SOMALIA - SOMALILAND AGREES TO TRANSFER OF

S E C R E T NAIROBI 002375 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/18/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PTER SO DJ SUBJECT: SOMALIA - SOMALILAND AGREES TO TRANSFER OF GUANTANAMO DETAINEES REF: A. SECSTATE 117303 ¶B. 08 NAIROBI 2234 ¶C. 08 STATE 96084 Classified By: Counselor for Somalia Affairs Bob Patterson, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (S) On November 17 we delivered ref A talking points to the Somaliland Minister of Interior Abdullahi Ismail Ali "Irro." The minister said the Somaliland government will accept the transferees, and confirmed that reftel B and C diplomatic notes and Somaliland's written assurances also will apply to this transfer. He said the transferees will be treated humanely and that the Somaliland government will take appropriate security measures to prevent the transferees from posing a terrorist threat. ¶2. (S) In order to prepare for their arrival, Minister "Irro" asked for as much information as possible about the transferees, including evidence of their nationality, the date, place and reason they were detained, their next of kin, and if they have been charged with any crimes. ¶3. (S) Comment: We believe Somaliland will cooperate in this transfer, as they did in 2008. We recommend, however, giving Somaliland as much detail as possible about the transferees, first as a courtesy for their cooperation, and more importantly to enable them to judge what security measures they should take to prevent the transferees from posing a future threat. RANNEBERGER