VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAR #0712 2090942
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 280942Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 8057

UNCLAS ACCRA 000712 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AU PGOV XA XY XF LY GH
SUBJECT: GADDAFI CANCELS VISIT TO GHANA 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: (U) An international conference of West African 
traditional rulers scheduled to be held in Ghana was abruptly 
canceled three days before Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was 
scheduled to be crowned "king of kings" at the event. Reasons 
for the cancellation are not clear, but press speculation 
centers on a misunderstanding between the GOG and the 
National House of Chiefs that was to host the event about the 
purpose of the meeting.  Gaddafi, who had planned to pay for 
the conference, is thought to have wanted to use the 
traditional leaders to push for a single African government 
with him as president, a move opposed by elected officials. 
END SUMMARY 
 
¶2.  (U) The first West Africa Traditional Rulers conference 
was scheduled to bring together more than 600 chiefs, kings, 
sultans, and mayors of cities in West Africa. Ghana was 
selected to host the conference entitled "The role of 
traditional rulers in the integration of African states" in 
honor of the centenary of the birth of Ghana's first 
president and pan-Africanist Kwame Nkrumah. 
 
¶3.  (U) The conference was to have been paid for then opened 
by Gaddafi, who one newspaper called "the main character of 
the event". Delegates to the conference were expected to 
proclaim Gaddafi "king of kings" despite the fact that the 
same title was bestowed on him last year by 200 traditional 
rulers and African kings at a conference in Libya. 
 
¶4.  (U) Staff at the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture 
confirmed reports printed in a state-owned newspaper that 
Gaddafi wanted to use the traditional leaders to push for a 
single African government in which the traditional rulers 
hold a formal place and Gaddafi is president, a move to which 
Africa's elected political leaders object. In what appears to 
be a face-saving measure, the same newspaper reported Libyan 
government sources as saying Gaddafi could not make the trip 
because he was attending to some exigencies and that his 
visit has been rescheduled for September. The president of 
the National House of Chiefs said the conference had been 
called off because of a "technical hitch" and was in no way 
related to Gaddafi's inability to make the trip. 
 
¶5.  (U) The timing of the traditional rulers' event also 
raised questions in the media. The African Union (AU) Summit 
in Libya ended July 3, seven days before President Obama 
arrived in Ghana and gave a forceful speech in support of 
Ghana's democratic principles. One commentator noted that 
Gaddafi's visit to Ghana less than two weeks after the 
President's visit would have been an apparent challenge to 
the USG efforts to shore up Ghana's and Africa's progress in 
developing home-grown democracy, freedoms, and the rule of 
law. 
TEITELBAUM