ICRC STILL ON THE OUTS WITH GOE, STILL NOT IN THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 000060 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/E JWYSHAM AND SHAMILTON; DRL JKRILLA, SJOSEPH, AND KGILBRIDE; PRM WFITZGERALD, MMCKELVEY, AND MAUSTIN E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2018 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREF ET SUBJECT: ICRC STILL ON THE OUTS WITH GOE, STILL NOT IN THE OGADEN Classified By: P/E Chief Michael Gonzales for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On December 27, Polchief and Refcoord met with Pierre Wettach, ICRC Head of Delegation in Ethiopia. Wettach reported that ICRC's operational situation has not substantially changed since ICRC was expelled from the Somali region/Ogaden this past summer. He provided a readout of a meeting with the President of the Somali Region during which the President provided a list of requirements for ICRC's return to the Ogaden. Polchief offered suggestions for a possible way forward for ICRC, which Wettach took under advisement and said he would raise on upcoming consultations with ICRC's Geneva headquarters in early January. End summary. ¶2. (C) On December 27, Polchief and Refcoord met with Pierre Wettach, ICRC Head of Delegation in Ethiopia. Wettach has been in Ethiopia for approximately three months since taking over from Juan Pedro Schaerer. Wettach began by noting that ICRC's operational situation had not changed substantially since ICRC was expelled from the Ogaden this past summer -- ICRC is still not given access to federal prisons and remains barred from operating in the Somali region. When asked about ICRC's policy of not asking for diplomatic assistance from the USG with the GOE he responded that there had been no formal change. While he saw no problem with Ambassadors showing interest with GOE interlocutors about the situation on a bilateral level, the formal ICRC position was that nothing formal should be pursued at this point vis-a-vis demarching the GOE. ¶3. (C) Wettach described a recent meeting with the President of Somali Region, who maintained the initial accusations that ICRC staff had been assisting the ONLF. The President held to the line that in order for ICRC to return to the Ogaden they need to: a) make a written apology to the regional government; b) develop an agreement/terms of reference with the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency (DPPA) and the MFA for any future activities in country; and, c) take action to punish those accused of assisting the ONLF. Wettach described his initial response to each of the Regional President's point as: a) no; b) terms of reference �0A;would be an excellent idea, and in fact, ICRC would likely not return to the Ogaden until they had just such a written agreement; and, c) ICRC would be glad to take action against the accused if evidence is presented that they had done anything wrong. ¶4. (C) While MFA Legal Advisor Minelik Alemu had told Wettach in early November that an investigation into the allegations of ICRC staff assisting the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) was underway, Wettach reported that the Somali regional president said that there was no such investigation. He noted that no local staff has been questioned or arrested, and no documentation has been offered up by the GOE to prove their allegations. He also stated that ICRC has offered to make the international staff member at the center of the allegations available to the GOE for questioning in Geneva. The GOE has not responded to this offer. Wettach surmised that the accusations of ICRC help to the ONLF, including claims that they provided a cell phone to the ONLF, result in part from the 2006 kidnapping of ICRC employees by the group. During that incident, a cell phone was stolen from ICRC and never returned. ¶5. (C) Polchief broached the idea of ICRC offering a non-committal apology to the regional government, along the lines of "we regret any misunderstandings" as a face-saving measure for the Ethiopians. He pointed out that this type of face saving measure is extremely important to the GOE, and that the tactic had worked previously with political detainees following the contested 2005 elections. Wettach agreed that this could be a positive step and part of a comprehensive approach to improving ICRC-GOE relations/engagement that would also include the formal terms of reference mentioned above. He posited that at this point something had to be done to change the current situation, which has ICRC-GOE relations at their lowest point in years. He pointed out that he would need to do some convincing in Geneva as ICRC headquarters' standard policy is to oppose any ADDIS ABAB 00000060 002 OF 002 apology. Wettach is scheduled to travel to Geneva in early January and will discuss the issue. In the meantime he suggested that any public discussion of an apology be avoided. ¶6. (C) Comment: Wettach appears to have a realistic handle on the situation, and is looking for ways to improve the current relations with the GOE. In addition to the Ogaden expulsion, ICRC is also currently prohibited from visiting federal prisons in Ethiopia, and from accessing a number of sites in the north of the country including Shimelba refugee camp. Back channel encouragement to ICRC Geneva of the non-committal apology could be helpful in strengthening Wettach's arguments with his headquarters. End comment. YAMAMOTO