INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Pm Soro Calls for International Investigation Of

Published: Fri 6 Jul 2007 07:51 AM
VZCZCXRO4622
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHAB #0732 1870751
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 060751Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3247
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS ABIDJAN 000732
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: IV PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: PM SORO CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION OF
ATTEMPT ON HIS LIFE
1. Several Ambassadors accompanied acting SRSG Abou Moussa
to Bouake to visit Prime Minister Soro on July 3. The
meeting, which lasted about 45 minutes, devoted more time to
formal expressions of sympathy and Soro's detailed account of
what happened than to substantive political discussions.
2. PM Soro related that President Gbagbo has called him
every day since the incident to express his sympathy. The PM
stated that both he and President Gbagbo remained determined
to move the political process forward toward elections.
3. Turning to the incident itself, PM Soro cleared his
Forces Nouvelles troops of responsibility for the incident;
he specifically mentioned Zone Commanders Ousmane Sherif and
Zacharie Kone, who have been cited in the press as suspects.
Soro said that some arrests have been made, but not of those
who carried out the attack. He did not identify those
arrested. The PM said the assailants had been trained and
brought in from the outside, and he knew who financed and
commanded them. He did not elaborate on the last point, but
to the assembled ambassadors, this appeared to be a reference
to Ibrahim Coulibaly, one of the brains behind the 2002 coup
attempt who had a falling out with Soro and has subsequently
lived in exile outside of Cote d'Ivoire.
4. PM Soro informed acting SRSG that he would be writing to
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to request that an
international investigation be carried out of the incident.
Soro stated that this would be the only way to ensure that
the investigation was impartial. Abou Moussa promised to
alert the Secretary General that the letter would be
forthcoming.
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