VZCZCXRO7177
PP RUEHBZ RUEHGI RUEHTRO
DE RUEHGI #0056/01 0612038
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 022038Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BANGUI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0855
INFO RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 0025
RUEHNJ/AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA 0422
RUEHYD/AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE 0399
RUEHLC/AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE 0148
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0247
RUEHBZ/AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE 0135
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0405
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0097
RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 0071
RHMFISS/AFRICOM
RUEHGI/AMEMBASSY BANGUI 1071

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGUI 000056 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/C MASHRAF; SSARDAR; SLOPEZ; KWYCOFF 
AFRICOM FOR KOCH 
PARIS FOR RKANEDA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV CT
SUBJECT: FORMER PRIME MINISTER SUGGESTS REASONS BEHIND RECENT 
VIOLENCE; FUTURE OF POLITICAL OPPOSITION 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Former Prime Minister and current president of 
the Movement for the Liberation of Central African People (MLPC) 
Martin ZIGUELE visited the Ambassador on February 26, 2009 to 
discuss the recently concluded celebrations of the Party's 30th 
anniversary.  He also spoke about the recent troubles in the 
northern CAR and provided his views of President Bozize's 
relations with Libya, Sudan and Chad as well as with Pakistani 
born Saifee Durbar.  Ziguele stated that the recent raid on 
Bossembele prison was orchestrated by President Idriss Deby with 
the complicity of members of President Bozize's Presidential 
Guard and that FDPC's raid on Batangafo was directed from 
Tripoli in punishment for a "broken deal" by Bozize.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
---------------- 
MLPC 30 YEARS ON 
---------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On February 26, 2009, former Prime Minister (under 
President Patasse) and 2005 presidential runner up, Martin 
Ziguele, spoke with the Ambassador about the recently concluded 
National Council of the MLPC and its preparations for the 2010 
elections.  He primarily sought to stress the importance of 
establishing an independent election commission as soon as 
possible and spoke of the urgency of mobilizing the national and 
international NGO community around the elections.  He emphasized 
the need to ensure that everyone, particularly those who have 
fled from their homes or lost their possessions due to conflict, 
have the paper work needed to be documented as citizens.  As the 
Bozize government considers that most displaced persons are 
rebel sympathizers, Ziguele is concerned that this lack of 
documentation might be used as a means to reduce the number of 
opposition voters.  He asked that the Ambassador exert what 
pressure he could to ensure that all Central Africans be allowed 
to vote. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Ziguele also shared with the Ambassador his view that 
the current "consensus" government had been set up merely to 
concentrate power and increase Bozize's electoral chances in the 
¶2010.  He reminded the Ambassador that he had not sought 
Bozize's resignation during the "Inclusive Political Dialogue" 
(IPD) because of the extreme fragility of the Central African 
body politic.  He stressed, however that new government was 
incapable of achieving national unity, in part because none of 
the ministers are strong nor independent enough to stand up to 
the Head of State.  He dismissed any claim that Prime Minister 
Archange Touadera held any real authority as "cinema" and said 
that the real influence lay with Minister of Mines Ndoutingai 
and Vice Ministers of Communication, Gonda and Transport, Mbaye. 
 He also said that he feared that nuclear material might fall 
into the wrong hands because the CAR uranium industry is in the 
hands of unscrupulous people like Saifee Durbar, a wanted 
swindler in France.  He did not speculate whose hands, but 
pointed to this as more evidence of the potential danger posed 
by President Bozize's corruption. 
 
------------------ 
REVENGE SERVED HOT 
------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) Although initially hesitant, Ziguele agreed to discuss 
with the Ambassador the apparent breakdown of the Inclusive 
Political Dialogue (IPD) of late 2008.  He insisted that the 
real reason for renewed violence is the continued meddling of 
Presidents Deby and Qadhafi in Central African affairs. 
According to Ziguele, Bozize has broken an unknown deal for 
which Qadhafi paid him in cash during his last trip to Tripoli 
before the IPD.  He further informed the Ambassador that Bozize 
received "off the books" payments of USD 600,000 and USD 500,000 
from Presidents Pierre Buyoya and Omar Bongo respectively and 
subsequently each received effusive praise at the conclusion of 
the Dialogue.  Qadhafi's name was, on the other hand, was not 
mentioned at all. This, along with Bozize's recent closeness 
with President Omar Bashir, has greatly irked Qadhafi and 
Ziguele believes this is why Abdoulaye Miskine's FDPC has been 
put back into play.  While Qadhafi initially supported Bozize 
against former president Patasse, he has clearly become 
 
BANGUI 00000056  002 OF 002 
 
 
disgruntled with the president as of late. Ziguele is not sure 
if Qadhafi is seeking to overthrow Bozize or simply remind him 
who has the real power. 
 
¶5. (SBU) As for Deby, Ziguele alleges that the Chadian president 
is in league with Qadhafi vis-a-vis the unknown broken promise 
and this has caused him to send his own message to Bangui; 
specifically the prison break of Bossembele on the 13 February. 
According to the former Prime Minister, Central African 
Presidential Guards of Chadian descent attacked the prison for 
two reasons: 
 
-- To free a Sudanese dissident general whom Deby hopes to use 
against Khartoum, and 
 
-- To destroy a cache of Chinese weapons that Bozize is holding 
in reserve in case of a threat to his regime. 
 
---------------------------- 
WHY DURBAR REMAINS PROTECTED 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Ziguele also expounded upon Saifee Durbar's relation to 
Bozize and explained that Durbar is a long term insurance policy 
for the President.  While Bozize works to strengthen the power 
structure around him, Durbar is creating a cash parachute for 
Bozize in case he loses power.  Through a web of financial 
shelters in Switzerland and the Caribbean, Durbar is apparently 
insuring Bozize's future if he is deposed or loses an election. 
Ziguele also considers it likely that Bozize is keeping Durbar 
as bargaining chip, where in Durbar would be a concession that 
Bozize could make if he was find himself in a similar situation 
to Robert Mugabe and feared having assets frozen.  This explains 
the apparent conundrum of why Bozize would continue to protect 
Durbar (the President's son, Socrate, lives with the Pakistani 
in London and Durbar was in attendance for the President's 
mother's recent funeral) despite real French pressure to repeal 
his diplomatic status. 
 
¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: Former Prime Minister Ziguele is a credible 
source of information, but AmEmbassy Bangui reminds that he is 
the leader of a party in opposition to Bozize. Thus, we must 
assume that his comments were intended to influence as well as 
to inform.  That said, his statements coincide closely with what 
Post hears from other sources.  And though Ziguele previously 
appeared resigned to life away from politics, this encounter 
speaks to the opposite and he may be signaling an interest in 
running for the presidency again in 2010. 
COOK