SOMALIA: GODJ PRESIDENT APPEALS TO YUSUF TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 000991

SIPDIS

NAIROBI ALSO FOR SOMALIA UNIT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2018
TAGS: DJ PGOV PREL SO
SUBJECT: SOMALIA: GODJ PRESIDENT APPEALS TO YUSUF TO
SUPPORT DJIBOUTI PROCESS

REF: DJIBOUTI 989

Classified By: Amb. J. Swan for reasons 1.5 (b)(d).


1. (C) Summary: Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh
appealed to visiting Somalia Transitional Federal Government
(TFG) President Abdullahi Yusuf to support implementation of
the November 25 Communique issued by the High-Level Committee
of the TFG and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia
(ARS). Yusuf declined, charging that the agreement was
negotiated only among ethnic Hawiye representatives, and did
not reflect the interests of other Somalis. GODJ contacts
report that Yusuf is colluding with Transitional Parliament
Speaker Madobe and offering $3000 per vote to sway
parliamentarians to block the proposed unity government.
Echoing the hard-line position adopted by the
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD),senior
GODJ officials -- including the Foreign Minister -- openly
describe Yusuf as an obstacle to peace. End summary.


2. (C) Yusuf met with Guelleh Dec. 4 for one hour and
twenty minutes. According to read-outs from two people who
were in attendance (GODJ Presidency Secretary General Ismail
Tani and Somali Charge d'Affaires Abdurahman Hirabe),Guelleh
pressed Yusuf to support the Djibouti Communique of Nov. 25.
Others in attendance on the GODJ side were Foreign Minister
Mahmoud Youssouf and Minister of Religious Affairs Hamoud
Abdi Souldan. The TFG side also included Puntland President
Ade Muse Hersi and TFG Presidency Secretary General Hussein.
According to both sides, there was no separate one-on-one
meeting between Guelleh and Yusuf. The Somali Charge said
that protocol arrangements for the visit were only minimally
gracious, with Yusuf met at the airport by the Presidency
Protocol chief, but not by a cabinet minister, as has been
customary on previous visits.

YUSUF RESISTS APPEAL TO BACK DJIBOUTI PROCESS


3. (C) Guelleh stressed to Yusuf that Djibouti harbors him
no ill-will, that the country is serving as a venue for the
peace talks but that these talks are led by the United
Nations Special Representative. Djibouti's interest is in
peace in Somalia. Even while hosting many opposition groups
in Djibouti, the GODJ has ensured that they do not engage in
any destabilizing activity within Somalia. Guelleh urged
Yusuf to support the Nov. 25 communique and give it a chance
to work.


4. (C) Echoing many arguments made to us Nov. 4 (reftel),
Yusuf said the proposed enlargement of Parliament to form a
unity government was unworkable. Expansion to 550
parliamentarians was unwieldy. Guelleh responded that this
would only be for the remaining two years of the transition
period, and that the UN had already agreed to cover the
costs. Yusuf asserted that the agreement was signed only
among Hawiye and did not represent other Somalis. Guelleh
said he was disappointed that Yusuf characterized the talks
in this way, noting that the TFG delegation had been
appointed by Yusuf. Yusuf said the decision on
implementation of a government of national unity is now in
the hands of Parliament.

GODJ SEES YUSUF AS "MANIPULATOR" AND "OBSTACLE TO PEACE"


5. (C) Commenting on the results of the Guelleh-Yusuf
meeting, GODJ Presidency SecGen Ismail Tani said Yusuf is now
trying to manipulate the parliamentary vote. The GODJ has
received reports that Yusuf is paying $3000 to sway
parliamentarians against the Nov. 25 communique. Tani warned
that Yusuf's anti-Hawiye argument may gain further traction
if he succeeds in his effort to enlist the support of
Parliamentary Speaker Madobe, a Rahanweyn. Tani said the
Government of Ethiopia has great influence with Madobe, and
could quickly dissuade Madobe from joining with Yusuf.
Meanwhile, ARS Chairman Sheikh Sharif Ahmed has proposed
traveling personally to Somalia to rally further support for
the Djibouti Communique; he has asked for GODJ financial
assistance, which is under consideration, Tani said.


6. (C) Our Senior GODJ contacts use increasingly harsh
language to describe Yusuf's role in Somalia. Echoing the
hard-line IGAD position, Foreign Minister Mahmoud Youssouf
told us Dec. 9 that Yusuf is "not a man of peace" but instead
a "manipulator" focused only on advancing his clan's

DJIBOUTI 00000991 002 OF 002


interest. Minister of Religious Affairs Hamoud named Yusuf
along with Asmara Group leader Hassan Dahir Aweys as the two
greatest "obstacles to peace" in Somalia. Hamoud said that
any successful strategy in Somalia must: (1) support the
peacemakers, (2) reconstitute effective Somali security
forces, and (3) deploy an international interposition force
while the political process advances.

COMMENT


7. (C) While the GODJ continues to talk to a broad array of
Somali political actors, Djiboutian frustration is growing
with Yusuf and his efforts to undermine the Djibouti process.
Even those officials with long personal ties to Yusuf --
e.g., Ismail Tani, who told us he and Yusuf went on the Hajj
together in 1995 -- now characterize him as an impediment to
reconciliation in Somalia. Yusuf's rejection of Guelleh's
appeals to support the Nov. 25 Djibouti Communique will
reinforce this negative perception on the Djiboutian side.
SWAN