VZCZCXRO8080
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHRY #0815/01 3661626
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 311626Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3286
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000815 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SOCI ASEC GV
SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS LEADER SEES COUP AND CNDD AS A POLITICAL 
CASTASTROPHE 
 
Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D 
) 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY.  A respected Christian leader called 
Guinea's recent coup d'etat and subsequent installation of 
the Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD) a political 
"catastrophe."  He expressed disappointment over the lack of 
civilian leadership and the general complacency with which 
the population has accepted the new government.  Contact 
commented that the CNDD is inexperienced and unprepared for 
the job ahead.  He also said he was embarrassed over the way 
in which the CNDD is interacting with the international 
community.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On December 31, Poloff met with Monsigneur Gomez, 
the Anglican Archbishop and head of Guinea's Christian 
Council.  Embassy has met with Gomez many times in the past 
to exchange views on Guinea's political and social situation. 
 Gomez is well respected by the general population and is 
known for his balanced and thoughtful views on key issues. 
 
¶3.  (C) Although most Guineans seem to have welcomed the 
December 23 coup and the subsequent installation of the 
Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD), Monsigneur 
Gomez did not share these sentiments.  Through the course of 
the meeting, he repeatedly expressed shock and disappointment 
at how political events have evolved since President Conte's 
death on December 22.  Gomez said that he attended the 
December 27 meeting between the CNDD and civil society 
leaders and was "astonished and disappointed to see all the 
politicians applauding."  He commented that these leaders 
should be at the front of a civilian effort to restore 
civilian rule, but that instead, they are content to sit back 
and trust that the new government is going to be better than 
the last one. 
 
¶4.  (C) According to Gomez, the political parties are not 
ready for elections, they lack a clear political agenda, and 
they have little to stand on other than ethnic ties.  He said 
that the parties do not want to move to elections too fast 
because everyone is focused on their personal interests, 
namely becoming president, and want to ensure that they 
develop a strong enough constituent base to guarantee their 
victory.  "These weaknesses are exactly what kept Conte 
strong," Gomez said, adding "if the parties had been better 
prepared when Conte was alive, we would not be in this 
situation today." 
 
¶5.  (C) Gomez said that no one was surprised that the 
military had seized power.  "No one knew when it would happen 
or who would do it, but we knew a coup was coming," he said. 
However, Gomez said that he could not believe how unprepared 
the coup leaders were given that they had so much time to 
organize themselves and develop a political plan.  He said he 
was shocked that a young captain with no political experience 
emerged as the nation's leader.  "These guys are just like a 
bunch of children...they have no idea what they are 
doing...they just seize power with no particular strategy in 
mind and then expect everything to take care of itself," 
Gomez said. 
 
¶6.  (C) Referring to the December 30 meeting between the 
diplomatic community and the CNDD (to be reported septel), 
Gomez said "I was absolutely shocked by yesterday's meeting; 
it was a catastrophe."  He later said that he was embarrassed 
by President Moussa Dadis Camara's comments and attitude, 
saying that it demonstrated how ill prepared Camara is to 
lead the country.  Gomez added that the CNDD is talking about 
all the same problems that everyone else has been talking 
about for years, i.e. corruption, constitutional reform, 
judicial reform, etc., but that the CNDD has no concrete 
program in mind to address those issues.  "They are just like 
everybody else we have seen...same issues, same promises, no 
action" he said.  Pointing out that the CNDD had begun 
nominating ministers before the new prime minister had even 
landed in country, Gomez said that it is unlikely that 
civilian government officials will have any real authority. 
"There is no change here," he said. 
 
¶7.  (C) When Poloff commented on civil society's lackluster 
response to the installation of another military leader as 
president of the country, Gomez said that the country may 
actually be accepting something worse than they had before. 
"At least we knew what we had under Conte," he said, "we do 
not know anything about this guy."  Gomez commented that 
Guineans lack a sense of national dignity.  "I watched the 
same thing when Sekou Toure died.  Everyone was out in the 
street, crying and mourning, and then all of a sudden Conte 
emerged as the new hero and everyone was celebrating...we 
 
CONAKRY 00000815  002 OF 002 
 
 
knew nothing about him either, but we accepted him for nearly 
25 years," Gomez said. 
 
¶8.  (C) Gomez commented that the CNDD is trying to tackle too 
many priorities at the same time.  "They should only be 
focusing on organizing elections; constitutional reform and 
other issues should be left to a democratically elected 
civilian government," Gomez said.  He added that Toure 
amended the constitution to suit his own purposes, as did 
Conte.  "If the CNDD amends the constitution, it would likely 
only serve to strengthen the CNDD's power," he said. 
 
¶9.  (C) According to Gomez, no one single political party can 
effectively govern the country because no one party has a 
clear majority.  "The presidential system does not work in 
Guinea...what we need is a parliamentary system with a prime 
minister and no president," he told Poloff.  Gomez said that 
the best solution would be to move forward with legislative 
elections in order to have credible legislative body that 
could then begin to address the constitutional issues.  "If 
they can start work without a president, they can think about 
eliminating the position," he said.  Gomez added "the only 
reason Sekou Toure and Lansana Conte could maintain their 
dictatorships was because the constitution allowed them to do 
so." 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10.  (C) In previous discussions, Gomez has never been 
pro-Conte, but rather, pro-reform.  His disappointment with 
the current political situation seemed to stem not from the 
fact that the military stepped in to seize power, but from 
the fact that civilian leadership has not pressured the 
military to restore civilian control.  He was concerned that 
events may be moving in a dangerous direction.  Gomez did not 
see CNDD members as sincerely interested in advancing reforms 
and turning power over to civilians.  At the same time, he 
was not convinced that the political parties and other civil 
actors would be able to set aside their personal ambitions in 
order to work together for the common good.  He repeatedly 
commented that civil society remains divided and that its 
continued failure to coalesce may ultimately perpetuate the 
problems of the past.  END COMMENT. 
RASPOLIC