VZCZCXRO2116
OO RUEHPA
DE RUEHMV #0080 0191830
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 191830Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY MONROVIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1589
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHRY/AMEMBASSY CONAKRY 0797
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0043
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 0556

C O N F I D E N T I A L MONROVIA 000080 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  01/19/2020 
TAGS: PREL ASEC GV LI
SUBJECT:  SIRLEAF PLEASED WITH MEETINGS IN OUAGADOUGOU WITH DADIS AND 
KONATE 
 
REF:  A) OUAGADOUGOU 22 
      B) RABAT 22 
      C) CONAKRY 44 
 
Classified by:  Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield for Reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  President Sirleaf, accompanied by Minister of 
Defense Brownie Sumakai and Minister of State Edward McClain, 
traveled to Ouagadougou January 17 and 18 to meet with President 
Blaise Compaore, Camara Dadis, Sekouba Konate, and ECOWAS President 
Ibrahim Chambas.  Sirleaf told Ambassador that Compaore had "done 
well" in negotiating an agreement between Dadis and Konate that will 
allow for a six month transition led by Konate.  Dadis accepted the 
agreement grudgingly and agreed to issue a statement saying that he 
needed time to recuperate and that Konate would be in charge. 
Konate, for his part, expressed frustration and threatened to quit 
but finally was convinced to continue.  ECOWAS agreed to accompany 
Konate upon his return to Guinea along with the Special Envoy 
appointed by Compaore.  Sirleaf apparently agreed to work with the 
international community to find a final abode for Dadis and to 
discourage efforts to indict him.  She expressed satisfaction and 
relief with the results of the negotiation.   End Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Ambassador met with President Sirleaf on January 18 to get a 
read out of the President's two-day trip to Ouagadougou.   Sirleaf 
had an over two hour meeting with Dadis where she encouraged him to 
sign the accord negotiated by Compaore.  She told him he needed a 
period of rest and in the interest of his health and of the country, 
he should not return to Guinea.  Sirleaf described Dadis as attentive 
but not fully coherent.  He told her she was the only person who had 
spoken to him sincerely and noted that he respected her like a 
mother.  She encouraged him to issue a statement to the people of 
Guinea saying that he needed time to convalesce and that Konate would 
be in charge.   Sirleaf said that Dadis has expressed an interest in 
going to Germany and she promised to work with him to identify a 
location.  She asked if the U.S. would be interested, a question 
which the Ambassador did not think required a response. 
 
¶3. (C) In a separate meeting with Sekouba Konate, Sirleaf reported 
that he was very frustrated and stated he just wanted to quit.  She 
told him that he had no choice but to stay through the transition. 
Compaore told her that Konate was sicker than Dadis but he finally 
agreed to return to Guinea and lead the transition for a six month 
period. 
 
¶4. (C) Sirleaf also met with Compaore and ECOWAS President Chambas. 
She thanked Compaore for his efforts and encouraged him to send his 
newly appointed special envoy along with Chambas and several ECOWAS 
generals to accompany Konate back to Conakry in order to confirm the 
international community's support for Konate. 
 
¶5. (C) Sirleaf said that the hardliners in Guinea, among them the 
Foreign Minister and some of the generals, were pressing Dadis to 
return by suggesting to him that the ICC would issue an indictment 
against him for the September 28 events.  They were encouraging him 
to return to Guinea where he would be assured of not being turned 
over to the ICC.  The Foreign Minister also told Sirleaf that he did 
not like the way Dadis was brought to Burkina Faso. 
 
¶6. (C) In what was clearly an appeal to the U.S., Sirleaf asserted 
that since Dadis had made the decision to allow peace to prevail in 
Guinea, he should be allowed to seek medical care and not be 
threatened with an ICC indictment.  She noted that she plans to reach 
out to South Africa and Germany as well on Dadis' behalf. 
 
¶7. (C) Comment:  Sirleaf was relieved and pleased with the results of 
the meeting and the role she was called upon to play in convincing 
Dadis to accept the accord.  It is worth noting that Sirleaf, in a 
few short years, has become the voice of reason in West Africa and 
particularly in the Mano River countries.  Sirleaf clearly committed 
to assisting Dadis in finding a final home but more of concern is the 
apparent promise she and Compaore may have made to keep Dadis from 
being indicted.  End Comment. 
 
THOMAS-GREENFIELD