US embassy cable - 05SANAA3027

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 003027 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2010 
TAGS: PREL, ACOA, KHLS, YM 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR UPDATES MOI ON PISCES AND 
FINGERPRINTING PROGRAMS; SEEKS HELP IN CLEARING RADIOS FROM 
CUSTOMS 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR THOMAS C. KRAJESKI, FOR REASON 1.4 (B) AND (D 
). 
 
1. (C)  SUMMARY:  Ambassador informed MinInt Rashad al-Alimi 
on October 17 that a team from Washington would visit Yemen 
in the next few weeks to update the ROYG's PISCES system, and 
that an FBI team would come to provide training and equipment 
for a national fingerprint database in the next several 
months.  Ambassador also asked Alimi for assistance in 
clearing Embassy radios and transmitter equipment, some of 
which has been blocked by customs authorities at the Sanaa 
airport for a year.  END SUMMARY 
 
2.  (C)  Ambassador updated Alimi on the USG's plans for 
updating Yemen's PISCES border control system, noting that a 
team from Washington would come to Yemen in November to 
provide critical software updates.  He also told Alimi that 
an FBI team would visit in the next several months in order 
to provide more equipment and training for the ROYG's future 
national fingerprint database.  Alimi said he was pleased 
with USG-ROYG cooperation on these programs and thanked the 
Ambassador for the "good news." 
 
3. (C)  Ambassador also asked Alimi for assistance in 
clearing Embassy radios and transmitter equipment from 
airport customs authorities.  The radios and equipment will 
be used for emergency communications only, he said, adding 
that the Embassy could even share some of the radios with the 
security forces responsible for protecting the Embassy and 
its staff.  This way, Embassy officials and Yemeni security 
forces could have reliable and close contact during a crisis, 
even if fixed and mobile telephone networks were unavailable. 
 Alimi responded that he recognized that walkie-talkie 
technology was "available to anyone" in developed countries, 
but that "immature countries" such as Yemen still had 
sensitivities about portable radios.  He noted that, in 
addition to several embassies in Sanaa, Yemen's mobile phone 
companies had also applied for permission to use portable 
radios. It is the ROYG's intention, he said, to come up with 
a comprehensive policy to allow for and regulate the use of 
portable radios "very soon."  Alimi claimed that there would 
be an interagency meeting on the issue on the night of 
October 17, and that he may have an answer on this issue "as 
early as next week." 
 
4. (C)  COMMENT:  Post does not believe that Alimi will have 
a positive answer for us by next week.  We will continue 
pressing the issue with relevant officials.  ROYG security 
officials are clearly hesitant to permit the use of 
communications technology without the means to monitor it. 
We are optimistic that once they have monitoring resources in 
place, permission to use portable radios and related 
equipment will be forthcoming. 
Krajeski