SOMALIA: SPEAKER OF TRANSITIONAL FEDERAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ADDIS ABABA 001608

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF AND AF/E
LONDON, PARIS, ROME FOR AFRICA WATCHER
CJTF-HOA AND USCENTCOM FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/24/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM KPKO SO ET
SUBJECT: SOMALIA: SPEAKER OF TRANSITIONAL FEDERAL
PARLIAMENT DEFENDS ETHIOPIAN INTERVENTION

Classified By: ERIC WONG, DEPUTY POL-ECON COUNSELOR. REASON: 1.4 (D).


1. (C) SUMMARY. Sheikh Adan Mohammed Nur, Speaker of
Somalia's Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP),led a
18-member parliamentary delegation to Addis Ababa this week
to meet with Ethiopian MPs and GOE principals, including PM
Meles and FM Seyoum. In a May 24 meeting with Ambassador,
Nur said he aimed to express the Somali people's gratitude
for Ethiopia having come to Somalia's defense, as well as to
discuss future bilateral cooperation against common threats.
Outlining the threat Somalia had faced from the "jihadist"
Council of Islamic Courts, Nur underscored that the TFP had
approved a resolution appealing to the international
community for foreign assistance, but that only Ethiopia had
responded immediately. Nur appealed for USG assistance to
facilitate the deployment of additional African Union
peacekeepers to Somalia, while also pushing Ethiopian forces
to remain in order to avoid a security "vacuum." In a frank
discussion of the weaknesses of the Transitional Federal
Government of Somalia (TFG),Nur said he had complained to
both TFG President Yusuf and Prime Minister Ghedi of the need
for improved power-sharing in the military, as well as in
ministerial and diplomatic assignments. Nur also noted that
while the TFP had explicitly endorsed the upcoming National
Reconciliation Conference, President Yusuf had announced the
formation of the National Governance and Reconciliation
Committee (NGRC),chaired by Ali Mahdi Mohamed, without prior
consultation with Parliament. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) On May 24, the Speaker of Somalia's TFP Sheikh Adan
Mohammed Nur met with Ambassador, PAO, and deputy pol-econ
counselor. Political and Reconciliation Advisor to the
Speaker Mohammed Rashid Haji (a former resident of
Minnesota),Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG)
Ambassador to Ethiopia and PermRep to the African Union
Ambassador Abdulkarim Farah, and a note-taker accompanied the
Speaker. Amb. Farah translated Speaker Nur's remarks, which
were in Somali.

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CIC THREAT PROMPTED REQUEST FOR FOREIGN ASSISTANCE
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3. (C) Nur noted that whereas he had represented only his own
political party when he had last met with the U.S. Ambassador
to Ethiopia years ago, he now represented all of Somalia. He
was visiting Ethiopia with 18 Somali parliamentarians at the
invitation of the Speaker of Ethiopia's Parliament, Teshome
Toga, whom he had invited to pay a reciprocal trip to
Somalia. Nur said his trip aimed to express the Somali
people's gratitude for Ethiopia having come to Somalia's
defense, as well as to discuss future bilateral cooperation
against common threats. The majority of Somalis sought peace
and security, and a stable government. Citing the TFP's
recent approval of a counterterrorism bill, Nur said he
sought to convey to the Ethiopian people that Somalis did not
want terrorists infiltrating Ethiopia from Somalia. Nur
said he had met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi,
Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin, and Speaker Teshome; he would
meet with AU Commission Chairperson Konare after returning
from a May 25 visit to Khartoum.


4. (C) Nur underscored that Ethiopian intervention on behalf
of the TFG had provided "life support" to Somalia, and had
been approved by Somalia's parliament. He dismissed the
contention that Ethiopia had "invaded" Somalia and would
never withdraw as "propaganda." The TFP's approval of a
request for foreign military assistance to counter the
Council of Islamic Courts (CIC) had come only after CIC
extremists had rejected negotiations in Khartoum and
elsewhere between the CIC and the TFG, and after CIC forces
had come within 20-30 kilometers of Lower Juba and surrounded
Baidoa, he said. CIC decisions were made by foreigners, not
by Somalis, Nur added, noting that the CIC had replaced the
Somali flag with a "jihadist" flag (a black flag portraying a
swan) in areas it had occupied. CIC extremists had sought to
brainwash Somali youth and terrorize moderates. In response
to this threat, the TFG had made an urgent request to the
international community, but only Ethiopia had responded
immediately. As Ethiopia lacked the capacity to continue

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this assistance alone, it was imperative that other countries
provide support; however, only Uganda had contributed troops
to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

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ETHIOPIANS MUST REMAIN UNTIL MORE AU TROOPS DEPLOYED
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5. (C) USG assistance was needed, Nur said, to (1) push the
African Union to deploy additional troops to Somalia, while
also (2) pushing Ethiopian troops to remain in Somalia, so as
to avoid a security "vacuum." Nur welcomed the opportunity
to meet with USG officials, saying that the U.S. understood
the situation in Somalia better than others in the
international community. He hailed the recent appointment of
a U.S. Special Envoy for Somalia.


