US embassy cable - 05PARIS546

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 000546 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/28/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PBTS, CM, NI, FR 
SUBJECT: FRENCH VIEWS ON BAKASSI, CAMEROON ECONOMIC 
SITUATION 
 
REF: YAOUNDE 170 
 
Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt 
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) During Ambassador Marquardt's Paris consultations 
January 28, Michel de Bonnecorse, President Chirac's advisor 
on African affairs, stressed the importance of persuading 
Nigerian President Obasanjo to comply with the ICJ ruling on 
Bakassi. 
 
2. (C) Bonnecorse said that at the Francophonie summit in 
Ouagadougou, Obasanjo had tried to enlist Chirac's support 
for proposals which would leave Nigeria in control of the 
peninsula.  Chirac, according to Bonnecorse, relayed the 
proposal to Cameroonian President Biya who, fifteen days 
later, responded that the Nigerian proposals were 
unacceptable.  Bonnecorse said that Biya was trying to avoid 
reopening negotiations over the Bakassi settlement, which 
Nigeria had tried to organize at Ouagadougou, under Algerian 
auspices.  Bonnecorse noted that Obasanjo had told Chirac 
that his position was not based on petroleum interests, but 
on the concerns of the Nigerians living in Bakassi about 
being transferred to Cameroonian rule.  Bonnecorse added that 
Obasanjo greatly exaggerated the number of Nigerians in the 
region as one million, whereas there were in fact only 
several thousand there.  Bonnecorse also openly questioned 
Obasanjo's denial of interest in petroleum. 
 
3. (C) Bonnecorse said that the situation should become 
clearer next week, following Annan's separate meetings with 
Obasanjo and Biya, but Obasanjo needed to understand that the 
issue was getting serious.  As President of the African Union 
and with Nigeria advancing its candidacy for a permanent UNSC 
seat, Nigeria needed to resolve the Bakassi issue in 
accordance with the ICJ's ruling. 
 
4. (C) Bonnecorse lamented that Cameroon's political and 
economic situation continued to decline.  Bonnecorse said 
that President Chirac had counseled Biya on the need to focus 
on discussions with the IMF and to address corruption. 
Cameroon, he said, was not yet a crisis point and France 
while keeping any eye on events was preoccupied with Cote 
d'Ivoire and the current crisis with Djibouti. 
 
5. (U) Ambassador Marquardt cleared this message. 
Leach