VZCZCXRO2344
PP RUEHDE RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHDS #2749/01 2530620
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 100620Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7720
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ADDIS ABABA 002749 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF, AF/E, INR/AA, AND PRM/AFR 
LONDON, PARIS, ROME FOR AFRICA WATCHER 
CJTF-HOA AND USCENTCOM FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREF PHUM MOPS EAID EAGR ET
SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: ASSISTANT SECRETARY FRAZER MEETS WITH 
NGOS, UN AND AMBASSADORS ON THE OGADEN (C-AL7-10135) 
 
REF: A. ADDIS ABABA 2445 
     ¶B. ADDIS ABABA 2439 
     ¶C. ADDIS ABABA 2415 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  Assistant Secretary Jendayi Frazer met 
with NGOs, UN agencies, and Ambassadors from major donor 
countries and interested parties on the Ogaden.  In the 
fourth such meeting convened recently by Ambassador Yamamoto 
to consider the humanitarian and security situation in the 
Ogaden area of Ethiopia's Somali Region, discussion centered 
on continued concern about humanitarian food deliveries and 
commercial food trade, the main vehicle for food access by 
people in the Ogaden, due to insecurity from the ongoing 
insurgency operation in the Ogaden.  A UN assessment team 
charged with examining access, health, and protection issues 
had departed for the Ogaden on August 30, but had not yet 
returned as of the morning of September 6.  Some 
international NGOs, like MSF, highlighted de facto 
restrictions on NGO activities  in some areas of the Ogaden, 
despite assurances from Ethiopian authorities that no 
official restrictions existed.  Underscoring local 
authorities' lack of capacity, UN officials stressed that the 
GOE had to work with international NGOs; donor country 
ambassadors concurred that engaging federal and local 
authorities to reaffirm guidelines under which international 
humanitarian NGOs could operate in the Ogaden was a priority. 
 The meeting also confirmed that there was still a lack of 
information on the Ogaden, making it difficult to assess the 
problems in the Ogaden and what specific measures were needed 
to alieviate such problems. The group did recommend actions 
to be pursued by the group in addressing concerns in the 
Ogaden. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) On September 6, AF A/S Jendayi Frazer attended a chief 
of mission-level meeting of nearly 60 representatives of UN 
agencies, humanitarian NGOs, and donor countries convened by 
Ambassador Yamamoto to discuss the current situation in the 
Ogaden area of Ethiopia's Somali Region. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
RESULTS OF UN ASSESSMENT TEAM NOT YET RELEASED 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶3. (SBU) UNDP Resident Coordinator Fidele Sarassoro noted 
that a UN assessment team had traveled to the Ogaden for one 
week (beginning August 30) and had received "good 
cooperation" from local authorities.  While required to be 
escorted by the Ethiopian military, the team had been "mostly 
free" to travel where desired; for "security reasons," the 
team had not gone to certain areas recommended by the Foreign 
Ministry.  While seeking to assess access issues, health, and 
"the protection of special groups," Sarassoro underscored 
that the UN team was conducting a preliminary five-day 
assessment, not "an investigation."  He said access to trade 
and commercial goods was "still an issue," but did not 
publicly elaborate on the team's findings. 
 
¶4. (SBU) World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director Mohamed 
Diab asserted that there was "no food blockade," as some 
5,000 metric tons (out of 9,000 allocated) was being 
delivered into restricted areas in the Ogaden.  He noted that 
flooding and drought were among the additional factors 
exacerbating "security-related constraints" in the region. 
UNICEF Senior Operations Officer Sonja Leighton-Kone added 
only that UNICEF staff were "operating without problems." 
 
