VZCZCXRO7448
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHEG #0382/01 0571456
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 261456Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8289
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 0045

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 000382 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, AF/E (GAREY), IO/UNP (FITZGERALD) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL EAID PGOV KCRM UNSC EG SO
SUBJECT: SOMALIA: EGYPT, ARAB LEAGUE ON CONTACT GROUP, 
ISLAMISTS VISIT, PIRACY 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 16168 
     ¶B. SECSTATE 18101 
 
Sensitive but unclassified, not for Internet distribution. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Arab League and Egypt are supportive of 
ref A proposal for restructuring the International Contact 
Group on Somalia (ICG).  However, the Arab League wants to 
see better planning to make the group more effective, and 
Egypt wants to ensure that there will be strong coordination 
between the proposed sub-groups and the ICG plenary.  Arab 
League and Egyptian interlocutors say they encouraged Somali 
Islamist leaders from the Alliance for the Reliberation of 
Somalia (ARS) during their February 11 - 13 visit to Cairo to 
begin direct talks now with the Somali Transitional Federal 
Government (TFG), rather than first insisting on an Ethiopian 
troop withdrawal.  They assessed that ARS leaders would be 
willing to talk directly to the TFG if it accepted in 
principle a concrete plan for Ethiopian withdrawal, with 
support from the international community.  On countering 
piracy in Somali waters per ref B demarche, Egypt supports 
international efforts at the request of the TFG.  End summary. 
 
ICG reform 
---------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) We delivered ref A demarche to Arab League African 
Affairs director Samir Hosni on February 24 and Egyptian MFA 
Cabinet Advisor for African Affairs Ahmed Abu Zeid on 
February 26 jointly with Norweigian Embassy DCM Geir Sorenson 
per instructions.  Hosni offered to provide a more specific 
response to the proposal to reform the International Contact 
Group (ICG) on Somalia at a later date, but agreed that 
reform is necessary to make the ICG more effective.  In 
particular, he criticized organization of the meetings, 
saying that the U.S. and Norway as co-chairs need to plan 
more specifically and consult members prior to meetings to 
ensure that progress gets made on specific items.  Currently, 
he said, the Arab League is not even aware of which countries 
will attend until the meeting actually happens, noting his 
surprise that Ethiopia was invited to the most recent 
meeting.  Additionally, Hosni noted that the League plans to 
operate in conjunction with the UN and AU regarding Somalia, 
and that he sees those three organizations as the prime 
international players on the Somalia crisis. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Separately Abu Zeid said that Egypt has no objection 
to the proposal to create cluster groups subordinate to the 
ICG plenary.   Egypt had requested through its embassy in 
Washington to be part of the political cluster.  Abu Zeid 
thought that more clarification on the role of the cluster 
groups was needed, stressing that mechanisms to ensure that 
the plenary and proposed cluster groups all work together 
toward the same goal are unclear.  Additionally, the current 
structure of the group was good in that it allowed the 
members to address important issues directly at the top 
level, and Abu Zeid worried that this capability would 
disappear with the cluster proposal. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Separately, Sorenson told us that Norway had also 
suggested that the UN representative should chair the ICG, 
and that there needs to be a better defined control mechanism 
from the ICG plenary over the proposed cluster groups. 
 
Somalia Islamists Visit Cairo 
----------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Both Hosni and Abu Zeid provided readouts on 
meetings with Alliance for the Reliberation of Somalia (ARS) 
leaders February 11 - 13 in Cairo, including Sheikh Sharif 
Sheikh Ahmad and Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan.  Local press had 
reported that the delegation led by Sheikh Sharif Ahmad was 
visiting Egyptian officials and participating in a public 
symposium, while Somali press also reported that they were to 
meet "high ranking intelligence officials" (NFI).  Hosni said 
that he met with the ARS leaders to emphasize the need for 
direct dialog between the ARS and the Transitional Federal 
Government (TFG) in Somalia.  He assessed the ARS is willing 
to have "secret talks" with the TFG but not overt 
discussions, insisting on a plan for Ethiopian withdrawal 
from Somalia first.  Hosni advocated pressing Ethiopia and 
TFG President Youssef to talk to the ARS and propose a 
withdrawal plan, in order to support the "moderate" ARS 
versus the more "extremist" Shabaab Islamist group. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Abu Zeid said that Egyptian interlocutors (NFI) also 
emphasized the need for direct talks between the ARS and the 
TFG, and that an Ethiopian withdrawal should be a point of 
 
CAIRO 00000382  002 OF 002 
 
 
discussion rather than a prerequisite to talks.  Egypt 
supports proposing an international community-endorsed plan 
for Ethiopian withdrawal as a "road-map" to begin such 
negotiations.  Abu Zeid assessed that the ARS leaders would 
be willing to consider direct talks with the TFG with such a 
plan as a framework. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Separately, Sorenson passed us a readout of a 
meeting between the Nairobi-based Swedish, British, and 
French ambassadors to Somalia with the ARS during their Cairo 
visit.  According to the readout, ARS leaders said that they 
need an exit strategy for the Ethiopian troops to be 
announced publicly before negotiating with the TFG.  The 
Europeans reportedly attempted to convince them of the 
necessity of starting a dialogue between the sides, even 
without an Ethiopian troop withdrawal, and assessed that the 
ARS may be willing to negotiate with the TFG by "proxy" (NFI) 
even before a published Ethiopian exit strategy. 
 
Egypt Supports International Effort On Somali Piracy 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Asked about combating piracy off the Somali coast 
per ref B demarche, Abu Zeid said that Egypt supports 
international action on this issue as long as it is within 
international law and at the request of the TFG. 
RICCIARDONE