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
--------------

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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

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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

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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