¶5. (SBU) UN Department of Safety and Security (NDSS) Security 
Advisor for Ethiopia, Sorrien Scott, observed that the 
situation in Jijiga (i.e., immediately north of the Ogaden) 
remained "tense."  He reported the detention of local elders, 
and harassment of some UN local staff by local authorities. 
Scott highlighted the increased military presence in the 
Ogaden, noting that there were "more troops in Degehabur than 
people".  Noting the lack of access to the Ogaden for the 
past three months, Scott stressed the urgency of pressing for 
access, even if military escort were required. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
NGOS HIGHLIGHT LACK OF ACCESS; CONTROL OF FOOD 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00002749  002 OF 004 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶6. (SBU) Some humanitarian NGOs stated that despite the GOE's 
assertion that access to the Ogaden was not restricted, de 
facto restrictions barred NGO presence.  The Netherlands 
charge said that the Netherlands would favor a public 
statement expressing concern that NGOs were not being granted 
access to the Ogaden. 
 
-- Medecins Sans Frontieres-Holland (Doctors Without Borders) 
Head of Mission Will Robertson confirmed press reports that 
MSF had been barred from the Ogaden.  While talks with the 
GOE had been "inconclusive," MSF-Holland hoped to regain 
access, as the GOE maintained that there had been no formal 
denial of access.  (NOTE: MSF-Holland had previously operated 
mobile health clinics in the Ogaden, as well as a maternal 
health clinic in the garrison town of Warder.  MSF-Holland 
vacated its clinic in Warder in early August, following an 
attack on Warder by suspected ONLF forces; see ref B.  END 
NOTE.) 
 
-- MSF-Belgium Country Director Francois Calas said the GOE 
had expelled all MSF-Belgium staff from the Somali Region, 
even though MSF-Belgium's project had been located outside 
the Ogaden area.  "All of our assets have been seized by 
local authorities," he added.  Both Calas and Robertson noted 
that despite restrictions on activities in the Somali Region, 
MSF was not/not being expelled from Ethiopia as a whole. 
 
-- Save the Children-U.S. said its ethnic Somali staff in 
Jijiga had received warnings, and that the regional 
government was suspicious of international NGOs. 
 
-- Action Contre le Faim (ACF)-Ethiopia (Action Against 
Hunger) Head of Mission Florence Kadir noted that her NGO had 
access to the Ogaden, but that gaining acccess was "complex." 
 ACF was concerned about the continued de facto ban on 
commercial food and economic trade.  In addition, while food 
aid had arrived, its distribution was "controlled." 
 
¶7. (SBU) UNDP Coordinator Sarassoro said the issue of NGO 
access to the Ogaden had been raised with the Somali Region 
president, who had responded that the GOE was concerned that 
local staff of international NGOs were often supporters of 
the ONLF who provided the ONLF assistance. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Citing the local government's lack of capacity, UNDP 
Resident Coordinator Sarassoro asserted that the GOE needed 
to work with NGOs.  Ambassador Yamamoto concluded that a 
possible action item might working with the GOE to clarify or 
reaffirm the guidelines under which international NGOs were 
to operate in the Somali Region.  Japan's Ambassador added 
that international NGOs should collaborate, noting the 
presence of NGOs from Japan and China. 
UK and Norway Ambassadors recommended facilitating dialogue 
between the federal government and NGOs. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Save the Children-UK acting country director 
Kimberly Smith observed that as the vulnerable population in 
the Ogaden required 40,000 metric tons of emergency food aid, 
the 5,000 tons cited by WFP was insufficient.  Furthermore, 
the local population's lack of access to markets for the past 
three months led to their lacking the means to purchase 
commodities. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
RISK FROM LANDMINES ALSO IMPEDES ACCESS 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) International Rescue Committee (IRC) Country 
Director David Murphy said that IRC had not had access to the 
Ogaden for several months, but that this was due to being 
stopped by both the Ethiopian military and the ONLF alike. 
He noted that the ONLF had consistently opposed NGOs using 
staff from the "highlands" (i.e., from Tigray or Amhara 
Regions, as opposed to ethnic Somalis).  While the GOE 
maintained that there was no "official" restriction on access 
to the Ogaden, in reality there was no access.  Citing the 
July 29 landmine incident in Degehabur Zone that killed three 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00002749  003 OF 004 
 
