PRIME MINISTER MELES EXPLAINS SOMALIA WITHDRAWAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ADDIS ABABA 003296 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/09/2018 TAGS: PREL MOPS EAID ET SO SU SUBJECT: PRIME MINISTER MELES EXPLAINS SOMALIA WITHDRAWAL TO SENATOR INHOFE Classified By: Ambassador Donald Yamamoto. Reasons: 1.4 (B) and (D). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles praised U.S. relations as vital to regional security and Ethiopia's efforts to fight poverty, during the visit by Senator Inhofe, who was accompanied by Congressmen Miller, Neugebauer and Aderholt. Prime Minister Meles particularly praised our bilateral intelligence sharing relationship. Meles emphasized Ethiopia's respect for human rights and commitment to poverty reduction. The Prime Minister focused on the departure of Ethiopian forces from Somalia at the end of the year because of the lack of financial support from the international community for the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the failure of the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to reach out to other clans to stabilize Somalia, counter extremists and enhance governance. Ethiopia's continued presence in Somalia would not improve the prospects for peace and stability, Meles said. Meles thanked the Senator for his support for military training which has greatly benefited Ethiopia. The Prime Minister expressed particular concern with Eritrea's support for, and financial assistance to, extremists in Somalia, while also highlighting the deteriorating situation in Sudan. Senator Inhofe remarked that his visit to Ethiopia was his 100th visit to an African country. End summary. U.S. Strategic Relations Remain Strong -------------- ¶2. (C) Senator James Inhofe, accompanied by Congressmen Jeff Miller, Randy Neugebauer, and Robert Aderholt, and staffers Anthony Lazarski and Mark Powers, and Ambassador met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on December 4. Meles praised U.S. strategic relations as vital to regional stability and critical to enhancing peace which is essential to Ethiopia's efforts to focus its energies on its poverty reduction programs. Meles praised Senator Inhofe's work in the Senate to advance and expand International Military Education and Training (IMET) and other military training programs. The Prime Minister said Ethiopia had benefited from the Senator's efforts through U.S. support for the Ethiopian Defense Command and Staff College to train Ethiopia's future military leaders and the newly established Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) training facility. The Prime Minister also noted support by the U.S. for C-130 spare parts and urged the U.S. to fulfill its promise of ten years ago to provide four C-130s. Ethiopia received only two from the U.S. before restrictions stemming from the Ethiopia-Eritrea War forced the end to transfers of military equipment. Meles promoted the close and cooperative bilateral relationship, especially on intelligence sharing, which has helped to enhance security for Ethiopia and the region. The Prime Minister noted that Ethiopia stands in a paramount position in the region because of its support for U.S. special programs and initiatives that enhance security for Ethiopia and other regional states. Human Rights Defense -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The Prime Minister emphasized Ethiopia's human rights record and characterized recent criticism from Human Rights Watch as uninformed and dangerously wrong because it purposely provided false facts. The Prime Minister explained that Ethiopia never replied to such human rights allegations in the past, but has now changed its approach and prepared a rebuttal to the Human Rights Watch report on the Ogaden because the facts were so egregiously distorted. He cited the charges of burnt villages and reports of tortured people. Meles noted that the Ethiopian Government (GoE) report interviewed victims who were reported as killed in the Human Rights Watch report. The Prime Minister articulated that the GoE will prosecute violators of human rights. In one instance, Meles said, a Major had beaten a civilian and the officer was court martialed. The Prime Minister also said that the State Department's human rights report also contains distorted information which repeated allegations raised by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or human rights groups. Meles related that one U.S. Ambassador ten years ago had raised a human rights case with him and that the Prime Minister investigated the case. He welcomed such a dialogue to investigate and correct, if need be, human rights charges. ADDIS ABAB 00003296 002 OF 003 But the U.S. Ambassador was later informed that he had overstepped his bounds and was not allowed to share any information of cases until the issuance of the report. The Prime Minister felt this was unfair and that if the U.S. had evidence or cases of human rights abuse, he urged the U.S. to work with the Ethiopian