SOMALIA - The Great Handshake Debate

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001686

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR AF/E AND A/S CARSON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KPAO PINR SOCI SO
SUBJECT: SOMALIA - The Great Handshake Debate

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Summary
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1. (SBU) Much ado has been made about the handshake between
Secretary Clinton and Transitional Federal Government (TFG)
President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed during their August 6 meeting
in Nairobi. Prior to the meeting, Somalis of all walks of life
speculated on whether or not Sharif would indeed shake the
Secretary's hand. After the handshake was captured on video and
photograph, Somalis' reactions ranged from entirely positive to
speculation that extremists would attempt to amputate Sharif's hand
upon his return to Mogadishu. Sharif's staff told us the handshake
was never a concern for Sharif, who resolved to make the gesture and
then focused on the content of the meeting. End Summary.

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The Anticipation
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2. (SBU) Prior to the August 6 meeting in Nairobi between Secretary
Clinton and Transitional Federal Government (TFG) President Sheikh
Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the first meeting between a TFG President and
U.S. Secretary of State (septel),speculation about whether or not
Sharif would shake hands with the Secretary threatened to overshadow
the significance of the meeting. During several meetings with U.S.
officials, notably including former AF Assistant Secretary Frazer
before Sharif became President, he had avoided shaking hands.
Contacts told us that while Islam does not specifically forbid this
gesture, the controversy reflected concern about Sharif acting
against more conservative customs that have been introduced by Gulf
Arabs into Somalia over the past 20 years, mostly through
educational centers run mainly by Wahhabi organizations.


3. (SBU) The Washington Post published an online article just hours
before the meeting focusing not on the historic encounter, but on
speculation about a possible handshake. Another Somali contact
speculated that U.S. and international support for Sheikh Sharif and
the TFG had subconsciously dampened extremists' morale while lifting
the spirits of ordinary Somalis, who are longing for Somalia's
troubles to end so they can reconstruct their lives. The same
contact said that among the vast majority of Somalis, there was no
controversy, stating that "It's an issue which fascinates only
simpletons and people engulfed with ignorance, who have no idea how
the world works." He said that in his judgment, Somalis' prime
preoccupation was physical and psychological security, food and
shelter, and the most basic of necessities. A handshake, he said,
came nowhere near top of a list of priorities. Before the start of
the joint press conference that followed the bilateral meeting, some
Somali journalists told us they were eager for pictures of Sharif
shaking hands with the Secretary, saying they could make a good
story out of it.


4. (SBU) The Somali Ambassador to Kenya, who facilitated the meeting
and who had discussed with President Sharif the question of whether
or not to shake hands, seemed somewhat amused at the attention given
to the issue. He claimed that President Sharif had said that "he
would shake with both hands" if that would emphasize the inane
nature of this debate, especially against the backdrop of this
historic meeting.

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Three Handshakes
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5. (SBU) Sharif did not hesitate to shake the Secretary's hand when
they first greeted each other. During the camera spray immediately
preceding the bilateral meeting, the photographers specifically
asked the two to shake hands once more. At the end of their press
conference, Sharif once again greeted Secretary Clinton with both
hands.

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The Reactions
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6. (SBU) Though we are still collecting media reactions, initial
responses to the handshakes have ranged from positive to entirely
hostile. International and Somali media broadcast images of the
handshakes. A journalist with Somali National Post newspaper said
"Sheikh Sharif did the right thing to shake hands with Secretary
Clinton." A BBC Somali Service journalist said "this was totally

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unexpected and will further enrage the Islamists because, as the
former leader of Islamic courts, it shows how much [Sharif] has
transformed." Talk of the handshake dominated an Internet cafe in
Eastleigh, Nairobi's Somali enclave, on the evening of the meeting.
One young man said, "This is what people have been waiting for."
Another man said, "[al-Shabaab] will cut his hand off when he
returns to Mogadishu." Another man said "at least Sharif has done
what others before him have not done," referring to the historic
nature of the TFG President meeting the U.S. Secretary of State.
The same man said that Sharif "seems genuine that he wants to save
Somalia." An extremist website showed pictures of president Sharif
and the Secretary shaking hands, with the caption "Sharif extends
firm hand to Clinton."

RANNEBERGER