SOMALIA - Local Media Reaction to Secretary-Sharif Meeting

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001699

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR AF/E AND A/S CARSON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KPAO SO
SUBJECT: SOMALIA - Local Media Reaction to Secretary-Sharif Meeting

REF: NAIROBI 1686

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Summary
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1. (SBU) Somali and Kenyan media coverage of the August 6 meeting
between Secretary Clinton and Transitional Federal Government (TFG)
President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was largely positive.
Predictably, opposition figures used the media to register
opposition to the meeting, saying the United States has fanned the
conflict in Somalia, with one opinion piece framing the meeting "not
[as] a meeting between a head of a state and a Secretary of a state
but a briefing of an operative by his handlers." Still other media
outlets focused not on the historic meeting, but dwelled on the
purported significance of the handshake between the Secretary and
Sharif prior to and after the meeting (reftel). End Summary.

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Somali Media Reaction
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2. (SBU) Somali media coverage of the August 6 meeting between
Secretary Clinton and Transitional Federal Government (TFG)
President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was largely positive. Most
Somali outlets focused on the historic nature of the meeting, noting
that this was the first meeting between a U.S. Secretary of State
and a TFG President. The most prominently highlighted points were
the Secretary's promise of increased, though unspecified, U.S. aid
to Somalia, and both leaders' assertions that Eritrea must cease its
detrimental activities with respect to Somalia. An additional
highlight was the Secretary's affirmation of unwavering U.S. support
to the TFG. A sampling of articles on Somali media outlets was sent
to AF on August 7.


3. (SBU) Predictably, opposition figures used the meeting as an
opportunity to denounce the TFG and President Sharif. One website
reported that the spokesman of the Islamic administration of Kismayo
criticized the meeting, claiming that the U.S. was perpetuating the
conflict in Somalia and that the meeting "did not produce any
results that were beneficial to the Somali people." The spokesman
added that the United States was inflicting suffering upon Muslims
everywhere and said that it was important for Muslims to be vigilant
against the U.S. treachery. An opinion piece on another website
asked if the Secretary's point that "al-Shabaab not only uses
foreign fighters and foreign money, but foreign ideas" was in fact
referring to the TFG, given the TFG's purported dependence on
African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) troops, who come from
outside of Somalia.

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Coverage in Kenyan Media
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4. (SBU) Owing to both the location of the meeting and the
escalating interest in Somalia by its southern neighbor, Kenyan
media also covered the meeting extensively. Capital FM radio
prominently featured the Secretary's mention that Kenya is
threatened by the insecurity provoked by al-Shabaab, as well as her
note that Kenya hosts nearly 300,000 Somali refugees. The two
largest daily newspapers in Nairobi also highlighted U.S. support
for the TFG and the calls for Eritrea to cease its support for
extremism in Somalia, but also noted the meeting between Sharif and
Kenyan President Kibaki. Notably, a story about the bilateral
meeting in The Nation on August 7 was carried deep into the paper,
on page 20. A commentary in the same paper focused on the spillover
effects of the Somalia conflict, including the refugees and
possibility that Somalia-based extremists may again launch an attack
in Kenya. The August 8 edition of The Nation drew a link between
the Secretary's meeting with Sharif and Kenya's decision to expel an
Eritrean diplomat. An editorial in the August 10 edition of the
East African, a mainstream weekly newspaper, noted that Secretary
Clinton continues to grapple with Somalia, over a decade after
former President Clinton withdrew U.S. forces from Somalia.

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The Handshake
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5. (SBU) The media, especially in Somalia, continued to pay a great
deal of attention to the handshakes between Secretary Clinton and
Sharif before and after the historic meeting (reftel). An opinion

NAIROBI 00001699 002 OF 002


piece on a Puntland-based website offered an effusive recounting of
the handshake, noting that "the handshake is a slap in the face of
extremism." Many outlets carried a photo of one of the handshakes,
which took place during the photo spray and again when the joint
press conference concluded. Sharif had donned a lapel pin featuring
the U.S. and Somali flags; the pin was readily visible in the photos
on the media reports.

RANNEBERGER