Viewing cable 09CONAKRY837, LIBYAN LEADER MEETS WITH GUINEAN PRESIDENT

Viewing cable 09CONAKRY837, LIBYAN LEADER MEETS WITH GUINEAN PRESIDENT

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:

• The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
• The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
• The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.

To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #09CONAKRY837.

Reference ID	Created	Released	Classification	Origin
09CONAKRY837	2009-01-06 14:02	2010-12-07 21:09	SECRET	Embassy Conakry

VZCZCXRO0526
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHRY #0837 0061412
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 061412Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3315
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

S E C R E T CONAKRY 000837 

SIPDIS 

EO 12958 DECL: 01/06/2018 
TAGS PREL, PGOV, ASEC, GV 
SUBJECT: LIBYAN LEADER MEETS WITH GUINEAN PRESIDENT 

Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D

¶1. (U) On a trip that included several stops in neighboring West African countries, Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi spent approximately three hours in the VIP lounge of the Conakry airport on January 3 where he met with President Moussa Dadis Camara and Prime Minister Kabine Komara. Press reports indicate that Qadhafi chose not to leave the airport because the Guinean Government could not offer adequate security. In anticipation of his arrival, some 250 Libyan paratroopers reportedly arrived in two aircrafts the evening of January 2.

¶2. (S) Specific details as to what was discussed in the meeting between the leaders are murky. Sensitive sources indicate that Qadhafi may have offered to provide the new Guinean Government with weapons. XXXXXXXXXXXX local press speculated that the Libyan leader may have been looking to reinstate a controversial hotel contract that had been negotiated by former Prime Minister Kouyate in late 2007, and then cancelled a few months later by the late President Conte. The Spanish Ambassador mentioned to DCM on January 5 that he had heard that Qadhafi had negotiated some kind of arms deal.

¶3. (S) Both press and independent sources reported that Qadhafi gave a bullet-proof Nissan vehicle to President Camara. A sensitive source told Embassy that Qadhafi also gave the president a large sum of cash.

¶4. (U) Libyan press (Tripoli Great Jamahiriyah TV) reported that Qadhafi congratulated his “companions in the military council” for having the “situation in Guinea under control after the death of President Lansana Conte” and for having “managed to save Guinea from internal problems.” Qadhafi reportedly said that the Guinean people “are backing the revolutionaries.”

------- 
COMMENT
------- 

¶5. (S) Civilian contacts have claimed that Libya provided financial support for the December 23 coup, and that opposition political leader Alpha Conde (Rally for the Guinean People - RPG) may have personally solicited Qadhafi’s support. During his administration, former Prime Minister Lansana Kouyate’s frequent trips to Libya generated rampant speculation as to what the Guinean leader may have been trying to negotiate with Qadhafi. In the absence of any clarification from either government as to what was discussed, speculation continues. Relations with Libya are viewed with suspicion by some Guineans due to Qadhafi’s alleged support of controversial leaders in neighboring countries (i.e. Charles Taylor in Liberia and RUF rebels in Sierra Leone). END COMMENT. 

RASPOLIC