ETHIOPIA: DEPUTY FM ASKS FOR USG ASSISTANCE ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L ADDIS ABABA 001578 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/12/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV KPKO PREF SU SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: DEPUTY FM ASKS FOR USG ASSISTANCE ON POSSIBLE GOS INVOLVEMENT IN GROWING MIGRATION PROBLEM Classified By: Charge Vicki Huddleston for reason 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Deputy Foreign Minister Tekeda Alemu told the Charge June 7 that the GOE was increasingly concerned about a growing armed population of an estimated 60 thousand ethnic Sudanese Nuer in the Gambella region of Ethiopia and believed the problem may be directly attributable to a GOS official. Tekeda said the GOE intends to proceed "carefully" and without force, but calls from Ethiopian citizens domestically and abroad to address the problem have put the GOE in a difficult position. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Minister Tekeda explained how a growing number of armed Sudanese Nuer have entered Ethiopia since 2001 only to push out indigenious ethnicities and now occupy a large swath of land along the border in the Gambella region. Tekeda told the Charge this was understandably a sensitive issue but remained concerned about reports that a senior Sudanese government official, whom he called "Dr. Goche," was linked somehow to the increased movement of Nuer into Ethiopia. (Note: Tekeda may be referring to Salah Ghosh, Director General of the National Intelligence Security Service. End Note) Tekeda asked the Charge for USG assistance in determining the level of GOS complicity and an appropriate course of action. HUDDLESTON