VZCZCXRO4204
PP RUEHDE RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHC #6517/01 0781737
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 191720Z MAR 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 5337
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 7043
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 1013
INFO SOMALIA COLLECTIVE
UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 026517 
 
SIPDIS 
ADDIS PLEASE ALSO PASS TO USAU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL UNSC KPKO KE
SUBJECT: SOMALIA CONSULTATIONS, MARCH 20, 2009 
 
(U) 1. This is an action request.  USUN may draw upon the 
elements below during the UN Security Council open debate on 
Somalia, scheduled for March 20, 2009. 
 
Begin elements. 
 
-The United States thanks Special Representative of the 
Secretary General Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah for his briefing 
today. 
 
- The United States congratulates the Transitional Federal 
Parliament on its recent expansion and January 30 election of 
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed as President of the Transitional 
Federal Government, and the appointment of Omar Abdirashid 
Ali Sharmarke as his new Prime Minister.  We congratulate 
both President Sharif and Prime Minister  Sharmarke for 
selecting a cabinet which represents a wide selection of 
interests, clans, and sub-clans, and urge all parties to work 
together in the consolidation of peace in Somalia. 
 
- We look forward to working with the new Transitional 
Federal Government and remain encouraged by the political 
progress made under the Djibouti Agreement.  The United 
States strongly supports President Sharif,s efforts to 
encourage parties outside the Djibouti Process to join him in 
rebuilding Somalia. 
 
-In this spirit, the United States urges all groups that have 
not yet done so, to put down their weapons and join the peace 
and reconciliation process.  We strongly denounce the 
terrorist organization al-Shabab for not joining this 
process, and for it statements that it will not only target 
the new government, but also continue its campaign against 
the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and 
humanitarian NGOs.  As decided by the Council in resolution 
1844, the Somalia Sanctions Committee can designate for 
targeted sanctions those threatening the peace, security or 
stability of Somalia, the Transitional Federal Institutions 
or AMISOM; those violating the arms embargo; or those 
obstructing the delivery or distribution of humanitarian 
assistance in Somalia. 
 
-Correspondingly, we condemn Eritrea,s continued provision 
of financial, logistical, and political support to al-Shabab 
and other extremists, and the February 23 press release of 
the Eritrea Foreign Ministry that, in effect, rejects the new 
Somali Unity Government.  The United States stresses that 
these actions only serve to prolong the conflict in Somalia 
and can no longer be tolerated. 
 
- The United States highly commends the work and the bravery 
of the Burundian and Ugandan troops in AMISOM, who continue 
to operate under difficult conditions, and we urge AU Member 
States which have pledged troops to AMISOM to make 
arrangements for their deployment.  We also strongly support 
the Secretary-General's call for donors to help AMISOM meet 
its needs through bilateral contributions.  The United States 
underscores that with the election of Sheikh Sharif, the 
recent move of the unity government to Mogadishu, and the 
withdrawal of Ethiopian forces, the international community 
has been presented with a narrow opportunity to make real 
progress, and that we must take advantage of this opening 
with prompt and decisive action. 
 
- On the issue of piracy, the United States is most 
encouraged by the international community's response to the 
scourge of piracy off the Somali coast; in the area dedicated 
to counter-piracy activities, on any given day there are 
naval patrol vessels representing 15-20 different nations. 
States as diverse as Japan, China, Russia, the UK, France, 
Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the 
Republic of Korea, Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany and 
Singapore and NATO and the EU, have committed or will commit 
shortly naval assets to the area.  We encourage those states 
that have committed assets to put them in place rapidly. 
 
-The United States believes that the Contact Group for Piracy 
of the Coast of Somalia has proven to be an effective 
mechanism in coordinating counter-piracy activity in the 
area, and we are pleased with the two meetings thus far.  We 
look forward to the next Contact Group on Piracy off the 
Coast of Somalia meeting in June. 
 
-We commend the Government of Kenya for offering to prosecute 
 
STATE 00026517  002 OF 002 
 
 
so many of the pirates captured by the international 
community, and we urge all states, particularly those 
directly affected by piracy, to assist the Government of 
Kenya with the logistical and financial challenges associated 
with trying these pirates.  Likewise, we call on all states, 
especially the victims of acts of piracy, to share the 
responsibility of prosecuting suspected pirates.  We 
underline that the burden of prosecution should not fall on 
the shoulders of Kenya and other regional states alone. 
 
-Finally, we recognize and thank the staff of the Department 
of Political Affairs, the UN Political Office for Somalia, 
the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the Department of 
Field Support, the World Food Program, AMISOM, and all other 
UN agencies, aid and assistance organizations, and entities 
operating for the betterment of Somali people and in the 
rebuilding of their country, for their hard work and efforts. 
 These people are working in difficult and often dangerous 
circumstances.  The United States strongly condemns the 
series of attacks and kidnappings on all aid workers and 
AMISOM troops, and demands that all violence against these 
persons and entities be ceased. 
 
End elements. 
CLINTON