VZCZCXRO8556
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHDS #1493/01 1540841
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 020841Z JUN 08 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0787
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 001493 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF AND AF/E , AND INR/AA 
LONDON, PARIS, ROME FOR AFRICA WATCHER 
CJTF-HOA AND USCENTCOM FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/27/2018 
TAGS: PTER PREL SO ET
SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA WILLING TO INCREASE COUNTERTERRORISM 
COOPERATION 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Donald Yamamoto.  Reason 1.4 (B) and (D). 
 
¶1.  (C/NF)  SUMMARY.  Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi 
told Ambassador-at-Large Coordinator for Counterterrorism 
Dell L. Dailey and Ambassador Yamamoto on May 21, 2008 that 
his government was grateful for the counterterrorism support 
it received from the United States and that Ethiopia was 
willing to do more.  Meles said that Ethiopia will stay in 
Somalia until the job was completed or as long its stay was 
possible and meaningful.  Ambassador Dailey urged Prime 
Minister Meles to take special care in the Ogaden regarding 
respect for human rights and the opening up of humanitarian 
access.  Meles assured the Ambassadors that Ethiopia was 
going to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties, but 
noted that too many NGO staff members were working in direct 
support of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). 
Meles also asked that the United States examine declaring the 
ONLF and the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) as terrorist 
organizations.  In a separate meeting on May 21, National 
Security Advisor Abay Tsehay said that his government was 
grateful for its relationship with the United States and that 
the Ethiopian government was ready to do more with Washington 
to fight terrorism in the region.  END SUMMARY. 
 
----------------------------- 
JOINT FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C/NF)  Ambassador Dailey opened by expressing 
condolences for those killed in the May 20 terrorist bombing 
of a minibus in Addis Ababa.  He then thanked Prime Minister 
Meles for the cooperation Ethiopia had given to the United 
States in the fight against terrorism.  Meles responded that 
his government was grateful for the support from the United 
States and he emphasized that Ethiopia faces an intractable 
fight against terrorism "no matter what" with or without the 
support of the United States.  Meles and Ambassador Dailey 
both agreed that the cooperation between the their two 
governments should increase in the future.  Meles said that 
"this fight is our fight" and he was grateful for friends to 
augment Ethiopia's counterterrorism capacity. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
MELES: "WE WILL STAY IN SOMALIA AS LONG AS POSSIBLE" 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶3.  (C/NF)  Meles stated that Somalia was an important aspect 
of the fight against terrorism.  He complained that Ethiopia 
was carrying the disproportionate share of the burden in 
casualties and cost.  He also asserted that Ethiopia had been 
the victim of a vicious propaganda campaign by NGOs and the 
media regarding its activities in Somalia.  Meles said he was 
"getting the short end of the stick," but made it clear that 
Ethiopia would stay in Somalia until the task was completed 
or as long as their stay was possible and meaningful.  Meles 
added that if the international community wanted to speed up 
Ethiopia's withdrawal from Somalia, they had a responsibility 
to speed up the full deployment of the African Union Mission 
in Somalia (AMISOM) peacekeeping force. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN ACCESS IN THE OGADEN 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶4.  (C/NF)  Ambassador Dailey urged the Prime Minister to 
take special care in the Somali Region of Ethiopia to respect 
human rights and open up space for humanitarian assistance. 
Ambassador Dailey noted that an aggressive "capture or kill" 
strategy against insurgents must be balanced with a broader 
approach that addressed the deeper political, economic, and 
social problems to ensure success.  He asked Meles to examine 
these ideas and develop a good plan that included effective 
health care and poverty reduction elements. 
 
¶5.  (C/NF)  Meles responded that the Ethiopian people were 
grieved when human rights issues are raised and the dozens of 
Ethiopians killed in the April 24, 2007 ONLF attack were not 
treated equally with the alleged killing of civilians by the 
Ethiopian military while fighting the ONLF.  Meles said that 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00001493  002 OF 002 
 
 
his government knows from its own experience as insurgents 
that when the government uses a "sledgehammer" it is 
counterproductive.  Meles noted that he had read General 
Petraeus' book on counterinsurgency and that the book 
reinforced what Meles already knew from past experience. 
Meles emphasized that his government had gone to great 
lengths to avoid civilian casualties.  Meles said that "I 
cannot tell you not a single hut has been burned," but added 
that there were times when he ordered the military to cease 
operations to avoid civilian deaths. 
 
¶6.  (C/NF)  Meles noted, however, that too many NGO staff on 
the ground in the Ogaden had been helping the ONLF.  He said 
that the local staff were infested with ONLF supporters and 
sympathizers.  Meles, naming the ICRC in particular, said 
that his government had interdicted NGO trucks carrying 
supplies to the ONLF, but admitted that the ICRC office in 
Geneva was not involved.  He said that when the government 
had restricted NGO activities it was only to stop rebel 
resupply and was never intended to deny humanitarian 
assistance to the civilian population. 
 
--------------------------- 
OLF/ONLF ON TERRORIST LIST? 
--------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C/NF)  Lastly, Meles raised the issue of why the OLF and 
the ONLF were not listed by the United States as terrorist 
organizations.  Meles said that both groups had been involved 
in terrorist activities for some time and that the OLF had 
even taken credit for terrorist acts on Voice of America 
(VOA) radio.  Meles urged Ambassador Dailey to examine this 
issue and said that it would help Ethiopia if Washington 
would curtail OLF and ONLF activities in the United States. 
Ambassador Dailey asked the Prime Minister to provide 
evidence of OLF and ONLF terrorist activities for Washington 
to examine. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR WELCOMES BI-LATERAL COOPERATION 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶8.  (C/NF)  In a separate meeting on May 21, National 
Security Advisor Abay Tsehay echoed Meles' earlier comments, 
telling Ambassador Dailey and Ambassador Yamamoto that 
Ethiopia welcomed its relationship with Washington and that 
the two countries should do more together.  Abay said 
Ethiopia was ready to work with the United States "in all 
things."  Abay said Ethiopia was committed to economic 
development and that he did not want instability and 
terrorism to divert his government from its economic goals. 
Abay stated that he wanted to professionalize Ethiopia's 
counterterrorism capacity and he welcomed assistance from the 
United States to meet this goal.  He said he also appreciated 
Washington's efforts to get other African nations to do their 
part as well. 
 
¶9.  (U)  Amb. Dailey did not have an opportunity to review 
this cable. 
YAMAMOTO