 
local workers of a USAID-funded NGO (ref C), Murphy said that 
six additional landmines had been discovered on the same 
road.   The landmines had been laid recently; the mine in the 
July 29 incident had not been present 24 hours earlier. 
Responsibility for laying the mines remained unclear, with 
the GOE blaming the ONLF, and the ONLF blaming the GOE. 
(Note:  UN sponsored deminers noted to the Embassy privately 
that most of the landmines uncovered in the region were 
recently laid, most likely by the ONLF and insurgents 
targeting the ENDF.  End Note.) 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
HEADS OF MISSION ADVOCATE FURTHER ENGAGEMENT 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) MSF-Holland's Will Robertson said that while MSF 
had not had any staff in Warder for one month now, MSF had 
seen burnt and empty villages in the Ogaden.  MSF had also 
received second-hand information of local populations being 
moved by government trucks, and of Ogadenis fleeing Warder 
for Somalia.  French Ambassador noted reports of ethnic 
Ogadeni being arrested in Addis Ababa, although this may be 
related to security preparations for the upcoming Ethiopian 
Millennium celebrations.  UNDP Coordinator Sarassoro 
acknowledged that the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission may 
be considering a trip to the Ogaden, but only to conduct 
training, not to investigate alleged human rights abuses. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Canadian Ambassador stated that it was "premature" 
for donors to issue any public statements, without having 
received the results of the UN assessment team to the Ogaden. 
 
 
¶13. (SBU) Portugal's Ambassador agreed that public statements 
could be counterproductive, so long as the GOE was 
cooperating with the UN; the MFA had acknowledged a 
"humanitarian problem" in the Ogaden, she said, but had also 
highlighted the role of insurgents and their alleged support 
by Eritrea, Somalia's former Council of Islamic Courts (CIC), 
and the diaspora.  The MFA did not support a visit now to the 
area by all EU heads of mission, she added, although visits 
by smaller groups may be possible.  France's Ambassador 
recommended that heads of donor embassies each visit the 
development projects they supported in the Somali Region, in 
order to obtain further first-hand information. 
 
¶14. (SBU) Ambassador Yamamoto highlighted the need to engage 
Ogadeni elders, and cited reports of executions being carried 
out by both government and insurgent forces.  As GOE 
officials downplayed the severity of the situation in the 
Ogaden, and denied reports of killings, it was important to 
work with authorities to obtain additional information. 
¶15. (SBU) COMMENT.  Observations from UN agencies were 
generally restrained, as the UN assessment mission to the 
Ogaden had not yet returned nor released its findings. 
Preliminary indications, however (septel), are that the 
team's findings are not encouraging.  Promoting access by 
humanitarian NGOs and others to the Ogaden remains a 
priority: the departure of MSF from the Ogaden follows the 
GOE's expulsion of the International Committee of the Red 
Cross (ICRC) from the Somali Region, and few humanitarian 
actors remain to either provide humanitarian assistance or 
monitoring of health or food needs. 
 
¶15.  (SBU)  The group did agree on several course of action, 
following up on the last meetings hosted by the U.S. Embassy. 
 Due to lack of concrete information, it was agreed that no 
statement would be issued; all Ambassadors will continue to 
work wtih the GOE to encourage opening corridors for 
commercial food trade as well as opening new cooridors for 
humanitarian food relief; encourage the GOE to provide more 
information, working with the press and international 
community to address specific concerns; encourage the GOE to 
dispatch the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to investigate 
human rights abuse charges; and work with the OGE on upcoming 
visit to the Ogaden being arranged for the diplomatic corps. 
A/S Frazer's subsequent September 8 visit to Gode (in the 
Ogaden), with Ambassador Yamamoto and other U.S. officials, 
will be reported septel.  END COMMENT. 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00002749  004 OF 004 
 
 
 
¶16. (U) AF A/S Frazer cleared this cable. 
YAMAMOTO