US embassy cable - 04DJIBOUTI21

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 000021 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: DJ, ECON, EFIN, KPAO, PREL 
SUBJECT: SUMMARY OF DECEMBER ACTIVITIES AT AMEMBASSY 
DJIBOUTI 
 
SUMMARY: (U) This is a summary of the activities at Embassy 
Djibouti for the month of December. 
 
DJIBOUTI-SOMALIA RELATIONS 
--------------- 
      Charge Tim Smith, AF/E Deputy Director Phil Carter and 
POLoff Erinn Reed met with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
Secretary for Bilateral Relations, Miriam Gumaneh, regarding 
 
SIPDIS 
the Djibouti-Somalia relations, as well as, the current state 
of Djibouti-U.S. relations.  Ms. Gumaneh described the 
actions of the Djiboutian government in the peace process for 
Somalia. Both parties agreed that Djibouti,s role was 
important. Ms. Gumaneh stressed that Somalia needs to make 
its own agreement, but that Djibouti would be willing to act 
as a facilitator. 
Mr. Carter assured Ms. Gumaneh that the U.S. position on 
Somalia was the same and questioned the feasibility of the 
process if the TNG did not participate. Mr. Carter addressed 
the U.S. stance on Somaliland/Somalia separation, saying that 
we would like to see the Somaliland region stay stable.  He 
also stated that if the peace conference was a failure, the 
U.S. would have to rethink the policy on separation, but 
would follow the lead of the African Union. Ms. Gumaneh 
stated that if the two agreed to separate amicably, the 
African Union would support it. 
 
IMF PANEL VISIT 
--------------- 
      The International Monetary Fund sent a panel of 
delegates to take stock of the program's progress.  The panel 
met with Charge Tim Smith and POLOFF Erinn Reed at the 
Embassy December 10, 2003 to inquire about the monies given 
to the Djiboutian government by the U.S. Their main task was 
to reconcile the amount that the 2003 and 2004 Djiboutian 
budgets showed with the amounts reported from the U.S. 
organizations. The members of the IMF panel made it known to 
the Charge and the POLoff that Djibouti would need to show a 
strong track record in economic policy over the next years if 
it were to receive another IMF program. 
      The panel's visit ended with a Donors, meeting on 
December 13, 2003 to discuss the progress and plan for the 
IMF presence in Djibouti. POLoff Erinn Reed and the Econ 
Assistant attended the meeting.  The meeting was focused on 
the implementation of a Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) and a 
review of the Djiboutian economic budget.  The SMP is to be 
the mechanism through which the Djiboutian government can 
build a track record, after which the IMF will consider 
whether the country is sufficiently dedicated to policy 
reform to receive a Fund Financial Arrangement. The 
governments actions will be closely monitored by a permanent 
representative from the IMF here in Djibouti and several 
Article IV consultations. 
 
DJIBOUTIAN OFFICIALS VISIT TO IRAN 
------------- 
      President Ismail Omar Guelleh and several cabinet 
officials made a state visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran 
(IRI).  The agenda was discussions of increased cooperation 
between the two governments.  The IRI and Djibouti signed a 
number of memoranda on cooperation in the economic, 
industrial and mining sectors. The agreements emphasized the 
need for broadening the economic ties between the two 
countries, private and government sectors.  Several programs 
to aid the Republic of Djibouti were also granted. A loan was 
granted for building a new office for the Djiboutian National 
Assembly and a commercial center.  The Iranian Red Cross also 
promised to help in Djibouti's health program.   In the 
education domain, Iran promised to grant scholarships to 
students majoring in computer science. 
Discussions also included the African continent's conflicts, 
fighting and crisis.  President Khatami complimented 
President Guelleh,s effort in restoring of peace and 
stability in Somalia. 
The two parties condemned the atrocities and violence of 
Sharon's government against Palestinian people.  They also 
condemned those who try to distort the image of Islam. They 
also lashed out at any act of terrorism. 
On Iraq issues, they reaffirmed the need to preserve Iraq's 
territorial integrity, national unity and called for 
withdrawal of occupiers from the country and led the people 
govern their own country. 
The two leaders called for peaceful application of nuclear 
technology for all members of the NPT. 
 
EXXON MOBIL'S CLAIM AGAINST THE DJIBOUTIAN JUDICIARY 
------------- 
      This situation is ongoing; a full reporting cable will 
be submitted after the Djiboutian government takes action. 
In brief, the three major oil companies in Djibouti ) 
ExxonMobil, Shell and Total ) have several lawsuits pending 
in the courts. Fines have been tallied against the companies 
based on blatantly altered documents overturning previous 
appeals. The exemplars given to the Charge, in a meeting with 
ExxonMobil representative Alain Adam on December 10, 2003, 
showed portions of previous court documents whited-out and 
altered to reverse the decisions. 
      After visiting the Ministers of Justice and of the 
Presidency, the Government of Djibouti (GoD) has not taken 
any action other than to say there would be an investigation 
done internally at the Ministry of Justice.  The attitude of 
the GoD is that this is a very serious issue and they would 
remedy it.  However, in a meeting December 22, 2003 the 
Minister of the Presidency in charge of foreign investment 
seemed disinterested and the impression was that this problem 
would not be immediately fixed. 
      Embassy Djibouti has been reluctant to submit the 
National Trade Estimate reporting cable as a result of this 
flagrant misuse of justice. This suit would cause a severely 
negative change to the NTE if included. Embassy Djibouti 
relayed this fact to the Minister of the Presidency Osman, 
indicating that if no immediate action were taken to remedy 
this case there would be significant potential damage to the 
impression of the transparency of the government and the 
judiciary. Minister Osman replied that if we reported so 
negatively in this document we would be punishing the entire 
country for the actions of individuals. 
 
JOINT CHIEFS/ROBIN WILLIAMS, VISIT TO CAMP LEMONIER ON RTD 
------------ 
      Embassy Djibouti provided footage, photos and a press 
release to Radio-TV Djibouti of the Joint Chiefs of 
Staff/Robin Williams USO Christmas visit to Camp Lemonier. 
RTD aired a full three minutes of footage with staging that 
included the American Flag and a presentation to Williams by 
General Robeson. Response has been positive from the 
Djiboutian public. 
 
SMITH