PDAS THOMAS-GREENFIELD MEETS WITH AFRICAN LEADERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ACCRA 001455 SIPDIS SIPDIS ADDIS FOR USAU, LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/02/2017 TAGS: BF BO ER ET GH JA LI PREL RW SO SU TZ UG SUBJECT: PDAS THOMAS-GREENFIELD MEETS WITH AFRICAN LEADERS AT AU SUMMIT REF: ACCRA 1451 Classified By: Ambassador Pamela E. Bridgewater for reasons 1.4 (d) and (e) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: PDAS Linda Thomas-Greenfield, head of the U.S. delegation to the 28-July 2 African Union Summit in Accra, held bilateral meetings on the margins of the Summit with the Foreign Ministers of Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Botswana, as well as with the Presidents of Liberia, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania, and with the Prime Minister of Somalia. She also met with Ghanaian President John Kufuor (reftel),a delegation from Japan and AU Peace and Security Commissioner Said Djinnit (reported septel). Discussions focused heavily on Somalia, Sudan and the Ethiopia/Eritrea border dispute. End summary. Rwandan Foreign Minister Murigande -------------- ¶2. (C) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Africa Linda Thomas-Greenfield thanked Rwandan Foreign Minister Charles Murigande for Rwanda's support and pressure in Darfur. Murigande was very frustrated with the four month delay in paying Rwandan troops in Darfur. Rwanda could contribute an additional battalion or two, but would need to resolve these financing problems first, he said. Murigande was discouraged that former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had "reneged" on promises that the UN would pay for all of a hybrid AU/UN force. Rwanda knows from experience that the U.N. does not always follow through on its commitments, Murigande added. On the DRC, Murigande said MONUK cannot be relied on to provide a solution, although they can help reduce the threat. He hoped friendly neighboring states would help fight armed groups in North Kivu. PDAS Thomas-Greenfield hoped that the lessons from Rwanda had been learned and that the U.N. would soon pay for the salaries and equipment of the hybrid force. Ugandan Foreign Minister Kutesa -------------- ¶3. (C) Ugandan Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa emphasized that Uganda remained "totally committed" to Somalia so the Ethiopians could leave. He hoped Burundi and Ghana would also deliver on troop commitments (Nigeria's commitment is unclear, he said),raising the confidence level for other possible troop contributions. There is an urgent need for an all-inclusive Congress and for the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to be seen as delivering services. He thought the Contact Group should shift from Nairobi to Kampala to improve coordination with Ugandan troops. He noted that Italy had promised $10 million and the U.S. $35 million, with other support expected from the U.K., to help pay the troops and provide training. Ethiopian Foreign Minister Mesfin -------------- ¶4. (C) Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin thought Somalia was on a path toward stabilization and that a recent amnesty had been well received. It was important to keep the conference on schedule and for the Somali government to support its outcome. There had been some recent fighting in Kismayo and there was a need to monitor two military groups, one around Ras Komboni near the Kenyan border and another in Puntland in central Somalia, he said. In addition, Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi's government is not functioning well and Cabinet ministers are frustrated with Gedi's poor leadership, he said. Ethiopia is preparing a team of 35 experts to go to Somalia for several months to assist and build the capacity of the TFG. The Ethiopian government has already requested USG financial support for this, he said, noting that the Somalia intervention had been costly. In addition, African Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare is organizing a meeting of potential troop donor governments in Somalia. Mesfin did not believe Ethiopia's border dispute with Eritrea would devolve into serious conflict in the near future. Botswanan Foreign Minister Fleurieu -------------- ACCRA 00001455 002 OF 004 ¶5. (C) The Foreign Minister said Botswana "would not be averse to providing a home for AFRICOM." When asked about the need for Botswana to make a contribution in Somalia, he said there was a political problem because it would be difficult to make a convincing argument that it was in Botswana's national interest to support a deployment of troops so far away. He said Botswana might be amenable to providing lift support in Somalia for others who might deploy. When PDAS Thomas-Greenfield praised Botswana's constructive role in Zimbabwe, the Foreign Minister said Botswana was now returning 3,000 Zimbabweans per week who had fled to Botswana. Tanzanian Foreign Minister Membe -------------- ¶6. (C) In response to our request that Tanzania contribute to AMISOM, Foreign Minister Bernard Membe said he feared that Somalia was becoming a proxy war for Ethiopia/Eritrea and thought Ethiopia and Eritrea needed to reduce their involvement in Somalia before Tanzania could consider sending troops. The GOT would continue to support Somalia police officer training. The FM remarked that there had been a delay because the GOT wanted to ensure the recruits represented different parts of the country, adding that training 1,000 Somali police recruits would cost $5-7 million. He said they were prepared to train them in tranches of 500 each. Burkina President Compaore -------------- ¶7. (C) PDAS Thomas-Greenfield thanked President Blaise Compaore for his efforts to bring peace to Cote d'Ivoire. Compaore said he had spoken with Ivorian President Gbagbo, who remarked that four years worth of progress had been made in the past four months, giving hope for further peace and stability. The destruction of weapons was being delayed until July 5 to enable Presidents Mbeki and Kufuor to observe it. Burkina would help the Ivorians evaluate and strengthen security for Prime Minister Soro and at the Abidjan airport in light of the recent attack on the PM's airplane. Compaore was hopeful this attack would not hurt the peace process. On Sudan, Compaore said Burkina was willing to stand up a battalion of 750 men for peacekeeping in Darfur but needed material help to deploy. PDAS Thomas-Greenfield promised the USG would send an assessment team to Burkina to help evaluate how we might help with this deployment. She also praised Burkina's compact eligibility (Compaore appreciated USG help in preparing Burkina for the MCC). Japan's Peacekeeping in