VZCZCXRO9631
OO RUEHDE RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNR #1699/01 2231351
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 111351Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0633
INFO RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA
RUZEFAA/CDR USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUZEFAA/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHMCSUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001699 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/E AND A/S CARSON 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KPAO SO
SUBJECT: SOMALIA - Local Media Reaction to Secretary-Sharif Meeting 
 
REF: NAIROBI 1686 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (SBU) Somali and Kenyan media coverage of the August 6 meeting 
between Secretary Clinton and Transitional Federal Government (TFG) 
President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was largely positive. 
Predictably, opposition figures used the media to register 
opposition to the meeting, saying the United States has fanned the 
conflict in Somalia, with one opinion piece framing the meeting "not 
[as] a meeting between a head of a state and a Secretary of a state 
but a briefing of an operative by his handlers."  Still other media 
outlets focused not on the historic meeting, but dwelled on the 
purported significance of the handshake between the Secretary and 
Sharif prior to and after the meeting (reftel).  End Summary. 
 
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Somali Media Reaction 
--------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Somali media coverage of the August 6 meeting between 
Secretary Clinton and Transitional Federal Government (TFG) 
President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was largely positive.  Most 
Somali outlets focused on the historic nature of the meeting, noting 
that this was the first meeting between a U.S. Secretary of State 
and a TFG President.  The most prominently highlighted points were 
the Secretary's promise of increased, though unspecified, U.S. aid 
to Somalia, and both leaders' assertions that Eritrea must cease its 
detrimental activities with respect to Somalia.  An additional 
highlight was the Secretary's affirmation of unwavering U.S. support 
to the TFG.  A sampling of articles on Somali media outlets was sent 
to AF on August 7. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Predictably, opposition figures used the meeting as an 
opportunity to denounce the TFG and President Sharif.  One website 
reported that the spokesman of the Islamic administration of Kismayo 
criticized the meeting, claiming that the U.S. was perpetuating the 
conflict in Somalia and that the meeting "did not produce any 
results that were beneficial to the Somali people."  The spokesman 
added that the United States was inflicting suffering upon Muslims 
everywhere and said that it was important for Muslims to be vigilant 
against the U.S. treachery.  An opinion piece on another website 
asked if the Secretary's point that "al-Shabaab not only uses 
foreign fighters and foreign money, but foreign ideas" was in fact 
referring to the TFG, given the TFG's purported dependence on 
African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) troops, who come from 
outside of Somalia. 
 
------------------------ 
Coverage in Kenyan Media 
------------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) Owing to both the location of the meeting and the 
escalating interest in Somalia by its southern neighbor, Kenyan 
media also covered the meeting extensively.  Capital FM radio 
prominently featured the Secretary's mention that Kenya is 
threatened by the insecurity provoked by al-Shabaab, as well as her 
note that Kenya hosts nearly 300,000 Somali refugees.  The two 
largest daily newspapers in Nairobi also highlighted U.S. support 
for the TFG and the calls for Eritrea to cease its support for 
extremism in Somalia, but also noted the meeting between Sharif and 
Kenyan President Kibaki.  Notably, a story about the bilateral 
meeting in The Nation on August 7 was carried deep into the paper, 
on page 20.  A commentary in the same paper focused on the spillover 
effects of the Somalia conflict, including the refugees and 
possibility that Somalia-based extremists may again launch an attack 
in Kenya.  The August 8 edition of The Nation drew a link between 
the Secretary's meeting with Sharif and Kenya's decision to expel an 
Eritrean diplomat.  An editorial in the August 10 edition of the 
East African, a mainstream weekly newspaper, noted that Secretary 
Clinton continues to grapple with Somalia, over a decade after 
former President Clinton withdrew U.S. forces from Somalia. 
 
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The Handshake 
------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The media, especially in Somalia, continued to pay a great 
deal of attention to the handshakes between Secretary Clinton and 
Sharif before and after the historic meeting (reftel).  An opinion 
 
NAIROBI 00001699  002 OF 002 
 
 
piece on a Puntland-based website offered an effusive recounting of 
the handshake, noting that "the handshake is a slap in the face of 
extremism."  Many outlets carried a photo of one of the handshakes, 
which took place during the photo spray and again when the joint 
press conference concluded.  Sharif had donned a lapel pin featuring 
the U.S. and Somali flags; the pin was readily visible in the photos 
on the media reports. 
 
RANNEBERGER