A/S FRAZER AND SOMALILAND'S FM TALK IN DJIBOUTI

C O N F I D E N T I A L DJIBOUTI 000830 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR AF AND AF/E LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER NAIROBI FOR SOMALIA WATCHER E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL SO DJ SUBJECT: A/S FRAZER AND SOMALILAND'S FM TALK IN DJIBOUTI Classified By: A/S JFRAZER FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) During a dinner hosted by Ambassador Ragsdale on June 21, the Foreign Minister of Somaliland Edna Ismail spoke with visiting A/S Jendayi Frazer regarding the ongoing attempts by Somaliland to win international recognition as an independent state. Ismail briefed the A/S on her current tour in the region. "We are on a goodwill mission," she said, "to inform others about Somaliland." She reported that she and Somaliland President Kahin were in the process of visiting countries in Africa, specifically Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya--which they had not spent time in over the last few years. She reported that "Somaliland is surviving and moving forward, even though everyone around Somaliland is against it." ¶2. (C) A/S Frazer asked Ismail for her views on Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG). "Not much has changed with the TFG in the last decade," she replied, "but now we and the TFG have a common enemy, and so we are concerned and interested in the outcome. Somali actors have a vested interest," she added "in the current state of affairs in Somalia." ¶3. (C) A/S Frazer told Ismail that the United States shares the view that there is a common enemy in the extremists, and all agree on the need for dialogue and an end to extremism. But what is not evident is how to contain it," she continued. "Even the TFG has varying views on this" she added. Ismail responded that a solution lies in reason, not in arms and emphasized that she did not see the Islamic Courts as part of the solution. ¶4. (C) In response to A/S Frazer's question on Somaliland's approach to gaining its independence, FM Ismail said "Somaliland has never had its day in court, and has never had a hearing." A/S Frazer asked Ismail where she thought that "court" should be. Ismail replied that, in her view, it should be the African Union. A/S Frazer advised Ismail that if Somaliland focused on a few key states in the African Union, such as South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, other states would follow suit. Ismail agreed but also referred to the successes Somaliland has seen in its efforts to achieve a viable and stable government. "We've run our country in a relatively peaceful and democratic manner," Ismail told the A/S. She reaffirmed to A/S Frazer that Somaliland and its people "will never accept Somalia's rule over them." RAGSDALE