Government to resolve the cases. Withdrawal from Somalia -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Prime Minister Meles told the Senator that Ethiopian forces will withdraw from Somalia by the end of the year. Ethiopian forces were scheduled to depart much sooner but stayed in Somalia at the request of the African Union which pressed Ethiopia not to withdraw because it would create a security vacuum and a political crisis. The African Union argued that it needed time to form AMISOM and secure troops to replace the Ethiopian force. But after two years and only a modest force in place, Ethiopia felt its continued presence was not enhancing peace and security and that its forces must leave Somalia. While a security vacuum will be created and extremists will quickly fill the void, the continued presence of Ethiopian troops is not sustainable and would not solve Somalia's problems. ¶5. (SBU) Meles cited two problems to solving the Somalia problem. First, the African Union and international community did not provide sufficient peacekeepers for AMISOM nor, more important, the financial support to the African Union to pay for troops. Second, TFG President Yusuf failed to reach out to his own Prime Minister and other Somali clans, thus failing to stem the violence and chaos and conveying to the international community a lack of confidence in the TFG's ability to provide stability, check the spread of extremism and enhance governance. Meles said the 3,000 troop strong AMISOM force is far below the 8,000 force size necessary for peacekeeping in Mogadishu. But increasing the force size is dependent on money from the international community. Meles also stated that the small contingent of Ugandan and Burundian troops want to leave Somalia prior to the pullout of Ethiopian forces. Meles urged the Senator for the U.S. to support the withdrawal of AMISOM forces prior to the departure of Ethiopian forces. The U.S. is best positioned to provide airlift and logistical support for the removal of AMISOM forces. Meles opined that once Ethiopian forces left Somalia they would be able to secure its borders and, if necessary, conduct surgical strikes into Somalia against potential targets threatening Ethiopia's security. Piracy -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Meles expressed his views that piracy, while unprecedented for the number of attacks and ransom paid, was primarily a criminal activity but that extremist groups were now involved in the lucrative business of hijacking of ships. This will lead to more arms and explosives entering Somalia and bolder actions by pirates. Eritrea: State Sponsor of Terrorism -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Meles said it was clear that Eritrea was a state sponsor of terrorism. He said the U.S. had provided evidence of Eritrea's security officials involved in money and arms shipments to extremists in Somalia for terrorist operations against Ethiopia. Meles added that Eritrea was cultivating ties with Iran, giving Iran access to facilities in Assab port, including an oil refinery. Meles urged greater cooperation among the international community to contain Eritrea and scrutinize Iran's role in the region. Sudan: Dangerous Warning Signs -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Meles sounded an ominous warning that Sudan was not headed in the right direction. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA; or, the north-south agreement) has collapsed, Meles said. The north and south cannot agree on wealth sharing, specifically the oil fields and the wealth generated by oil production. Lack of progress on resolving border disputes enhanced the divisions. Meles recounted that President Bashir felt the U.S. did not honor what the Sudanese President believed was a commitment by the U.S. to ADDIS ABAB 00003296 003 OF 003 remove Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism once the CPA had been signed. The problem was the Darfur tragedy which made it difficult to provide Sudan any benefits from the CPA agreement. Further, President Bashir felt the West was seeking regime change especially when the International Court of Justice indicted Bashir for crimes against humanity. Instability in Sudan is like a "bomb" which will affect the entire region. Comment -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Prime Minister Meles struck a chord of warning of pending security problems looming in the near future from the ungoverned spaces of Somalia, reflected by the severe piracy problem, and the deteriorating situation in Sudan, to terrorist support activities by Eritrea that destabilize the region. Other senior Ethiopian officials, from Meles' National Security Advisor to other MFA officials, have underscored the departure of ENDF forces even if financial assistance was provided for the ENDF to stay in Somalia. The GoE has clearly made up its mind that ENDF presence was not helping the Somali situation. End Comment. ¶10. (U) Senator Inhofe's delegation cleared this message. YAMAMOTO