Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09USUNNEWYORK1068
2009-11-24 15:22:00
CONFIDENTIAL
USUN New York
Cable title:  

SOMALIA: FRIENDS GROUP TOLD CREDIBILITY OF UNSC AT

Tags:  PGOV PREL MARR UNSC SO ER ET AU XA XW 
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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7694
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RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAE/AMEMBASSY ASMARA PRIORITY 1857
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI PRIORITY 0801
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 1177
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 001068 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2024
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR UNSC SO ER ET AU XA XW
SUBJECT: SOMALIA: FRIENDS GROUP TOLD CREDIBILITY OF UNSC AT
STAKE; SANCTIONS AGAINST ERITREA QUESTIONED

Classified By: Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 001068

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2024
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR UNSC SO ER ET AU XA XW
SUBJECT: SOMALIA: FRIENDS GROUP TOLD CREDIBILITY OF UNSC AT
STAKE; SANCTIONS AGAINST ERITREA QUESTIONED

Classified By: Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Special Representative of the UN
Secretary-General (SRSG) for Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah
met with the Friends of Somalia on November 20 at the
Norwegian Mission. (NOTE: The Friends group includes
Belgium, China, Croatia, Denmark, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland,
Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Netherlands, South
Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Uganda, UK, and the
U.S.) He warned that the fate of Somalia is at stake, as
well as the credibility of the international community,
particularly the UN Security Council. He called for a
strategy that would implement fully the Djibouti Agreement,
and suggested that anything short of supporting the
Transitional Federal Government (TFG) would risk another
failed attempt to bring stability to Somalia. He distributed
a paper entitled "Implementation of the Djibouti Agreement"
(text in para 8 below). Italy stressed that sanctions
against Eritrea would be counterproductive. Eritrean PR
Desta asked the SRSG for evidence that his country had sent
arms and/or financed activities in Somalia and denied any
involvement. Desta's statements echoed Eritrea's message to
Ambassador DiCarlo during a November 18 bilateral meeting in
which Desta complained that Eritrea is treated unfairly by
the Security Council (beginning in para 9 below). END SUMMARY.

--------------
OULD-ABDALLAH REFLECTS ON SOMALIA,
CONFLICT IN GENERAL
--------------


2. (C) Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General
(SRSG) for Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah in his meeting with
the Friends of Somalia on November 20 took the opportunity to
reflect on the two-decades of international involvement in
Somalia, challenging the Friends to "get it right this time."
He said the credibility of both the international community
and the UN Security Council were at stake. He lamented that

between $6-8 billion spent over the last 15 years has perhaps
accomplished nothing (although he acknowledged the important
role of humanitarian aid). The SRSG worried that the right
questions were not being asked, particularly what the
international community wanted to achieve in Somalia.


3. (C) Ould-Abdallah said that the situation in Somalia is a
threat to international peace and security. He wondered
whether the international community's response to conflict
was still stuck in the 1960s, when problems were inter-state
(not internal).


4. (C) Ould-Abdallah also called for more bilateral
assistance directly to the TFG's operating budget. He
worried that trust funds and other financial arrangements,
including the UN's assistance, were too slow in coming for
the government to use such monies to function. He thanked
the U.S., Algeria, China, Djibouti, Kenya, Libya, and Yemen
for their bilateral assistance. The SRSG also distributed to
the Friends a paper entitled "Implementation of the Djibouti
Agreement" (text in para 8 below).

--------------
SANCTIONS AGAINST ERITREA A SORE POINT
--------------


5. (C) Italian Deputy PermRep Gian Lorenzo Cornado read a
prepared statement that called for action against spoilers,
Djibouti Agreement implementation, and a UN mission to
replace AMISOM. Cornado took special note of the spoiler
issue, saying that UN sanctions against Eritrea at this point
would be counterproductive. (COMMENT: Cornado sat next to
Eritrean PermRep Araya Desta; the two engaged in whispered
one-on-one conversation thoughout the Friends meeting. Also,
the UK expert in attendance shared after the meeting that
Italy has demarched EU countries on this position. END
COMMENT)


6. (C) Later in the meeting, Desta agreed with SRSG
Ould-Abdallah that spoilers must be dealt with, but only if
there is proof of involvement. To that end, Desta asked for
evidence of Eritrea sending arms to and/or financing
activities within Somalia, particularly related to
al-Shabaab. He said "we have no relation with al-Shabaab"
and questioned why other African countries that have "gone
deep into Somalia" have not been implicated or mentioned in
the draft sanctions resolution. Later in the meeting Desta

USUN NEW Y 00001068 002 OF 003


came back to the issue, making a passionate plea that
"Eritrea has nothing to do with Somalia. It has never sent
any arms or finances. We want peace and stability in
Somalia. We do not share a border and have no interest."


7. (C) Ould-Abdallah told Desta that it was not the SRSG's
job to find evidence. He did question the intent, however,
of the February 23 statement posted online by the Eritrean
Foreign Ministry (which asked all peace loving countries to
topple the TFG). Ould-Abdallah admitted that he was not sure
whether the statement was "fake" or not.

