VZCZCXRO5141
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHDK #0433/01 0531403
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 221403Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAKAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4308
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAKAR 000433 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF, AF/W, AF/RSA, INR/AA, INR/B AND DRL/PHD 
PARIS FOR POL - D'ELIA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/21/2026 
TAGS:            
SUBJECT: PRIME MINISTER SALL COMMENTS ON SECK CASE AND 
CORRUPTION 
 
REF: A. DAKAR 0418 
 
      B. DAKAR 0316 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: CDA Robert P. Jackson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 1.  (C) Senegalese Prime Minister Sall remains convinced that 
former Prime Minister Idrissa Seck embezzled funds and 
illegally enriched himself at the Senegalese people,s 
expense.  Although Seck,s legal team vehemently denies that 
Seck and President Wade reached any deal, Sall says that Seck 
agreed to return some funds.  Seck,s future in the ruling 
PDS and future prosecution probably hinge on Wade,s 
calculations of how much he needs Seck to win reelection. 
Sall made it clear that he has no desire to be in a party 
with a rehabilitated Seck, who Sall thinks belongs in jail. 
For his part, Seck is reportedly focused on &sopi8 
(change), the platform that brought Wade and the PDS to 
power.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 2.  (C) Charge met with Prime Minister Macky Sall for over an 
hour on February 20.  Much of the conversation focused on 
corruption in Senegal and the &Idrissa Seck/Chantiers de 
Thies8 (Thies Public Works) case.  Sall initiated the 
dialogue about corruption.  Sall remains convinced that Seck 
conspired with Sud Communications journalist Latif Coulibaly 
to discredit President Wade as an evil murderer in 
Coulibaly's two latest books.  Sall said the Government had 
mishandled the Seck case, forcing it to drop the state 
security and irregular correspondence charges.  However, Sall 
confirmed that the charges of illegal enrichment and 
embezzlement are still pending, and he believes they have 
merit.  Moreover, he said that the Government is pursuing 
investigations in France and has transmitted letters rogatory 
to the Government of Switzerland to identify embezzled funds 
that may have been deposited in Swiss banks.  In fact, Sall 
alleged that Seck had agreed to return funds to Senegal as a 
condition for his release )- something Seck,s legal team 
has adamantly denied. 
 
 3.  (C) Sall said that the Seck/Chantiers de Thies case is 
the most egregious example of corruption in Senegal.  Sall 
continues to believe that prosecuting Seck is necessary in 
order to attack corruption in Senegal.  Charge told the Prime 
Minster that U.S. concerns center on the fairness and 
transparency of the process. 
 
NO DEAL? 
-------- 
 4.  (C) For its part, Seck,s legal team has insisted that 
there was no deal.  Seck,s lawyers claim that President 
Abdoulaye Wade has badly wanted a deal since December. 
Seck,s lawyers allege that Wade initiated negotiations 
through Ousmane Seye and that Seck,s lawyers served as 
intermediaries.  However, they insist Seck never agreed to 
any terms -- even as the proposals became more favorable to 
him over time.  Part of the reason, Seck reportedly allowed 
negotiations to occur was to develop evidence that Wade 
believed he )- not the courts -- controlled Seck's fate. 
Seck finally took the position that he would have further 
discussions directly with Wade after he was completely 
cleared of the charges.  Seck refused to ask for a 
provisional release on the grounds that he knew he was 
innocent and he would only be satisfied with unconditional 
dismissal.  Furthermore, the lawyers allege, since there was 
no deal, there was no promise or understanding of any sort 
that Seck will not run for President in 2007.  They say it is 
something he is considering. 
 
SECK, THE PDS AND SOPI 
---------------------- 
 5.  (C) Regarding the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), Sall 
said that he has spent months rebuilding the party and 
eliminating &Seck,s party within a party.8  If Wade 
brought Seck back into a leadership position, Sall said he 
might have to resign because he does not want to be 
associated with an embezzler.  Seck,s lawyers assert there 
is no agreement or understanding on his future in the PDS. 
Seck,s lawyers say that he will continue to talk about 
&sopi" (change).  Historically, sopi underlay the 
development of the PDS, and Wade and Seck were the driving 
forces.  Sopi is based on a set of values -- democracy, good 
governance, raising the status of women and others.  Sopi has 
been the PDS,s platform, but it need not belong to the PDS. 
Seck has no need for a new party because if the PDS no longer 
embraces Sopi, other existing parties can.  For Seck, Sopi 
will now include legal reforms, such as judicial 
independence, changes in state security laws, and pre-trial 
 
DAKAR 00000433  002 OF 002 
 
 
detentions, to which Seck can speak with direct experience 
and deep conviction.  Seck, who is fond of analogies, 
reportedly compares the PDS to a temple to Sopi.  In recent 
years, the temple has gotten dirty; if it cannot be cleaned, 
then a new temple will have to be built. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 6.  (C) Probably only Wade, Seck and a few other people 
currently know the nature of any deal that was made on 
Seck,s release from prison.  For now, Prime Minister Sall 
seems intent on keeping the embezzlement and illegal 
enrichment charges alive.  We note, however, that Sall said 
nothing about Karim Wade, who is both in the Government and 
the PDS.  Whether Karim,s father, President Wade, believes 
that he needs Seck or Sall most may determine both of their 
fates as the February 2007 elections draw nearer.  END 
COMMENT. 
JACKSON