1. (C) Ambassador Attalah Bashir Hamed, Head of the
Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
Secretariat, cites two problems confronting IGAD after the

SIPDIS
March 12 Ministerial Facilitation Committee Meeting on
Somalia Reconciliation, and in the wake of the March 22
follow-up ministerial in Djibouti. In a meeting at the
Secretariat with Ambassador Ragsdale, at her request, Attalah

SIPDIS
said first, the four faction leaders who walked out of the
session are directly challenging IGAD's desire for
inclusiveness in the peace process. They must return to the
table in order for the process to be viable.



2. (C) Second, the Nairobi meeting was to have launched Phase
3 of the Reconciliation process, i.e. selection of Members of
Parliament according to clan affiliation. At issue is one
article in the TNG charter -- the need for political leaders
to consult with traditional leaders. Some participants,
Attalah said, want consultation to be the other way around --
at the behest of traditional leaders who in turn draw in
political leaders. Traditional leaders are seen as having
greater influence at the clan level, while political leaders
are viewed as in control only of small segments of territory
and of manpower. Because of the impasse, which has existed
for one year, IGAD is taking the position that Phase 2 has
been "completed," Attalah said, and "preparations are
underway" for Phase 3. Yet this position continues to delay
the peace process, he added.



3. (C) Attalah said IGAD dispatched a team to Mogadishu just
after the Nairobi meeting in order to convince those who had
walked out to re-join talks. He said there is still no
response from them and the team returned the same day with
their report. In Attalah's view, peace in Somalia will only
work when all agree to peace. At issue, he opined, is the
proliferation and strength of "hidden agendas" by the Somalis
themselves and by their allies. Those from Somalia involved
in the process are not sophisticated politicians, but simple
warlords. Most have no idea about how peace conferences
work. They think solely, he continued, along a single line --
that peace will mean the loss of their interests.



4. (C) Attalah sees no significant outcomes from the March 22
ministerial meeting in Djibouti, even though Ethiopia's State
Minister for Foreign Affairs is on tap to attend. Kenya's
Special Envoy Kipligat will also attend. Attalah stated that
Kenya does not want to see any extreme measures taken in
IGAD. It wants to do all it can to preserve the fragile
peace process. Somalis are contributing to the fragility,
Attalah emphasized, but Ethiopia and Djibouti are also
contributing by "playing a game" with those they support.
Both Ethiopia and Djibouti are also accused, he said, of
running arms to Somalia, in spite of the U.N. embargo, the
latter in coordination with Libya. Ambassador mentioned that
the monitoring group created under UNSC 1519 is due to
arrive in Djibouti on March 21. Members are not scheduled to
meet Attalah, but have programs at Civil Aviation, the port,
and with Ambassadors of Security Council states present in
country.



5. (C) Despite his pessimism on Somalia, Attalah said he was
pleased IGAD has succeeded in involving all its member
states, plus the Arab League, the European Union and other
international partners in the Somali peace process. He said
IGAD decided not to include Somaliland in peace negotiations
and to respect its territorial integrity at the moment.
However, IGAD has urged the international community not to
recognize Somaliland as a sovereign state, since recognition
may jeopardize the peace process. The international
community should continue, he said, to maintain contacts with
Somaliland on humanitarian issues.



6. (C) Comment: Ambassador will meet again with Attalah for
an assessment after conclusion of the March 22 round of
talks. Attalah is pleased talks are taking place in Djibouti,
having lamented privately to Ambassador that the presence of
the Secretariat in Djibouti has in the past posed insuperable
logistical problems. These seem to have been overcome for
Monday's meeting. Nevertheless, the opening will take place
at Djibouti's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as a portion of
Secretariat offices is currently under renovation. End

SIPDIS
comment.
RAGSDALE