US embassy cable - 04DJIBOUTI1072

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 001072 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/09/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, DJ 
SUBJECT: CODEL PAYNE MEETING WITH PRESIDENT ISMAEL OMAR 
GUELLEH 
 
Classified By: Pol/Econ Erinn C. Reed for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (U) Summary: Congressman Donald Payne and HIRC Ted Dagne 
met with President Ismael Omar Guelleh 9 August 2004 during a 
visit to the Horn of Africa region.  Poloff and Charge 
Gribbin accompanied.  Payne and Guelleh discussed regional 
stability, prospects for Somalia peace accords, the 
Eritrea/Ethiopian border dispute and the Darfur situation. 
End Summary. 
 
2. (U) Guelleh began the meeting by summarizing the regional 
situation, saying that it had been struggling for decades 
against poverty, famine, and civil war.  He continued that is 
has been and remains Djibouti's first priority to stabilize 
the region.  Guelleh said the situation between Ethiopia and 
Eritrea is an issue of sensitivity and emotions, but with 
good will on both sides hopefully the situation will be 
resolved and thousands of displaced persons could return 
home.  Afterwards reconstruction and rehabilitation could 
begin.  He commented that each year $200 million is spent to 
keep UN peacekeepers on the border, money which could be used 
to help the people of the region.  Guelleh commented that 
Eritrea has real famine in that region.  On Somalia, Guelleh 
commented that the peace process will hopefully solve the 
problems of power sharing and provide a starting point for 
the transitional government.  He said it was necessary to put 
pressure on and money into Somalia, taking out the weapons 
and demobilizing and disarming the warlords.  Guelleh 
commented that reaching small, rural villages, AIDS and 
illiteracy were still large problems that would need to be 
improved in order to better the situation in Somalia. 
 
3. (C) Guelleh then said Djibouti was happy to have American 
forces present and to have participated in the fight against 
terrorism.  He commented that there have been very successful 
operations in 2002 and 2003 to stop the flow of persons 
trying to reach Somalia, which have resulted in improved 
maritime security and an end to piracy.  However, he 
continued, Yemen is still not stable and the movement of 
people from Pakistan and the Gulf countries to East Africa is 
a difficult problem for intelligence and armed forces. 
Guelleh stated that Djibouti wants to use its strategic 
position to contribute to international peace security. 
Guelleh then mentioned the cooperation between USAID and GODJ 
in developing education and health, saying both programs have 
had good progress.  Congressman Payne replied that he was 
pleased that Djibouti is stable, appreciates the welcome and 
open arms given to the American presence, and looks forward 
to continued cooperation with Djibouti. 
 
4. (SBU/NF) When asked by Congressman Payne about Somalia 
peace process and Somaliland, Guelleh replied that Somalia 
was probably the only country in Africa that could be titled 
a "nation," based on its common race, culture, religion and 
language, and that Djibouti believes in the unity of Somalia. 
 He said Djibouti has social and economic ties to Somaliland 
because they are our neighbors and relatives, but Djibouti 
has always been for one Somalia.  Guelleh said that there is 
a movement calling for a presidential candidate from 
Somaliland and that may be a solution that could work. 
Guelleh said that the clans that make up Somaliland are half 
in the North and half in the South, and this might be a 
reason a Somalilander president could succeed.  If it did 
succeed, he said, it would be a very big change. 
Powersharing between the clans is the only way to peace. 
 
5. (U) As for Guelleh's suggestions on the Ethiopia/Eritrea 
border disputes, Guelleh said that Ethiopia had not rejected 
the decision, but wants to be sure that the demarcation was 
both practical and humanitarian and would be an end to the 
fight between the countries.  He also said that Eritrea feels 
that the international community is against them.  Payne 
replied that President Isaias of Eritrea has taken the 
awarding of Badme to Eritrea as the final decision and does 
not want more discussion and these sorts of corrections 
should have been made during the process.  Guelleh said the 
decision of the Hague is non-negotiable, a fact that the 
Ethiopians are aware of, but they feel practicality and 
humanitarian needs should be taken into account prior to 
demarcation. 
 
6. (U) Elaborating on Sudan, Guelleh said that it is 
necessary to determine who is Janjaweed who are Chadians 
hired by the Janjaweed and put pressure from a firm 
international community on them to stop.  He felt that if the 
parties cooperate there could be a resolution within two 
months.  Convincing people to go home from the camps may take 
longer however. 
RAGSDALE