--------------
SRSG'S NON-PAPER ON THE DJIBOUTI AGREEMENT
--------------


8. (SBU) SRSG Ould-Abdallah distributed a non-paper entitled
"Implementation of the Djibouti Agreement," to the Friends of
Somalia. (COMMENT: It is unclear whether Ould-Abdallah has
shared (or intends to) the non-paper with any other actors.
END COMMENT)

BEGIN TEXT OF NON-PAPER: Implementing the Djibouti Agreement
(DA) calls for a coherent approach and the strong
determination of all those supporting the increased
effectiveness of the Government. It aims at pursuing a
strategy that combines political discussions, fighting
violence, and piracy with a focus on building a functioning
Somali government that can gradually take responsibility for
governance and security in the country. The implementation
of the DA requires the following actions which UNPOS and its
partners should undertake:

-- Supporting the Government in four simultaneous areas:
security, development (job creation),humanitarian
assistance, and Human Rights. Security remains however the
main priority--without which the two others would be much
less effective and may even have perverse effects. In this
connection, the time has come to start initiating direct
bilateral economic and financial cooperation between the
Government and its development partners. The decades old
channeling of all financial resources through multiple trust
funds and other payment mechanisms have reached the limit of
their effectiveness and credibility.

-- Working closely with and assisting IGAD, the regional
organization, which wields vast influence on local and
regional actors and whose concrete support remains essential
to stability in Somalia.

-- Mobilizing and delivering additional resources to
AU/AMISOM such as increased delivery of better equipment and
logistics to improve their capacity for present and future
troops.

-- Addressing internal and external spoilers by promoting
justice and reconciliation, and combating impunity through
targeted sanctions against individuals, organizations, and
states in a credible and efficient manner.

-- Renewing efforts to move the International Community from
Nairobi to Mogadishu would add to its credibility and would
also reinforce stability factors. It should be noted that
the AU, LAS, Libya, and Yemen have functioning
representations and embassies in Mogadishu.

-- Using the new mechanisms for funding police (training,
equipments, salaries, etc) and/or introducing more
effectiveness in existing trust funds. END NON-PAPER TEXT.

--------------
ERITREA LOBBIES USUN AGAINST SANCTIONS
--------------


9. (C) Desta's statements echoed his message to Ambassador
DiCarlo during a bilateral meeting on November 18 in which he
complained that Eritrea is treated unfairly by the Security
Council. Desta blamed the U.S. for many of Eritrea's
problems, stated that Eritrea is very concerned about
possible sanctions, and cautioned that sanctions will
"strangle" the Eritrean people.


10. (C) Desta told Ambassador DiCarlo that Eritrea wants good
relations with the U.S. and that the two countries share the
common goal of peace and security in the Horn of Africa.

USUN NEW Y 00001068 003 OF 003


Desta listed a number of possible areas of cooperation,
including in anti-terrorism and anti-piracy, and the use of
Eritrean ports by "the U.S. Marines." Desta stated that
Eritrean officials had positive meetings with Ambassador Rice
during the opening of the UN General Assembly, and with AF
Assistant Secretary Carson in Libya. Ambassador DiCarlo said
that the U.S. also seeks a positive relationship but has
serious concerns over Eritrea's actions in Somalia and its
unwillingness to implement UNSCR 1862 concerning Djibouti.


11. (C) Desta emphatically denied any Eritrean role in
Somalia and argued that there was no evidence to prove this
allegation. According to Desta, Eritrea has "never sent
weapons or finance to any insurgent group." Desta said that
Eritrea is being sanctioned for "perceptions," and the
Eritrean people will suffer. On UNSCR 1862, Desta blasted
the U.S. and the Security Council for acting unfairly.
Eritrea was open to the UAE's offer to mediate between
Eritrea and Djibouti but Djibouti rejected the offer.


12. (C) Desta provided Ambassador DiCarlo with a lengthy
rendition of U.S.-Eritrean relations and contended that
Eritrea has been a "victim of U.S. interests since the
1950s." In particular, Desta said that Eritrea had complied
with the 2000 Algiers Agreement with Ethiopia. Ethiopia, not
Eritrea, is the problem and the Security Council has a double
standard. Desta also complained about the restrictions on
Eritrean diplomats in the U.S. and the confiscation of funds
from the Eritrean community club.


13. (C) Ambassador DiCarlo told Desta that she was aware of a
possible request for a meeting with AF Assistant Secretary
Carson. She said that Eritrea should not target the U.S. for
all of its problems, and pointed out that the Security
Council would be following through on the African Union's and
IGAD's call for sanctions. DiCarlo stated that the U.S.
takes seriously that Eritrea's neighbors are concerned about
its misbehavior in the region, and has information from
multiple sources, including the independent Somalia sanctions
UN Monitoring Group, that Eritrea has supported the
destabilization of Somalia. DiCarlo noted that Eritrea's
refusal to issue visas and accept the U.S. Ambassador's
credentials contradicts Desta's statements that Eritrea wants
to engage in positive dialogue.


14. (SBU) Finally, Ambassador DiCarlo told Desta that the two
countries should continue to keep the channels of
communication open. (NOTE: USUN POLOFF also met with
Eritrean counterpart, at Eritrea's request, one day prior to
Ambassador DiCarlo's meeting. END NOTE)
RICE