ERITREA PLANS TO SEEK FULL MEMBERSHIP IN ARAB

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASMARA 000247

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/E
LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/05/2018
TAGS: PREL PINR SU ER
SUBJECT: ERITREA PLANS TO SEEK FULL MEMBERSHIP IN ARAB
LEAGUE

Classified By: AMB RONALD K. MCMULLEN FOR REASON 1.4(d).


1. (C) Eritrea plans to seek full membership in the Arab
League and to sponsor a "new generation of opposition" in
Darfur, according to an Asmara-based Egyptian diplomat.


2. (C) On May 2, Egyptian Political Chief Hassam Abdallah
Nooreldin (Hassam) briefed DCM on a meeting several days
prior between a visiting Egyptian delegation and Abdella
Jabir, Head of Organizational Affairs for the People's Front
for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ),Eritrea's ruling (and sole)
political party. In a conversation that Hassam described as
"surprisingly open," Jabir informed the Egyptians that
Eritrea was planning two strategic moves in the upcoming
months/year: first, to request full membership in the Arab
League; secondly, to build a "new generation of opposition"
in Darfur (to be reported septel). Hassam noted that Eritrea
is currently an observer to the Arab League, and commented
that the Government of State of Eritrea (GSE) had pushed hard
to attend the March 2008 Arab League Summit in Damascus and
place the Eritrean-Ethiopian border dispute on the agenda.
According to Hassam, the Arab League had declined Eritrea's
request as the March summit's agenda was "full" and focused
on Lebanon. Hassam added that Abdella also stated that the
GSE would seek to join "any international forum" as part of
its foreign policy strategy. Hassam viewed the GSE's
objectives as primarily focused on gaining support for its
position on the Eritrean-Ethiopian border dispute. When
asked whether Egypt would support Eritrea's bid for full
membership, Hassam was non-committal but noted that "the Arab
League works very slowly."


3. (C) Comment: Abdella, as one of the GSE's key foreign
policy advisors, numbers among the few Eritrean interlocutors
"in-the-know" about GSE plans and intentions. His comments
to the Egyptians track with GSE activities in recent years to
ally itself more closely with Arab countries as a political
counterweight to Ethiopia. A predominate amount of foreign
travel of GSE and PFDJ officials since 2006 has been to meet
with leaders in the Gulf, Middle East, and Northern Africa,
including the May 1 trip by Eritrea's Foreign Minister to
meet with Syrian President Bashir Al-Assad and his May 5 trip
to Tehran to meet with the Iranian Foreign Minister. Not
atypically, GSE strategy and actual activities lack
consistency, however. The GSE's recent incursion into the
Ras Doumeira territory of Arab League member Djibouti would
seemingly run counter to its objective of wooing the Arab
countries into accepting it into the fold -- particularly if
the reason behind the incursion was GSE displeasure at
Djibouti's agreement to host a mid-May meeting aimed at
reconciling Somali Transitional Federal Government and
Asmara-based Somali opposition leaders. The conclusions of
the Arab's League upcoming "fact-finding" mission to Ras
Doumeira, a mission resulting at the request of Djibouti, may
provide a clear indicator of the GSE's likelihood of finding
a home in the League in the near future.
MCMULLEN