LONG-AWAITED MEETING WITH MFA YIELDS LITTLE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ASMARA 000709

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2017
TAGS: PREL KREC ASEC ER
SUBJECT: LONG-AWAITED MEETING WITH MFA YIELDS LITTLE


Classified By: CDA Jennifer A. McIntyre, for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d).


1. (C) Summary: In the absence of a direct response from
the Government of the State of Eritrea (GSE) regarding the
August 10 notification to close their consulate in Oakland,
California, Charge d'Affaires requested a meeting with
representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to
discuss U.S.-Eritrean relations. During the August 24
meeting with MFA acting Americas Director Elsa Haile, Charge
emphasized the importance of reopening a dialogue; in
particular encouraging the MFA to address the Embassy's
still-unresolved bilateral problems which resulted in the
Oakland closure, and to discuss Eritrea's activities
vis-a-vis Somalia in view of A/S Jendayi Frazier's August 17
statement regarding the possibility of Eritrea being added to
the State Sponsors of Terrorism List. Haile sidestepped the
bilateral issues by directing Charge to raise them with the
MFA's Protocol Division. She commented that the GSE's
primary foreign policy was resolving the border dispute with
Ethiopia. Somalia was a "side issue" and the U.S. has been
using Somalia as a pretext for derailing discussion on the
border. Not unexpectedly, the meeting produced no positive
forward momentum. Haile staunchly maintained the position
that the bilateral decisions were not within the America's
division purview and policy discussions could only be
addressed at more senior government levels. End Summary.

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CHARGE URGES DIALOGUE TO RESOLVE AREAS OF CONTENTION
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2. (C) On August 24, Charge d'Affaires and Poloff (notetaker)
met with Elsa Haile, MFA Director of the Multilateral and UN
Organizations Division (and currently acting Director for the
Americas),Tiagese Kiflezge, desk officer for the Americas
(notetaker) and Biniam Berhe Tewolde, also of the
Multilateral and UN Division (notetaker). Charge opened the
meeting by expressing her deep concern over the state of
bilateral relations and emphasized the critical need to renew
dialogue on both operational and policy issues to halt this
downward spiral. On operational issues, she noted that the
Embassy's inability for over a year to engage the GSE in
discussions on lifting overwhelming operational restrictions
had finally resulted in the reciprocal measure of ordering
the closure of Oakland. Charge provided details of the many
GSE-imposed restrictions and their impact on U.S. Embassy
operations to include: inability of diplomats to travel
outside of Asmara; interference with the diplomatic pouch;
refusal of official visas for U.S. temporary duty (TDY)
staff; delays in registering personal vehicles of U.S.
Embassy personnel; and the MFA's refusals to grant meetings
with GSE officials. The Charge requested the MFA set up a
forum for discussion and eventual resolution of these
critical issues, noting that the continuation of these
restrictions would eventually restrict U.S. Embassy
operations to such an extent that we may be unable to
continue operations in Asmara. She concluded by urging a
joint proactive approach to addressing these problems, adding
that reciprocal restrictions which have been levied on the
operations of the Eritrean Embassy in Washington could be
quickly lifted if we were permitted to operate freely and in
accordance with international norms.


3. (C) Moving to policy issues, Charge expressed her concern
about the absence of any direct and open dialogue to date on
Somalia. She referred to A/S Frazier's August 17 statements
concerning the possibility of Eritrea being included on the
State Sponsors of Terrorism List and the UN monitoring
group's report detailing delivery of Eritrean material
support to violent groups in Somalia. She emphasized that a
placement of Eritrea on the State Sponsors List ill-served
both countries, noting that countries that have been placed
on the list in the past (like Libya and Sudan) have found it
very difficult to have the designation lifted. Charge urged
the MFA to propose to the appropriate GSE office to open a
discussion on our respective governments' positions in
Somalia. Such discussion would not have to occur in Asmara,
but could be addressed through other avenues, such as the
Eritrean Embassy and State Department officials in
Washington. She added that our Embassy would be happy to
meet, or facilitate meetings with, any designated GSE
official on this topic.

ASMARA 00000709 002 OF 003



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BILATERAL OPERATIONS: MFA ASSERTS GSE ACTIONS ARE RECIPROCAL
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4. (C) Elsa Haile thanked Charge for the briefing and noted
that as she was not completely familiar with all of our
bilateral issues, she would not be able to respond to all of
the points raised during this meeting. Regarding the
operational problems mentioned by Charge, she stated that
with the exception of the travel restrictions, all GSE
actions responded to U.S. actions against Eritrea. Tiagese
Kiflezge joined in, asserting that the GSE's refusals to
issue official TDY visas was in response to U.S. Embassy
Asmara's denial of visas to members of the People's Front for
Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) traveling on diplomatic
passports during 2003-2006. Although pressed for more
details, Kiflezge provided none. (Note: Post presumes
Kiflezge was referring to the numerous cultural groups who
have applied in previous years to travel to the U.S. for
Eritrean cultural festivals. While sponsored by the PFDJ,
these individuals are assuredly not diplomats nor diplomatic
passport holders. Many of these individuals have proven to
be unqualified visa applicants. End Note.)


