US embassy cable - 05ABUJA1891

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 001891 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/04/2015 
TAGS: PREL, KDEM, PBTS, XY, ECOWAS 
SUBJECT: ECOWAS SUMMIT ON COTE D'IVOIRE AND OTHER REGIONAL 
CRISES 
 
REF: STATE 180464 
 
Classified By: Ambassador John Campbell for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary.  The ECOWAS Heads of State and Government met 
in Abuja for an Extraordinary Summit on September 30 to 
discuss the situation in Cote d'Ivoire.  Liberia was a late 
addition to the agenda.  The leaders created a list of 
recommendations, which they have not made public, which will 
be forwarded to the African Union for consideration on 6 
October.  The Summit called for Liberia elections to be held 
as scheduled on October 11.  President Obasanjo was appointed 
as mediator for the conflict between The Gambia and Senegal. 
Text of the final communique follows.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (U)  ECOWAS convened a Summit of Heads of State and 
Government in Abuja on 30 September to discuss the situation 
in Cote d'Ivoire.  The situations in Liberia, Senegal/Gambia, 
and Guinea Bissau were raised under Any Other Business.  Of 
the 15 ECOWAS member states, 9 Heads of State were present 
(listed in the communique text below), and only Guinea Bissau 
and Cape Verde were not represented at all.  Nigeria's 
President Obasanjo attended in his role as Chair of the 
African Union, and Nigeria's Foreign Minister led Nigeria's 
delegation.  Post was represented on the margins of the 
Summit by PolMilOff, who was the only foreign diplomat 
present. 
 
3.  (C)  Several UN representatives present expressed 
disappointment over the lack of progress made at the Summit, 
not that their hopes were especially high going into the 
meetings. The list of recommendations referenced in Paragraph 
9 of the communique has not been made public, but Chambas 
says it includes a plan to retain President Gbagbo as 
President of Cote d'Ivoire until elections are held, but to 
replace the Prime Minister on the expiration of his term. 
This surprised the new French liaison officer to ECOWAS, 
Colonel Jose Fernandes, who said that as of September 29th, 
all of the options being discussed at ECOWAS involved 
retaining both the President and the PM.  Fernandes was 
distressed that the choice to remove only the PM was 
"undemocratic" as the PM is more representative of the people 
than the President.  Gbagbo did not attend the Summit, 
despite Chambas' confidence that he would, but was 
represented by Economic and Social Council President Fologo. 
The Ivorian delegation did make a point of distributing an 
address delivered by Gbagbo on 27 September in which Gbagbo 
declared Mbeki's mediation a success and blamed all of Cote 
d'Ivoire's problems on the rebels.  The Ivorian delegation 
remained at ECOWAS until the communique was issued to ensure 
that the language did not vary from what was agreed to in the 
meeting. 
 
4. (C)  On Liberia, ECOWAS included language in the 
communique calling for elections to be held on October 11. 
NTGL Chairman Bryant did not attend the Summit despite the 
fact that he was in Abuja on the evening of 29 September.  On 
October 3, Chambas told the Ambassador that he and CPA 
Mediator Abubakar held talks over the weekend with the 
plaintiffs in the Liberian Supreme Court decision in a failed 
attempt to persuade them to end their legal challenges to the 
election for the good of Liberia.  Chambas characterized the 
plaintiff's positions as "petty" and inflexible. 
 
5.  (C)  On the Gambia/Senegal dispute, little progress was 
possible because the President of The Gambia did not travel 
to Abuja.  UN representatives from Dakar said Jammeh did not 
attend the Summit because Senegal's Wade had said he was not 
going to attend, only to change his mind at the last minute. 
The UN reps described this as typical of the relationship 
between the two leaders.  The UN representatives also 
expressed disappointment that while the invitation letter 
they received from ECOWAS gave the impression that the 
Gambia/Senegal dispute would receive equal billing with Cote 
d'Ivoire at the Summit, the meeting was overwhelmingly 
focused on Cote d'Ivoire. 
 
6.  (U) Begin Text of Communique: 
 
1.  Following the decision of the Peace and Security Council 
of the African Union on the situation in Cote d'Ivoire held 
in New York on 14th September 2005 and at the initiative of 
His Excellency, Mamadou Tandja, President of the Republic of 
Niger, current Chairman of ECOWAS, an Extraordinary session 
of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the 
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was held 
on 30th September 2005 at the ECOWAS Executive Secretariat, 
Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria. 
 
