DJIBOUTI: INTERIOR MINISTER DISCUSSES DECISION TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 000582 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E AND PRM/AFR CJTF-HOA FOR POLAD LONDON, PARIS, ROME FOR AFRICA-WATCHER E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/08/2018 TAGS: PREL PINS EAID EAGR DJ UN SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI: INTERIOR MINISTER DISCUSSES DECISION TO EXPEL WFP REPRESENTATIVE REF: A. DJIBOUTI 576 ¶B. DJIBOUTI 543 ¶C. DJIBOUTI 535 (NOTAL) Classified By: ERIC WONG, CHARGE D'AFFAIRES A.I. REASON: 1.4 (B) AND ( D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. On July 5, Minister of Interior Yacin Elmi Bouh summoned Charge to explain the GODJ's July 3 decision to expel World Food Program (WFP) Resident Representative Benoit Thiry (REF A). Minister Bouh shared a June 29 letter he sent to Thiry, which protested Thiry's decision to cancel the June 23 distribution of food rations to drought victims. Bouh said Thiry had rejected having WFP food monitors participate in regional disaster management committees established by the Government, and had also refused to provide food aid to IDPs displaced by recent border fighting; for this reason, the GODJ requested WFP to replace Benoit with someone "more sensible and sensitive" to human suffering." END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) Bouh explained that a July 2006 presidential decree established regional disaster management committees throughout Djibouti, operating under the auspices of an interagency technical committee. Such regional committees were to include representatives of the national and regional governments, as well as of the army, policy, Red Cross, and "civil society." Regional committees promoted transparency, Bouh said, as well as the equitable distribution of aid to disaster victims. -------------- -------------- NEED WFP REP WHO IS "MORE SENSIBLE AND SENSITIVE" -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Bouh asserted that Thiry had rejected using this mechanism for the distribution of emergency food aid to drought victims, despite the preferences of the Ministry of Interior. WFP monitors needed to participate in and work with such committees. While the drought had initially hit the north of the country, its consequences now adversely affected the entire nation, but Thiry had decided to cancel food distribution scheduled for June 23. Furthermore, Thiry had reportedly refused to provide food aid to some 200-300 IDPs displaced by fighting between Eritrean and Djiboutian troops that erupted June 11 at the border near Ras Doumeira. The GODJ thus sought to have WFP replace Thiry with someone else who was "more sensible and sensitive" to human suffering in Djibouti, Bouh said. There was no deadline for Thiry's departure from Djibouti; he could "go when he is ready." ¶4. (C) Thiry himself shared the June 29 letter from Interior Minister Bouh with Charge and USAID Representative on July 2, and expressed concern (correctly) that he would soon be declared persona non grata. Thiry subsequently received a letter on July 3 from the acting foreign minister, seeking his immediate departure. ¶5. (C) Bouh underscored that despite objections to Thiry, WFP remained a valuable partner of Djibouti. He noted that with the intervention of UNICEF Resident Representatie Aloys Kamuragiye (REF A),food distribution had now resumed. Charge acknowledged the GODJ's concerns, but highlighted the need to ensure future cooperation with WFP, particularly as WFP sought to expand food distribution from 55,000 to 130,000 individuals--or nearly one-fifth of Djibouti's population--to address Djibouti's food insecurity. ¶6. (C) COMMENT. Friction over WFP insisting on conducting its own independent assessment of food needs (ref C),rather than relying solely on the GODJ's, likely contributed to the GODJ's dissatisfaction with Thiry. GODJ principals have highlighted two grave threats to Djibouti's security this year: one is the food crisis, exacerbated by drought; the other is the threat posed by Eritrean military incursions into Djibouti. In both cases, for example, Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Yousouf made high-profile appeals for international (including UN) assistance. Thus, any indication that one may be blocking such assistance strikes at core national interests of Djibouti's current government. Post reiterates its recommendation that the USG not/not protest Thiry's expulsion, but continue to emphasize the need to work cooperatively with the international community to address future humanitarian and security challenges. END DJIBOUTI 00000582 002 OF 002 COMMENT. -------------- -------------- TEXT OF JUNE 29 LETTER FROM INTERIOR MINISTER TO WFP REP -------------- -------------- ¶7. (U) Embassy's informal translation of French language original follows. BEGIN TEXT. The Minister of Interior and Decentralization to the Representative of the World Food Program: I have the honor to confirm to you that the President of the Republic just enacted a decree establishing regional committees in charge of disaster management, under the new regional distribution resulting from decentralization. As you can see yourself, this committee consists of representatives of the Government, local communities, civil society, and international organizations or donors. This reform, initiated to fill the need for a legal framework in case of disasters, seeks to ban all isolated actions that often generate numerous disputes among the victims and thus alter the effectiveness of aid provided to vulnerable people. Managing the effects of drought falls within the scope of this decree, and WFP's support must harmonize with this concept of greater transparency and shared responsibility. That is why I invite you to be more rigorous in abandoning your arrogant approach, founded solely on the credit you wrongly confer to your ambassadors in the regions, without taking into account the cries of protest and pain emanating from inhabitants of the regions. The Government does not intend to yield to your terms of distribution, which are heavily marred. I request that you immediately resume the distribution of monthly rations initially scheduled for June 23, 2008, which you insist should be subject to the reopening of your illegal offices, whose only merit resides in unnecessarily worsening the management burdens of providing aid destined to victims of drought. Yacin Elmi Bouh END TEXT. WONG