5. (C) Per the other GSE restrictions, Kiflezge cryptically
commented that the Eritrean restrictions on the diplomatic
pouch "had nothing to do with our consular services and
closure." The travel restrictions, continued Haile, were in
place because of national security concerns and applied
equally to all diplomats. She noted that the U.S. has not
taken reciprocal action against Pakistan which also has
travel restrictions based on security concerns. Charge
explained that while the U.S. Mission notifies the Pakistani
government in advance of the travel of our personnel, we are
not denied permission to travel through most of the country,
as in Eritrea. She added that our Embassy security personnel
were eager to cooperate with police and security personnel,
noting that our new Regional Security Officer had been
seeking, unsuccessfully to date, meetings with the Police
Commissioner and other security professionals. Haile did not
acknowledge Charge's invitation to work collaboratively with
the Embassy on security issues, only repeating that the
travel restrictions were a matter of national security.


6. (C) Wrapping up the discussion on operational problems,
Haile told Charge that these issues fall under the purview
of the Office of Protocol, and directed the Charge to raise
these issues with them. Haile commented that the Eritrean
Embassy in Washington D.C. should be accorded the same access
to the Department. Charge assured her that our Department
officials would be happy to grant any requests for meetings
by the Eritrean Embassy. In the end, Haile did acknowledge
that the GSE views our operational difficulties as "an
outcome of policy."

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POLICY ISSUES: MFA UNABLE TO ENGAGE IN DISCUSSION
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7. (C) Turning to Somalia, Haile stated that Eritrean support
for the Council for Islamic Courts did not constitute support
for terrorists against American interests, but rather was an
effort to ensure security in the region. Biniam Tewolde
added that Eritrea is itself a victim of terrorism,
commenting that the GSE does not admit into Eritrea any
individuals named on the UN terrorism lists. Haile asserted
that the allegations in the UN monitoring report were untrue.
She stated, "We are not harboring terrorists. Since day one
we have made it clear what we stand for. You know Eritrea is
not sponsoring or harboring terrorists. Our priority is the
border issue; we don't accept anything that is a side issue."
The Charge acknowledged having read the President's denials
of the UN allegations in official media statements. If the
UN charges were false, Charge reasoned, the GSE had even more
reason to support an open dialogue with the U.S. Charge
cautioned that while the GSE might view Somalia as a "side
issue", the U.S. certainly does not and failure to address
this impasse could have a very adverse, long-term impact on
our relationship. Haile did not address Charge's proposal
for further dialogue, stating that the MFA could not discuss
Somalia policy which had to occur at a higher level.


ASMARA 00000709 003 OF 003



8. (C) Reverting to a favorite GSE subject for grievance,
Haile repeated the oft-heard tale of John Foster Dulles'
position during the 1952 referendum, commenting that the U.S.
never wanted Eritrea to exist. However, she added, "even
though we have that in our mind, we are working for the best
for the U.S." She further said she has never been instructed
to work against the United States ) rather, her instructions
have been to work together with the U.S. Adding that Eritrea
is small but a sovereign nation, she closed the meeting on
the rhetorical question, "Why does the U.S. create
unnecessary disagreements?"

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COMMENT
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9. (C) In our first official meeting with the MFA since the
Oakland closure announcement, Post had hoped for a more
productive discussion about the perceived steps and missteps
that brought our governments to the present state of affairs.
Even a heated disagreement would have been welcome. Instead
our MFA interlocutors offered little in the way of
discussion, avoiding our openings to address both Oakland and
the State Sponsors of Terrorism List. Nor did they express
any interest in further discussion. Our Americas Department
interlocutors have clearly passed the buck to Protocol, and
recused themselves from any responsibility in the
decision-making process. While we have requested a follow-on
meeting with the Protocol Department to discuss the
operational issues, we have little hope this meeting will
produce anything new as our interlocutors will be the same
individuals who have not addressed these problems over the
course of the last year.


10. (C) Post is not surprised, but nonetheless disappointed,
to find that the MFA's go-to person for International
Organizations, the UN and the Americas finds herself too
junior to discuss core GSE policies, and views Somalia as a
minor issue in shaping Eritrea's future. While the meeting
yielded little in the way of productive information or
forward momentum in resolving any of our bilateral problems,
it did demonstrate again that the true power, influence and
decision-making for the GSE's foreign policy lies outside the
MFA. End Comment.
MCINTYRE