IN BRIEF - JULY 25, 2008 
 
¶1.  Embassy Brazzaville is an unclassified post. 
 
¶2.  Kouilou region asks for forgiveness:  A delegation of 
government leaders who represent the Pointe Noire-Kouilou area 
in their legislative duties, led by the Minister of Hydrocarbons 
Taty Loutard, presented themselves to President Denis 
Sassou-Nguesso to apologize for the recent incident in Pointe 
Noire and to assure the president it would not happen again. The 
president responded, not with forgiveness, but with an African 
proverb that translates to:  "when the rats in the garden want 
the cheese in the house, it is the mice in the house which show 
them the way in," alluding to the fact that he was fully aware 
of the people who were behind the incident.  The president also 
pointed out that when he and Mrs. Sassou-Nguesso entered the 
ceremony, no one in the congregation stood up to show them the 
proper respect.  He reminded the delegation of how much he 
assisted the deceased during his time of illness and that he has 
always shown preferential treatment to the needs of Pointe 
Noire. 
 
¶3.  Independent news reporter arrested and detained:  Christian 
Perrin, a reporter for an independent television station in 
Pointe Noire, was arrested by the Direction de Surveillance du 
Territoire (DST) and detained for one night at the police 
station in Pointe Noire.  He was charged with attempting to 
incite a riot.  Perrin had filmed the July 5 riot in which 
stones were thrown at the President's motorcade during the 
burial of Thystere Tchicaya (see reftel).  Perrin's station, 
Tele Pour Tous, showed footage of the incident on the local 
station in Pointe Noire in spite of the government's directive 
not to do so.  On July 20, Perrin invited two opposition party 
members to discuss the recent local elections on the air, and 
Perrin was arrested the following morning.  Upon his release he 
reported that he had not been mistreated by the DST, merely 
targeted for broadcasting the footage on television. 
Approximately 30 people have been arrested and detained for the 
July 5 incident.  Liberti sans frontieres reports that one 
detainee, Guy Poaty, died from wounds suffered during torture by 
the DST.  Post has been unable to confirm. 
 
¶4.  Yet another death among the government elite:  Marcel 
Dzangui Ombissa, a senator and member of the presidential 
majority, died while presenting a speech at Parliament on 
maternal mortality.  This is the seventh death of a high-ranking 
government leader since May 2007. 
 
¶5.  Getting organized for the elections:  Leaders of The 
Rassemblement pour la Majoriti Prisidentielle(RMP), which is 
composed of 82 political parties that support President 
Sassou-Nguesso, are discussing the need to develop one major 
political party prior to the 2009 presidential elections, 
claiming that one strong political party would assure the 
President's re-election in the first round of voting. 
Meanwhile, another candidate has thrown his hat in the ring: 
Anguios Nganguia-Engmbi, a customs officer, who stated that 
although he has parted ways with the president's political 
party, PCT, he will not resign his membership in the party, and 
will run as an independent candidate even though his party is 
part of the RMP. 
 
¶6.  Italians interested in producing bio fuel and shoes:  Fri-el 
Green has been granted 40,000 hectares of Congolese land for the 
next 30 years to produce bio fuel and palm oil, with the 
stipulation that the company will begin to set up its enterprise 
by September and be in full production mode by February 2009. 
Italian-owned Euroscarpa announced a plan to develop a shoe 
factory in RoC.  The factory will hire 150 to 200 Congolese for 
a daily production of 500 shoes. 
 
 
GREGG