VZCZCXRO7364
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHRY #0333/01 1831223
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 011223Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2712
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000333 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2018 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ASEC KDEM GV
SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS LEADER WORKING ON NATIONAL DIALOGUE 
 
Classified By: A/DCM SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY.  According to Monsignor Gomez, leader of the 
Christian Counil, Guinea's reconciliation of past grievances 
will take time.  Gomez said that Guinea's political and civil 
society actors lack a spirit of national unity and purpose. 
He said that Lansana Conte is at the root of Guinea's current 
political problems, but added that Guinea's institutional 
core is also hollow. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On June 20, the Anglican Archbishop of Guinea and 
head of the Christian Council, Monsignor Albert Gomez met 
with Ambassador Carter in order to respond to a letter the 
Ambassador sent last week.  In the letter, the Ambassador 
commended the Christian Council for its timely declaration 
condemning the recent violence between the military and 
police, as well as the resulting human rights abuses.  The 
Ambassador also invited Monsignor Gomez to speak at the 
Embassy's upcoming Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) meeting 
in late July.  The A/DCM and Econoff participated in the 
meeting. 
 
¶3. (C) Gomez thanked the Embassy for recognizing and lending 
support to the Christian Council's declaration, noting that 
the U.S. Embassy was the first among several international 
partners to do so.  In response to the Ambassador's request 
for him to speak at the next HRWG, Gomez said he regretted 
that he could not participate because he is already scheduled 
to attend the international Anglican conference during the 
same timeframe.  He offered to send another representative 
from the Council (the Catholic Archbishop), which the 
Ambassador accepted.  Gomez stressed that national dialogue 
aimed at reconciliation is important, and that he and the 
Christian Council, as a neutral organization, are looking to 
facilitate such a dialogue as soon as possible. 
 
-------------------------------- 
FALSE HORIZON FOR RECONCILIATION 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) When asked about the newly created Ministry of 
Reconciliation, Gomez said that he had doubts about its true 
purpose, or even its ability to accomplish anything 
meaningful.  He agreed with the Ambassador that the GOG may 
be attempting to "reconcile" deep-seated societal grievances 
in an abbreviated timeframe in advance of the50th Anniversary 
of Guinean independence in October.  Gomez said that 
national reconciliation will be a long process, as Guineans 
must not only come to terms with the recent past, but also 
the "trauma" of Sekou Toure's regime.  He agreed that the 
parameters for dialogue must be clearly established in order 
to address fifty years of concerns. 
 
------------------ 
NO NATIONAL SPIRIT 
------------------ 
 
¶5.  (C) Gomez said that there is no spirit of commonwealth in 
Guinea.  Furthermore, Gomez said that most political actors 
in Guinea, including the unions, political parties, and civil 
society, do not understand their societal role.  "The unions 
are supposed to represent the workers, but they are getting 
involved in politics instead," he said.  When A/DCM asked 
whether the political actors are sincerely committed to 
national dialogue and reconciliation when many of them also 
appear to be interested in shoring up their own support bases 
in anticipation of filling a perceived power vacuum, Gomez 
said that it would be a challenge because no one is putting 
forth an actual agenda or program of what they would do if 
they had power.  "I am in the business of religion," he said, 
"and it is our job to provide hope." 
 
------------------------- 
HOLLOW INSTITUTIONAL CORE 
------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Turning to the broader issue of the current state of 
the GOG, Gomez said that the Guinean political system is 
dysfunctional.  He agreed with Ambassador Carter that most 
problems with the state can be traced back to President 
Conte.  He said that he thinks the president's entourage 
keeps him disconnected from the broader GOG by, which is 
exacerbated by the president's village-chief mentality. 
Gomez said, however, that he thought Conte is not only being 
manipulated by his entourage, but that he also lacks the 
lucidity to understand that the institutional core of the 
Guinean state is in fact hollow and entirely unrepresentative 
of the general population. 
 
 
CONAKRY 00000333  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶7. (C) Ambassador Carter said that Gomez has the full support 
of post, and that post would work with him to find ways to 
help, especially with logistical aid that the Christian 
Council might need to organize its national dialogue.  The 
Ambassador noted that any aid provided by the U.S. Embassy 
would need to be done discretely in order to avoid the 
impression that the dialogue is being pushed upon Guinea by 
the West.  Gomez fully agreed with the Ambassador's approach. 
 
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COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶8.  (C) As noted in previous discussions, Monsignor Gomez 
seems to be one of the few leaders in Guinean civil society 
not seeking personal gain.  He has a generally balanced, 
neutral view of Guinea's complex political situation, and is 
well respected both within the Christian and the Muslim 
communities.  Gomez may be the one person capable of bringing 
people together for an effective dialogue.  However, in the 
past, Guineans have proven to be very good at dialoguing and 
weak on taking concrete action.  The key challenge will not 
be actually getting everyone to the table.  Rather, the key 
challenge will be getting everyone to sincerely commit to the 
dialogue and then follow through on implementing whatever 
national strategy comes out of it.  Gomez echoed the same 
concerns about the potential collapse of the Guinea state, 
voiced by the G8  group in a recent chat with the Minister of 
Finance.  END COMMENT. 
 
CARTER