NORWAY AND SOMALIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L OSLO 001476 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/NB AND AF/E E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/05/2016 TAGS: PREL KPKO SO NO SUBJECT: NORWAY AND SOMALIA REF: OSLO 1446 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission, Kevin M. Johnson for reasons 1. 4 b and d. ¶1. (C) Continuing Post's engagement with the Norwegian Foreign Ministry on peace and reconciliation issues (reftel), Ambassador Whitney hosted a working breakfast on December 1 to discuss events in Somalia. Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials told us that they were pessimistic about prospects for dialogue between the Islamic Courts Union and the Transitional Federal Institutions, particularly since they see Ethiopia as being on a "war footing" to protect the TFI against the ICU. Despite this, Norwegians believe that there may be room for IGAD and the Arab League to play a role in bringing the parties back into discussions. ¶2. (C) MFA officials were in agreement with us on the need to support the TFI but did not think that an IGASOM force was the only way to go. They told us that an IGAD-backed force without troops from front-line states would be more palatable to the UIC, but would severely limit the available pool of forces. Norwegians see drawing on other AU states as the best option if a force is deployed, but cautioned that Eritrea may react negatively to such a force, sparking a broader conflict. ¶3. (SBU) The MFA told us that there were some 18,000 Somali's currently in Norway (one of the largest refugee communities in the country) and that the Ministry had informally received a TFI representative responsible for Education a few weeks ago. The MFA said that the would keep us appraised of any future calls from Somalis. ¶4. (SBU) COMMENT: The breakfast meeting showed again that Norwegians are clearly interested in coordinating with us on their peace and reconciliation activities. Post will continue to follow up with the Norwegian MFA on the SCG. END COMMENT Whitney