6. (C) Nur expressed concern that EU support for the TFP was
"deteriorating" and may have to be replaced by USG support:
what the Europeans had started, "maybe other countries can
finish." The TFG recognized problems in administration as a
weakness, but needed financial support from the EU or the
U.S. Ambassador responded that the international community
would be looking for progress by the TFG in advance of the
upcoming National Reconciliation Conference (NRC). The TFG
needed to show success, as some parties actively sought the
TFG's failure.


7. (C) Ambassador underscored the need not only for the TFG
to engage potential AU troop-contributing countries (Farah
responded that these included Benin, Burundi, Ghana,
Madagascar, Malawi, and Nigeria),but also for President
Abdullahi Yusuf to show the international community that he
was reaching out to all clans in Somalia (including the
Habr-Gedir/Ayr, Habr-Gedir/Suleiman, Abgal, and other Hawiye
sub-clans). While Mogadishu's airport and seaport were
currently controlled by individual clans, Somalis had to form
a cohesive government that represented all clans, not a
single one. In Kismayo, intra-clan conflict among Darods
needed to end. The U.S. was committed to supporting
Somalia's infrastructure and capacity-building, but in
partnership with Somalia; the future of the TFG had to be
decided by the people of Somalia, Ambassador said.
Ambassador also recognized Amb. Farah for his advocacy on
behalf of the TFG; Nur said the GOE had also expressed
appreciation for Farah's efforts.

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SPEAKER ACKNOWLEDGES PROBLEMS IN POWER-SHARING
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8. (C) Nur said he agreed with the Ambassador on all points
and the issue of power-sharing. Nur acknowledged that in a
meeting the previous day with Ethiopian FM Seyoum, he had
expressed concern that the TFG was not delivering. At times,
President Yusuf was "not functioning as he should be;" if
Parliament had made errors, it would seek to rectify them.
Nur said that in response to a letter he had written to them,
President Yusuf and Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Ghedi had
pledged to rectify problems with power-sharing in the
military, among permanent secretaries of TFG ministries, and
among ambassadorial appointments. Nur said he had also told
Yusuf and Ghedi that "one tribe" should not dominate others.
Nur defended the recent appointment of former warlord Mohamed
Dhere (Hawiye/Abgal) as mayor of Mogadishu, asserting that he
had lobbied for Dhere despite Yusuf's initial objection.


9. (C) Intra-clan conflict in Kismayo involved Darod/Merehan
fighting Darod/Mijerteen; as the Darod were not native to
Kismayo, Kismayo should be handed over to another clan's
control, Nur said.

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PARLIAMENT ENDORSES RECONCILIATION CONFERENCE
--------------


10. (C) Questioned about efforts to reach out to Somali
clans, Nur complained that President Yusuf had announced the
independence of the NRC, stated that the TFG would follow the
NRC's decisions, and announced the formation of the National

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Governance and Reconciliation Committee (NGRC) chaired by Ali
Mahdi Mohamed, without prior consultation with Parliament.
Nur explained that as the former Transitional National
Government (TNG) had collapsed once the Mbagathi process
(which led ultimately to the TFG's formation) had been
announced, some now feared that the NRC could undermine the
TFG. Special Representative of the UN Secretary General
(SRSG) for Somalia, Francois Fall, had asked Parliament
whether it endorsed the NGRC, stating that Yusuf's word alone
was insufficient to legitimize the committee. Nur said the
NGRC's legitimacy remained an issue that had to be addressed.



11. (U) In response, Nur said, the Transitional Federal
Parliament had adopted a resolution:
-- Stressing support for the NRC;
-- Urging that delegates to the conference should be selected
by traditional leaders in accordance with the "4.5" formula
(i.e., Darod, Dir, Hawiye, and Rahanweyne clans, with the
remainder held by minority constituencies);
-- Noting that the NRC should operate under the TFG charter;
and
-- Affirming that Parliament should be the final arbiter of
disputes over representation, in cases where several clans
lived together in the same area.


12. (C) The TFP has decided earlier that, prior to the NRC,
all MPs should return to their home areas in order to address
constituencies at the regional, district, and town level; and
that elections should be held in areas that lacked
representatives. However, lack of funds had prevented this.
Nur said he had given proposals for funding to both
Ambassador Ranneberger in Nairobi and to the EU.


13. (C) COMMENT. Speaker Nur's observation that the
Transitional Federal Parliament has explicitly endorsed the
National Reconciliation Conference, while it has not
similarly endorsed President Yusuf's appointment of Ali Mahdi
Mohamed and other members of the National Governance and
Reconciliation Committee, highlights a potential pitfall of
the NRC process, if potential delegates dissent with Ali
Mahdi's role. It also shows that despite speculation that
Ali Mahdi may be appointed as TFG Prime Minister (vice the
unpopular Ghedi),Parliament is not guaranteed to endorse
him. END COMMENT.
YAMAMOTO