SOMALIA - PD ACTIVITIES UPDATE, AUGUST 4

UNCLAS NAIROBI 001679 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/RSA AND AF/E ALSO FOR S/CT ZROTHSCHILD ALSO FOR IIP/CTCC MAUSTEIN AND JVANDEVELDE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KPAO PTER MOPS SO SUBJECT: SOMALIA - PD ACTIVITIES UPDATE, AUGUST 4 REF: 07 STATE 116686 -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Per reftel, Post submits the following update for the first week of August 2009. End summary. -------------- PD Activities -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The Somalia Unit, including the Military Information Support Team (MIST) dedicated to Somalia, performed para. 3-6 activities since the last report: ¶3. (SBU) The two Somali journalists who traveled to Mogadishu to assess the Transitional Federal Government's (TFG) public diplomacy operations returned to Nairobi on August 3. During the visit, the team met with TFG President Sharif, Prime Minister Sharmarke, and other ranking members of the TFG. The assessors were in daily phone contact with PAO and had already provided useful feedback to the Somalia Unit. We expect a written report of their findings in approximately a week. ¶4. (SBU) Post continued publicly advocating for a free and fair election process in Somaliland. Contacts in Somaliland reported that the Counselor's interview with Horn Cable TV on July 21 had significant impact. On August 3, Post published a press release registering our concern with the Somaliland authorities' decision to discard a voter registration list. Somaliland contacts have expressed gratitude for our public statements on the situation in that region. ¶5. (SBU) PAO met on July 28 with Mogadishu University representatives in Nairobi regarding the recently-opened American Corner. The representatives reported that the American Corner is functioning, though it is operating from an administrative building rather than the more vulnerable main campus. PAO will invite the coordinator to Nairobi for an introductory visit with the Somalia Unit, and possibly include a visit to an American Corner in Kenya. Post will also procure additional equipment and supplies for the American Corner. ¶6. (SBU) MIST activity: The MIST continued to receive feedback on the Puntland performance tour by music group Waayaha Cusub, recordings of which MIST will rebroadcast throughout Somalia and Kenya's Northeast Province. The MIST also continued finalizing contracts for new programs in Puntland, Banadir, and the Kenya/Somalia border. Finally, the team began planning for procurement of materials to support community groups in the Dadaab refugee camps aimed at enhancing delivery of U.S. messages, especially countering extremists' recruitment efforts in the camps. RANNEBERGER