USAU: AFRICA COMMAND DEPUTY MEETS WITH AU

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ADDIS ABABA 000734

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/FO, AF/RSA, AF/E, AF/SPG, AF/W AND IO/UNP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/29/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL XA AU
SUBJECT: USAU: AFRICA COMMAND DEPUTY MEETS WITH AU
COMMISSION CHAIR PING

Classified By: AMBASSADOR DONALD YAMAMOTO FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)

1.(C) Summary: Ambassador Mary Yates, Deputy to the
Commander for Civil-Military Activities at AFRICOM, met on
March 25 with African Union Commission Chairperson Jean
Ping at AU headquarters. She reiterated Gen Ward,s message
of the importance of close consultation with the African
Union in order to inform command security programs. They
discussed the disturbing trend of unconstitutional changes
of government on the continent, USG-AU divergence on Sudan
policy particularly with regard to the International
Criminal Court's arrest warrant for President Bashir, and
the security and political situation in Somalia as well as
AMISOM's role in maintaining peace there. End Summary.


2. (U) In her first face-to-face meeting with Jean Ping
since he assumed the post of Chairperson of the AU
Commission (AUC) in April 2008, Ambassador Yates
congratulated Ping for his first year in office and
expressed the USG's intent to support AU capacity-building
to confront the challenges the organization is facing on
the continent. Ambassador Yates, who was accompanied by
Ambassador Yamamoto, CJTF-HOA Commander Anthony Kurta, and
USAU and AFRICOM advisers, received a status report from
Ping and some of his senior advisers on recent peace and
security developments in Africa.


3. (C) Peace and security, one of the AU's four pillars in
the organization's current strategic plan, occupies
two-thirds of Ping's time. The other pillars are:
development and cooperation, shared values, and
institutional development. The AUC lacks financial and
human resources to adequately address all these priorities,
Ping readily admits. While many of the more than one dozen
conflicts that raged in the early 1990s have since been
resolved, two difficult conflicts remain in Darfur and
Somalia, and the threat of terrorism persists from
Mauritania to Somalia, Ping said.

Unconstitutional Changes of Government
--------------


4. (C) One of the most disturbing trends on the continent
of late is the phenomenon of unconstitutional changes of
government. Unconstitutional takeovers in Mauritania,
Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and most recently, Madagascar, worry
Ping, even though AU member states have collectively
condemned these illegal actions and suspended those states
from taking part in AU activities until constitutional
order is restored. Yates complimented the AU for taking a
principled stand in this regard, saying it demonstrates
leadership throughout the continent.


5. (C) Ping said the six-year-old AU that replaced the
Organization of African Unity is seeking to get Africans to
accept and promote values of democracy, respect for human
rights, good governance, and the rule of law. "They are in
our Charter. African countries themselves have accepted
these values," he said. The only problem, he added, is
that Africans have not yet "internalized" these universal
values. Ping said he tells those who might see the AU as
interfering in their domestic affairs that African member
states elected him to protect their own laws.


6. (C) The case of Mauritania, where the military drove
President Abdallahi out of office in August 2008, best
illustrates how the AU and the international community can
team up to condemn coup leaders and pressure them to
restore constitutional order, Ping said. In a moment of
extreme candor, Ping criticized Libyan leader and current
AU Chairperson Qadhafi for supporting the Mauritanian
junta. Qadhafi's endorsement of the junta is in direct
opposition to the AU's Peace and Security Council, which
voted earlier this week to direct the AUC to establish a
list of coup leaders and supporters to be sanctioned.
Ambassador Yates acknowledged that Qadhafi's stance on
Mauritania was making things complicated. Ping noted the
AU's appreciation for the U.S. taking the same principled
stand at the AU and not wavering as others are doing.



7. (C) Yates and Ping also discussed the drug trafficking

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problem and the role the AU is playing to combat it. In
West African states such as Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, drugs
manufactured in Latin America and in Africa are destroying
the fabric of society. Ping agreed with this assessment,
but added that the AU lacks the means to counter the
problem. The AU suspects that drug trafficking interests
may have been behind the killings of Guinea-Bissau's
president and military leader in February, Ping said. He
appealed for U.S. help in addressing the problem. Yates
said the Africa Command will work on drug interdiction with
the Department of State and with those who wish to partner
with us. Asked if he thought there could be another coup
d'etat in Guinea, Ping responded that "everything is
possible" in Guinea.

