SOMALI PARLIAMENT SPEAKER KEEN FOR U.S. SUPPORT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 002141 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/11/2026 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINS CVIS PTER SO KE SUBJECT: SOMALI PARLIAMENT SPEAKER KEEN FOR U.S. SUPPORT Classified By: Political Counselor Michael J. Fitzpatrick, Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The Ambassador met with Somalia's Parliament Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden May 11 to discuss current developments in Somalia. The conversation particularly focused on the fighting in Mogadishu and possible ways to bring it to an end, with the Speaker agreeing that he may be in a position to mediate between the warring factions. Sharif Hassan also focused on the need to bring the Mogadishu warlords into the government fold. He repeatedly asked for USG support for the Transitional Federal Institutions, particularly for such short-term mediation efforts. Any mediation will clearly be difficult for Sharif Hassan to undertake, but at this time, he appears to be the official best positioned to make such an attempt. In the meantime, the locally brokered ceasefire in Mogadishu appears to be holding. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, Speaker of the Somali Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP) traveled to Nairobi to participate in a meeting of the International Parliamentary Union. He called on the Ambassador May 11 at the latter's invitation. The Ambassador congratulated the Speaker for the success thus far of efforts to bring the Parliament together in Baidoa and requested an update on events. The Speaker advised that 14 standing committees had been set up and Parliament had managed to initiate a dialogue between communities in conflict in Baidoa. The relocation issue has been resolved, with 183 MPs (out of 275 total possible) having voted in favor of maintaining the temporary seat of government (including the executive branch) in Baidoa. Militias are living outside Baidoa, and the process of merging Baidoa and Jowhar militias to form a national army has begun. Work on establishing regional councils has also begun and should be concluded with elections by May 20. ¶3. (C) The Speaker expressed concerns about current events in Mogadishu. If left unaddressed, the conflict there could create problems for all of Somalia. The Somali people expect the support of the U.S. to help bring an end to the fighting. Sharif Hassan said he would like to engage the ministers still entrenched in Mogadishu to bring them into the government fold. He noted that if the warlords were to achieve a military victory in Mogadishu, their alliance would crumble the following day. He requested our support for bringing these individuals back inside the government. The Ambassador agreed on the importance of bringing the renegade ministers back to the governmental fold and inquired as to the Speaker's degree of confidence in his ability to bring them to Baidoa. Sharif Hassan admitted that relations were not as good as they had been a year ago, but he thought he would be able to go to Mogadishu and engage the warlords in discussions. He considered the possibility of separating the warlords into different groups and using members of the business community to influence them to return to the government. ¶4. (C) The Ambassador asked the Speaker what other steps could be taken to stop the fighting in Mogadishu. Could someone in government - possibly the Speaker or Prime Minister - initiate a process of mediation? Sharif Hassan said he would not mind sacrificing himself for such a duty, but was concerned about how to start the process without offending one side or the other. He requested U.S. support for any such mediation effort and suggested that we approach the Alliance to urge them to accept mediation. The Ambassador encouraged Sharif Hassan to work closely with the Prime Minister on mediating the conflict in order to send a strong signal about the ability of the different organs of the Transitional Federal Government to work together. This would also be an excellent opportunity for the government to exercise its authority. ¶5. (C) Regarding the presence of the East Africa Al Qaida cell in Mogadishu, Sharif Hassan noted that a small number of people were aware of this presence, but the larger community needs more information to understand the gravity of the situation. The Ambassador advised that we had given fairly detailed information to the Ayr community leaders in our April meeting with them, which they had then used to confront the Somalis protecting the cell. Unfortunately, these guardians are strong both in numbers and weaponry. ¶6. (C) Sharif Hassan raised his potential travel to the U.S. on a National Democratic Institute study program and inquired whether there would be a problem obtaining his visa. The Ambassador explained to the Speaker the concerns surrounding our inability to deport Somali illegal aliens or convicted NAIROBI 00002141 002 OF 002 criminals back to Somalia. He stated that we would need to set up a mechanism with the TFG whereby such individuals could be returned to Somalia, noting that we have had an initial success with the return of 10 suspected pirates to Somali territory. Sharif Hassan stated that our two governments could negotiate on many issues, but the main issue for which Somalia needs support is creating functioning government institutions. ¶7. (C) COMMENT: Mediation in Mogadishu will clearly be difficult for anyone, but Sharif Hassan seems to be in the best position to make an attempt at this time. We are encouraged by his efforts to identify possible avenues of approach to the warlords and would like to use whatever means are available to us to support his efforts. We are also encouraged that the subsequent ceasefire agreed to by the parties appears, at the time of this writing, to be holding. END COMMENT. BELLAMY