Africa -------------- ¶8. (C) Keitaro Sato, Japan's Ambassador in Charge of Peace Building in Africa, said Japan had committed $100 million to the first phase of a six year (2005-2011) assistance plan for Sudan and he hoped other donors would contribute in the second phase. Japan was trying to be useful in the Ethiopia/Eritrea border dispute, looking for ways to get both sides to talk to each other within their legal and political constraints. The Japanese government plans to invite the Eritrean Prime Minister to Japan, probably later this year. Sato argued that the core group should remain small, given Eritrean and Ethiopian sensitivities. Japan could be involved in efforts by the UN Secretary General on the border dispute, although it would not take the lead, he said. PDAS Thomas-Greenfield asked whether Japan might provide medical supplies to AMISOM. Sato said it "was not impossible" and he would consult with Tokyo, although such assistance would probably take some time. Japan provides significant humanitarian aid to Somalia and would have to look at ways to support in other ways under a humanitarian rubric, possibly through the AU. The Japanese Ambassador to Ghana encouraged closer cooperation between the U.S. and Japan on assistance to Liberia, including in annual Official Development Assistance meetings. Mauritanian President Abdellahi -------------- ¶9. (C) PDAS Thomas-Greenfied congratulated President Sidi ACCRA 00001455 003 OF 004 Ould Cheikh Abdellahi on Mauritania's recent, excellent election. Abdellahi said his top priorities were development, democracy and counterterrorism. Mauritanians now have high expectations of government performance, he said. He appreciated President Bush's recent phone call and the news he had received that Mauritania would be brought back into AGOA and he implied he understood USAID would soon establish a Mission in Mauritania (we promised to clarify this). He hoped to improve security cooperation with the United States, saying that Al Qaida was active in North Africa and appeared to be targeting Mauritania. Mauritania is preparing for a donors Consultative Group in Paris later this year and Abdellahi hoped the USG would help make it a success. Mauritania asked for U.S. support for a UNSC rotating seat and hopes to qualify for the MCC, he said, asking for information on what Mauritania needs to do to become MCC eligible. Somali Prime Minister Gedi -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi said he had a very successful visit to the U.S. recently, meeting with officials from the Congress and White House and attending a seminar at CSIS. Somalis in the U.S. greeted him enthusiastically, he said, noting that approximately 500 Somalis from the Diaspora would likely participate in the upcoming Somali reconciliation conference if space can be found. He said the only remaining problem for the conference is security. ¶11. (SBU) The primary challenge in Somalis now is to get more countries to participate with the Ugandans in AMISOM. The Italians had agreed to provide $10 million to support AMISOM but the UNDPKO did not have "positive" views on the mission. UNDPKO told him that a state of peace must first exist before they would support a peacekeeping operation. There was a Hawiye clan meeting on July 2 and the greatest difficulty now was to get the subclans to agree on the path forward, he said. When asked by PDAS Thomas-Greenfield if the reconciliation conference called for changes in the TFG power sharing arrangement, if he would agree to leave, he said he would. ¶12. (SBU) The AU has put aside the issue of Somaliland for the moment, he said. Eritrea also tried to raise the issue of Somaliland as a way to criticize Ethiopia. However, that tactic was rejected and such discussion was not allowed at the AU Summit, Gedi said. Mogadishu is generally quiet; however, the Islamic courts are still trying to take over the country. Gedi said he and his supporters would never give up, adding that there were new unspecified terrorist threats against Kenya. Piracy remains a serious problem off the Somali coast and pirates are preventing commerce between Somalia and Dubai, as well as preventing WFP shipments. He asked if U.S. forces in Djibouti could do something to deal with the pirates, now that Somalia has a legitimate government which will submit a formal request for assistance. Liberian President Johnson Sirleaf -------------- ¶13. (SBU) PDAS Thomas-Greenfield met with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to reaffirm the USG commitment to Liberia's democratic transition and inquire about the AU Summit and the situation in Liberia. On the AU, Johnson Sirleaf commented that unification of African states is an attractive goal but realistically will have problems because it lacked strong foundation in weaker countries. She said the challenges for Liberia are DDR (which is behind schedule),high unemployment rates, the building of infrastructure, and the lack of training. Compensation and corruption in the Judiciary also require attention. She also mentioned that the private sector is slow and underfunded and she apologetically noted that China could be a potential source of assistance. President Johnson sought to clarify the recent Auditor General's statement about corruption; she indicated that due to that statement, the IMF is raising questions about the potential access to loans. The Finance Minister forcefully argued that the statement had no basis and is not the result of an audit report. On the Taylor trial, she said Liberia is ACCRA 00001455 004 OF 004 still waiting for the fall out. President Johnson highlighted the following areas of progress: G8 support for debt relief, the IMF endorsements for the PRSP, Liberia's eligibility under AGOA, approval for fast track funding for schools, the return of the Peace Corps, and the June 28 launch of the first census in 20 years. President Johnson reiterated Liberia's interest in being a home for AFRICOM. She was traveling with four members of the legislature, who PDAS encouraged to be supportive of the President's efforts. Participants -------------- ¶14. (U) In addition to PDAS Thomas-Greenfield, USG participants in the meetings included Cindy Courville (U.S. Ambassador to the African Union),Jerry Lanier (Director, Office of Regional Security Affairs for Africa),Captain William Couch (Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa),and Emboffs. Ambassador Bridgewater joined for the meeting with Liberian President Johnson Sirleaf and Lauren Landis (Senior Representative on Sudan) participated in the meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Rwanda, Uganda, Botswana, and Tanzania. ¶15. (U) PDAS Thomas-Greenfield cleared this message. BRIDGEWATER