US embassy cable - 05ACCRA2315

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 002315 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, GH, IS, muslim community 
SUBJECT: PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES GHANA 
 
 
1. (C) Summary: During a November 2 courtesy call, outgoing 
Palestinian Ambassador and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps 
Ibrahim Omar told the Ambassador that U.S. government efforts 
to gain allies among West African Muslims and stabilize the 
region will only succeed if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 
is settled. He also offered a critical evaluation of former 
President Rawlings and discussed regional conflicts. End 
Summary. 
 
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STATE OF GHANA'S MUSLIM COMMUNITY 
--------------------------------- 
 
2.  (U) Omar told the Ambassador that Muslims are 
increasingly integrated into political life in Ghana, noting 
that several Muslims have been elected Members of Parliament 
and that President John Kufuor selected Aliu Mahama, a 
northern Muslim, as vice president to promote national unity. 
Omar warned, however, that too few northern Muslims are 
finding employment upon their arrival in the coastal cities. 
Omar said the "zongos" (poor Muslim ghettos) where these 
migrants settle could become breeding grounds for radicalism. 
 
 
3.  (U) On two occasions, Omar praised Yasir Arafat as a man 
of peace who could have ignited worldwide conflict but chose 
not to.  Omar said Arafat could have called on Muslims to 
defend their holy sites in Jerusalem, and that even 
Christians may have heeded such a call if Arafat had turned 
his back completely on the possibility of a peaceful 
resolution.  He argued passionately that Muslim communities 
in West Africa will remain vulnerable to radicalism as long 
as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict endures because Muslims 
regard defending Islam as a moral responsibility. 
 
4.  (U) Omar applauded the U.S. Embassy's Muslim outreach 
efforts, which he said helps him to persuade Muslims that the 
U.S. is fighting terrorism rather than Islam and to counter 
the radicalism spread by Iran, Libya and other sources of 
funding for development projects in the Muslim community. He 
advocated that the U.S. government dedicate outreach and 
development projects to Muslim communities in northern Ghana 
where the needs are greatest. 
 
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DESTRUCTIVE ROLE OF RAWLINGS 
---------------------------- 
 
5.  (C) Omar said that despite his close friendship with 
Rawlings during the ex-president's two decades in power, he 
sees him as a destructive influence on Ghana's emerging 
democracy and on the opposition New Democratic Congress (NDC) 
party.  Omar portrayed both Rawlings and his wife Nana as 
out-of-touch and having an insatiable appetite for power. 
Omar said Rawlings cannot endure psychologically having lost 
the reins of power and should have sought a post-presidential 
identity earlier.  "He feels defeated," Omar said, adding 
that if it were not for Rawlings' advisor, Captain Kojo 
Tsikata, Rawlings never would have stepped down. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
6.  (C) Omar said nearly every remark by Rawlings becomes an 
embarrassment to his party because he relies on virtually no 
advisor except his wife whose own power hunger has cost 
Rawlings support among the NDC. According to Omar, Rawlings 
remains dangerous to Ghana's democracy not only because of 
his ill-considered threats of staging a coup d'etat but also 
because the Israelis provided Rawlings with stockpiles of 
arms throughout the country. He said these stockpiles are not 
limited to the heavily ethnic Ewe Volta Region as rumored 
(Rawlings is half-Ewe, half-Scottish.) 
 
7.  (C) In spite of these threats to Ghana's young democracy, 
Omar predicted that if the country could survive two more 
national elections, a full generation of Ghanaians would have 
only known democratic rule and would not tolerate another 
coup d'etat. 
 
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REGIONAL ISSUES 
--------------- 
 
8.  (U) Omar said he considered both Cote d'Ivoire and 
Liberia potentially explosive and destabilizing for the West 
African sub-region. He said he knew President Laurent Gbagbo 
personally and appreciated the difficulty of his 
circumstances but emphasized that the present situation is 
"very dangerous" and "must be settled." 
 
9.  (U) Omar acknowledged the difficulty of restoring 
democratic rule to Liberia. He commented that the U.S. could 
not afford to abandon a region with 26 percent of the world's 
oil supply to British and French companies. In turn, the 
Ambassador pointed out the large proportion of Americans with 
historical ties to West Africa and said U.S. interests were 
not limited to the region's oil. 
 
10.  (U) Omar said former Togolese leader Gnassingbe Eyadema 
was a friend and that he had been to Lome to meet his son, 
Faure Gnassingbe.  However, he did not offer any substantive 
commentary on the present government. 
 
11.  (C) Comment: Omar, who has had responsibilities in Ghana 
since 1986, was open with both personal and political 
commentary and eagerly shared his insights on regional issues 
and domestic politics.  He claimed that he was being 
especially frank and less diplomatic with his remarks because 
of his imminent departure. He suggested multiple times that 
his remarks were drawn directly from his diplomatic 
reporting. Post has no information to corroborate his 
allegation about Rawlings' stockpiling of Israeli arms, and 
we find it difficult to believe. 
 
12.  (SBU) Bio note:  Omar is a gracious host who enjoys 
introducing his guests to Palestian herbal tea and sweets. 
Having spent nearly half his adult life in Ghana, he was in a 
reflective mood.  He said all his friends and his entire 
social life revolved around Ghanaians.  He said that years 
ago he suffered burns on his forehead and scalp when he 
rescued his young son during an accidental fire at his 
diplomatic residence.  He mentioned that he had been offered 
a position with sub-regional responsibilities based in Lagos, 
but he hoped to secure an assignment in the U.S.  He said the 
Israelis would have to approve him for such a post. He 
pointed out that he had persuaded his daughter and 
son-in-law, a prominent optometrist who had studied in the 
U.K. for six years, to relocate to Accra.  Omar said that his 
son also had previously taught at the Ghana Institute of 
Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). According to 
Omar, these family ties are sure to bring him back to Ghana, 
especially if he is posted to Lagos. 
 
BRIDGEWATER