Challenges Facing Somalia
--------------


8. (C) Turning to Somalia, Ping assessed that the U.S. and
the AU share the same position. For the AU, the problem is
a lack of human and financial resources to tackle the
crisis. He reviewed the AMISOM troop strength and his
efforts to persuade other countries to contribute troops to
the peacekeeping mission. He said he had spoken to Arab
states and told them that even if they do not want to
deploy their troops to Somalia, they should at least
consider contributing funds, equipment, food rations,
uniforms, or training. Yemen reportedly has committed to
offer training to the Somali joint security forces and the
AU will ask that Saudi Arabia do the same, Ping said.


9. (C) Although barely a month old, the new Somali
government has worked well with the AU, Ping said. In his
view, Al Qaida's threat against AMISOM will result in a
deeper rift between Somali President Sheikh Sharif and Al
Shabaab extremists who consider him a traitor. In his
talks with Arab leaders, Ping said he tells them that Al
Shabaab are their enemies, not the AU's enemies, and Arab
states should stop funding these groups. Ping added that
he thought Qadhafi could play a positive role in countering
Al Shabaab's threat, but he did not believe Sheikh Sharif
would bow to pressure and ask that AMISOM troops withdraw
from Mogadishu.


10. (C) The priority in Somalia now is to build local
security forces so that they can eventually protect the
Somali government and people, Ping said. He emphasized
that those forces should not only be trained, but paid as
well. When that time comes, AMISOM will not need to stay,
Ping added. He acknowledged the unlikelihood that the UN
will not adopt a peacekeeping operation in Somalia.

Divergence on Sudan
--------------


11. (C) In contrast to Somalia, U.S. and AU approaches to
Sudan diverge, Ping told Yates. There is agreement on the
objectives. The AU wants to fight impunity. It wants
former Chadian leader Hissein Habre to face trial.
However, the AU differs on the best way to go about it.
Unlike the U.S., the AU supports an Article 16 deferral of
the ICC arrest warrant.


12. (C) Yates conveyed to Ping the fears of the U.S. and
others that the Government of Sudan's expulsion of some
NGOs from Darfur in retaliation for the ICC arrest warrant
will take its toll on a great number of Darfuris. Ping
replied that the Government of Sudan had agreed to join the
AU and the UN on a commission to examine the NGO situation
in Darfur. At this time, the GOS is unwilling to reverse
its decision to expel 13 NGOs out of the more than 120
operating there, but the government may elect not to expel
further NGOs. With regard to GOS assertions that Sudan
could fill the gap of humanitarian services created with
the departure of the 13 NGOs, Ping said the AU has doubts
this could be achieved.


13. (C) In order to satisfy the AU and convince it to adopt
a position that is closer to the U.S. position, Ping said
the GOS must demonstrate progress on three fronts with
regard to Darfur. The government must ensure the continued
deployment of UNAMID troops to the region, promote

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political dialogue with the rebel groups, and address how
the Sudanese judiciary is going to prosecute Darfur war
crimes issues. Recently, the AU appointed a high-level
panel on Darfur headed by former South African President
Thabo Mbeki to recommend Sudanese solutions for bringing
responsible parties to justice. (Note: An AU spokesperson
told USAU that panel members will travel to Sudan before
the end of March. End Note.)


14. (C) As he did at the time of his meeting with then
Acting A/S for African Affairs Phil Carter on the margins
of the AU Summit in February, Ping told Yates that an
Article 16 deferral of the ICC arrest warrant would give
peace a chance. Instead, Sudan is now at risk of becoming
a breeding ground for terrorists with links to Al Qaida, he
warned. "Sudan is ready for war. Why do you want another
Iraq?" Ping said the ICC's decision to pursue Bashir also
has emboldened Darfur's rebel groups who may now take aim
at UNAMID troops. The ICC's timing was "irresponsible."
In conclusion, he expressed the hope that the AU and the
U.S. could work together to "pacify" the continent.


15. (U) Ambassador Yates has approved this message.
YAMAMOTO