VZCZCXRO2779
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHRY #0779/01 3441541
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 101541Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4298
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000779 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ASEC GV
SUBJECT: PRIME MINISTER - GUINEA WILL PARTICIPATE IN 
OUAGADOUGOU 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR PATRICIA MOLLER FOR REASON 1.4 B/D 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: During a December 10 meeting between the 
local Contact Group and Guinea's Prime Minister, the PM 
stated that Guinea would attend the next International 
Contact Group (ICG-G) meeting in Ouagadougou. His statement 
contradicts recent remarks by Minister of Communication, 
revealing internal confusion over policy. The meeting allowed 
the International Community to freely express its concerns 
over the leadership of Guinea, the security situation in 
Conakry, and the intimidation of journalists by the GoG. End 
Summary. 
 
------------------------------ 
CNDD WILL PARTICIPATE IN TALKS 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (U) At a December 10 meeting at the Prime Minister's 
office in downtown Conakry, PM Kabine Komara told COMs from 
the Local Contact Group that the Government of Guinea would 
dispatch an eight-member team to attend the next ICG-G 
meeting scheduled to begin in Ouagadougou on December 13. The 
Prime Minister said he had personally contacted the President 
and Prime Minister of Burkina Faso to assure them of the 
Government of Guinea's attendance. He termed as 
"embarrassing" the December 8 statement made by the Minister 
of Information at the Presidency, Idrissa Cherif, announcing 
that the GoG would not take part in talks at Ouagadougou so 
long as Dadis remained hospitalized. "The ICG-G is an 
instrument of negotiation," the PM told the COMs. "Not to 
attend the talks would be an abdication on our part." COMs 
present included representatives of the US, UK, France, 
Spain, Germany, EU, AU, and ECOWAS. Guinea's Minister of 
Territorial Administration was also on hand. 
 
-------------------------- 
THE ARMY REACTS TO TRAGEDY 
-------------------------- 
 
¶3. The Prime Minister attempted to put the best possible face 
on the recent assassination attempt against CNDD President 
Moussa Dadis Camara. He claimed that attempt on Dadis' life 
had reunited the military in a "truly inspiring way." He 
claimed that much of the bickering and rivalry that 
characterizes Guinea's armed forces had suddenly been 
transformed into cooperation and understanding. He noted that 
the decision to dispatch Dadis to Morocco had been a group 
decision involving the chiefs of staff, the CNDD and medical 
doctors from Guinea and Senegal. He went on with unabashed 
enthusiasm as he described daily meetings between Interim 
Head of State Sekouba Konate and Claude Pivi, Minister of 
Presidential Security. "I was so pleasantly surprised to hear 
this," he said. 
 
------------------- 
WHO IS AT THE HELM? 
------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) He evidently expected the gathered COMs to share his 
wide-eyed wonder, but they didn't. They wanted to know who 
was running the country. They noted that Pivi had been named 
interim leader while Konate was rushing back to Guinea from 
Lebanon, but that no announcement had been made specifically 
naming Konate the acting head of state. The PM stated that 
Pivi had never been named interim leader. He also appeared 
evasive over any official announcement placing Konate as 
acting president. 
 
----------------------- 
PROBLEMS WITH THE PRESS 
----------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) The Prime Minister also evaded a number of tough 
questions on security, by stating that the Foreign Minister 
would be holding a meeting of the diplomatic corps the 
following day, and suggested that the COMs wait until then. 
This did not placate the gathered ambassadors. They noted 
that RTG, Guinea's government radio and television station, 
had abandoned any pretense of even-handed journalism in order 
to launch vicious diatribes against the Forces Vives as well 
as the French Government, which it accused of having a hand 
in the Dadis assassination plot. COMs also noted that a 
number of journalists had fled the country as a result of 
government intimidation. The Prime Minister said only three 
or four journalists had fled, and emphasized that the 
Government of Guinea had placed no restrictions on foreign 
correspondents 
 
 
CONAKRY 00000779  002 OF 002 
 
 
----------------- 
CRIME IN THE CITY 
----------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Concerning insecurity, the Ambassador of Germany and 
the ECOWAS COM expressed concern over the breakdown of order 
among Guinean soldiers, and noted that the French Ambassador 
had been stopped and threatened by drunken soldiers only two 
days before. The Prime Minister sidestepped the issue, and 
turned to the attempt to kill Dadis. He stated that the 
Koundara military installation in downtown Conakry, where the 
shooting had taken place, was a lawless and renegade military 
establishment with no sense of respect hierarchy and 
authority. He then attempted the blame the crime wave of the 
last months on the deviant denizens of Koundara. According 
the PM, they were capable of anything, and many had fled with 
their weapons following the shooting and were still at large. 
He said that many people had been arrested by the security 
forces following the attempt on Dadis, but that the PMs 
office was taking the lead in ensuring that the human rights 
of the captives were being respected. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶7. (C) Comment: The Prime Minister has frequently been seen 
as indecisive and powerless, as well as an unconvincing 
apologist for the CNDD. COMs applauded his decision to take 
the government of Guinea back to talks at Ouagadougou. Thus 
assured of Guinea's participation, Conakry-based COMs will 
depart on Friday to be present for the Sunday ICG-G meeting. 
Everyone understands, however, that in Guinea participation 
by the ruling CNDD cannot be taken for granted and that no 
commitment, however publicly made, is irreversible. End 
Comment 
 
Moller