2.  The Summit assessed the situation in Cote d'Ivoire, 
characterised by the deadlock in the implementation of the 
different agreements and the impossibility of holding the 
presidential elections. 
3.  The following Heads of State and Government or their duly 
accredited representatives attended the session: 
 
His Excellency Mr. Mathieu Kerekou 
President of the Republic of Benin 
 
His Excellency Mr. Blaise Compaore 
President of Burkina Faso 
Chairman of the Council of Ministers 
 
His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor 
President of the Republic of Ghana 
His Excellency Mr. Amadou Toumani Toure 
President of the Republic of Mali 
 
His Excellency Mr. Mamadou Tandja 
President of the Republic of Niger 
Current Chairman of ECOWAS 
 
His Excellency Chief Olusegun Obasanjo 
President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the 
Federal Republic of Nigeria, Current Chairman of the African 
Union 
 
His Excellency Mr. Abdoulaye Wade 
President of the Republic of Senegal 
 
His Excellency Alhaji (Dr) Ahmad Tejan Kabbah 
President of the Republic of Sierra Leone 
 
His Excellency Mr. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe 
President of the Togolese Republic 
 
Her Excellency Mrs. Fatoumata Sidibe Kaba 
Minister of Foreign Affairs, representing His Excellency, Mr. 
Lansana Conte, President of the Republic of Guinea 
 
Honourable Bala Musa Gaye 
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, representing His 
 
SIPDIS 
Excellency Alhaji Yahya AJJ Jammeh, President of the Republic 
of The Gambia 
 
His Excellency Mr. Laurent Dona Fologo 
President of the Economic and Social Council, representing 
His Excellency Laurent Gbagbo, President of the Republic of 
Cote d'Ivoire 
 
Mr. Roland N. Bedell 
Charge d'Affaires, Embassy of Liberia in Nigeria, 
representing His Excellency Gyude Bryant, Chairman of the 
National Transitional Government of Liberia 
 
4.  The following high-ranking personalities from the 
International Community also attended the Extraordinary 
Session. 
 
Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas 
ECOWAS Executive Secretary 
 
His Excellency Ambassador Said Djinnit 
Commissioner, representing His Excellency Mr. Alpha Oumar 
Konare, Chairman of the African Union Commission 
 
His Excellency Mr. Pierre Schori 
Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United 
Nations in Cote d'Ivoire 
 
His Excellency Antonio Monteiro 
High Representative of the United Nations for Elections in 
Cote d'Ivoire 
 
His Excellency Mr. Ahmedou Ould Abdallah 
United Nations' Secretary General's Special Representative 
for West Africa 
 
His Excellency Ambassador Ralph Uwechue 
Special Representative of the ECOWAS Executive Secretary in 
Cote d'Ivoire 
 
The Situation in Cote d'Ivoire 
------------------------------ 
 
5.  After an in-depth consideration of the latest 
developments in Cote d'Ivoire, the Heads of State and 
Government expressed deep concern about the persistence and 
deterioration of the situation in the country, a situation 
with the potential to destabilise the entire West African 
sub-region. 
 
6.  They also expressed deep concern about the many obstacles 
hindering the process in the resolution of the Ivorian crisis 
which led to the situation where all the parties recognised 
the impossibility of holding presidential elections at the 
scheduled date. 
 
7.  The Heads of State took note of the report of the African 
Union Mediator and expressed their gratitude to President 
Thabo Mbeki of South Africa for his untiring efforts, which 
made it possible to achieve significant progress in the 
implementation of the provisions of the Linas Marcoussis and 
Accra III agreements. 
 
8.  The reiterated that the Linas Marcoussis, the Acrra and 
Pretoria Agreements constituted the preferred framework for 
the peaceful resolution of the crisis in Cote d'Ivoire. 
 
9.  The Heads of State and Government decided to make 
recommendations to the Peace and Security Council of the 
African Union scheduled to meet in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 
6th October 2005. 
 
10.  The Heads of State and Government solemnly appealed to 
all Ivorians parties and to the people to work towards 
maintenance of peace, stability, and harmony in Cote 
d'Ivoire.  They further assured them of their support and 
unflinching solidarity of the leaders and the people of the 
sub-region and their commitment to support the peace process 
and reconciliation. 
 
The Situation in Liberia 
------------------------ 
 
11.  The Heads of State took note of the forthcoming 
presidential elections in Liberia on 11 October 2005.  They 
called upon the Liberian state institutions, all political 
actors, and the civil society to respect the letter and 
spirit of the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement to ensure 
the conduct of credible elections. 
 
Relations Between The Gambia and Senegal 
---------------------------------------- 
 
12.  The Heads of State expressed concern about the tension 
in the relations between The Gambia and Senegal.  They 
mandated President Obasanjo of Nigeria to use his good 
offices to work for the normalization of the relations 
between the two sisterly countries. 
 
The Situation in Guinea Bissau 
------------------------------ 
 
13.  The Heads of State and Government expressed appreciation 
for the progress made by the political class in Guinea Bissau 
towards reconciliation and consensual inauguration of the 
President elect on 1st October 2005. 
 
14.  They urged the International Community to fulfill their 
commitment to extend financial, technical, and material 
assistance to Guinea Bissau. 
 
15.  The Heads of State and Government expressed their 
gratitude to President Obasanjo for the excellent facilities 
made available to ensure the success of the Summit. 
 
Done in Abuja, this day 30th September 2005. 
 
End text. 
 
 
CAMPBELL