R 081703Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 3840
INFO ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
DIA WASHINGTON DC
CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS CONAKRY 000396 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPAO XA GV
SUBJECT: JULY 4 SPEECH DECLARES CNDD ILLEGITIMATE, GETS 
BROAD MEDIA COVERAGE 
 
¶1.  Summary: On Thursday, July 2, 2009, the U.S. Mission 
commemorated Independence Day in the Embassy atrium.  Among 
the over 200 guests were representatives of the Government of 
Guinea, the diplomatic corps, international institutions, 
civil society, political parties and religious leaders.  In a 
major speech, the Charge d,Affaires expressed grave concern 
over the illegal seizure of power by the CNDD and subsequent 
human rights abuses.  He called on the CNDD to hold elections 
as soon as possible and reiterated the USG,s willingness to 
support the democratic process.  Many members of the 
international community praised the speech and asked for 
copies.  The media provided extensive coverage, except for 
state-run RTG.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  In light of the December 2008 coup d,etat and subsequent 
suspension of USG assistance, the Embassy decided to have a 
low-key Independence Day celebration with no high-ranking 
Guinean officials or members of the CNDD present. 
Nevertheless the turnout exceeded expectations despite the 
threat of bad weather during the rainy season.  A Pickering 
Fellow who is also a trained opera singer sang the Star 
Spangled Banner while a Guinean singer sang the local 
national anthem. 
 
¶3.  The highlight of the day was the speech given by Charge 
d,Affaires Kent Brokenshire.  In it he said the military 
junta had illegally seized power in December 2008.  The 
Charge said the military junta violated the Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by denying the Guinean 
people the &inalienable right8 to choose their own 
government.  He said the situation is worse now than it was 
under the regime of Lansana Conte because &the people have 
not voted for a single person in the junta-controlled 
government.8  He called for the holding of free, fair and 
transparent elections as soon as possible.  The Charge also 
expressed deep concern over the increase in human rights 
abuses since the December coup.  Noting a strong and 
continuing friendship between the people of Guinea and the 
people of the U.S., the Charge reiterated the USG,s 
commitment to help Guinea achieve its full potential. 
 
¶4.  The speech was very well received by Guineans as well as 
members of the international community in the audience. 
Several members of the diplomatic corps praised the Charge 
personally and said they wished their own embassies could say 
the same things the US Embassy was saying.  The public 
affairs section could barely keep up with the demand as they 
printed out copies of the speech throughout the reception. 
 
¶5.  The private media in Guinea provided extensive coverage 
of the speech.  The independent newspaper La Lance used the 
headline &Les Verites du Charges d,Affaires8 (The Truths 
of the Charge d,Affaires).  Le Standard called it &a 
commemoration placed under the seal of firmness with regard 
to the junta.8  Radio Nostalgie aired a report on the speech 
the same day and organized a debate the following Saturday, 
July 4th, involving a Guinean expatriate and a local 
journalist.  Radio EspaceFM aired a substantial portion of 
the speech, while Radio FamiliaFM quoted the portion of the 
speech saying the junta illegally seized power in violation 
of the UDHR.  The website Aminata.com also published a story 
on the speech. 
 
¶6.  The Embassy invited the state-run RTG-TV to the event and 
a cameraman filmed the entire speech.  However, RTG never ran 
the story and according to a source at the station they never 
will.  According to the source the Director General of RTG, 
Ibrahim Ahmed Barry, killed the story, saying that it was too 
political.  Barry was appointed by the CNDD in May in a major 
shakeup of the senior leadership at the state-run media 
outlets. 
 
¶7.  Comment:  The refusal of RTG to broadcast the speech is 
significant because in the past (before the shakeup) they 
were willing to run even critical speeches by the Embassy. 
However, the extensive coverage of private and independent 
media largely offsets the failure of RTG to cover the story. 
Private radio has by far the largest audience in Conakry and 
publication of the speech in the independent newspapers 
ensures that the message reaches an elite audience as well 
the common man. 
 
 
BROKENSHIRE