US embassy cable - 03ABUJA366

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000366 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2013 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, IV, NI, ECOWAS 
SUBJECT: NIGERIA:  READOUT ON MPCI REBELS' REGIONAL 
CONSULTATIONS 
 
 
REF: A. 02/16/2003 TELCON JETER/ARIETTI 
     B. ABIDJAN 0323 
 
 
Classified by Ambassador Howard F. Jeter.  Reasons:  1.5 (B & D) 
 
 
1.  (C)  Cote d'Ivoire's rebel MPCI representatives met with 
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo February 14 and 15 as 
Part of a regional tour which took the group to Nigeria, Niger, 
Mali and Burkina Faso.  After a four hour meeting past midnight on 
The evening of February 14, the group returned to the 
Presidential Villa on the morning of February 15 for several more hours of 
talk.  Obasanjo convinced the MPCI leaders to accept the 
spirit of the Marcoussis Accords and to rescind the rebels' ultimatum 
to the GOCI and allow diplomacy a chance to resolve the crisis. 
(Full text of joint Obasanjo/Soro communique in para. 4.) 
 
 
2.  (C)  ECOWAS ExecSec Mohammed Ibn Chambas called 
Ambassador again on February 18 to provide a readout on the MPCI rebels' 
consultations in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso (an unscheduled 
stop, according to Chambas; but Campaore was receptive to a 
meeting which took place circa 11 PM).  Each of the 
leaders, including Campaore, encouraged the rebels to show 
flexibility and to work with ECOWAS in the spirit of the 
Marcoussis Accord.  Specific allocation of portfolios was not 
discussed, although the MPCI agreed to forego Defense and 
Interior.  According to Chambas, the visit to Burkina Faso 
Was hastily arranged on the invitation of President Campaore. 
Chambas commented that this tour had raised the expectations in the 
region.  After the Franco-African summit, he said, PM Diarra 
would go to Bouke and seek a "peaceful and political" settlement.  It 
was agreed that such a settlement should be achieved within a 
week. 
 
 
3.  (U)  BEGIN TEXT OF ABUJA COMMUNIQUE: 
 
 
The President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic 
Of Nigeria, His Excellency Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on Sunday, 
February 16, 2003, received a delegation of the Patriotic 
Movement of Cote d'Ivoire (MPCI) consisting of Guillaume Soro and 
Sidiki Konate, leader and spokesman respectively of the MPCI. 
 
 
President Obasanjo urged all the sides to the on-going crisis 
In Cote d'Ivoire to continue to utilize dialogue and 
negotiations to return the country to peace and stability.  He reiterated the 
support of ECOWAS for the Marcoussis Accord and pledged that 
the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as a member of the ECOWAS high 
level contact group on Cote d'Ivoire, would play an active role to 
ensure its full implementation. 
 
 
In that regard, President Obasanjo called upon all Ivorians 
To work together to bring peace to their country emphasizing 
that no personalities or groups can be excluded from this process. 
The President reminded Ivorians that the supreme interest of 
Their country now called for an end to the war and for them to 
embark on a process of national reconciliation, national unity and 
national reconstruction. 
 
 
The leader of the MPCI, Mr. Soro, thanked President Obasanjo 
For receiving the delegation.  He stated that the MPCI remained 
committed to the full implementation of the Marcoussis 
Accord.  He pledged the cooperation of the MPCI with ECOWAS and the 
international community in the effort to find a solution to 
the Ivorian crisis.  He expressed satisfaction that the Federal 
Republic of Nigeria would continue to play a role in the 
Search for durable peace and hoped that President Obasanjo would 
Remain personally involved in the work of the ECOWAS Contact Group. 
 
 
Based on the satisfactory talks the MPCI had with President 
Obasanjo and Ghanain President John Kufuor, Chairman of 
ECOWAS, Mr. Soro announced that the MPCI would suspend the ultimatum 
It had issued to President Gbagbo to give diplomacy a change in 
resolving the impasse over the partticipation of the MPCI in 
government of national reconciliation. 
 
 
Mr. Soro expressed the hope that President Obasanjo and his 
colleagues would intervene diplomatically to help the new 
Prime Minister quickly form his government which would involve all 
Ivorian political formations, including the MPCI as agreed 
Under the Marcoussis Accord. 
 
 
Earlier in Accra, the MPCI delegation had talks with Ghanaian 
President, John Kufuor and Chairman of ECOWAS on the 
Participation of their Movement in the government of National 
Reconciliation to be formed by Prime Minister Seydou Diarra. 
END TEXT. 
JETER