VZCZCXRO9316
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHDJ #0203/01 0530844
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 220844Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1446
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0024
INFO IGAD COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CDR USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA FWD
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DJIBOUTI 000203 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/22 
TAGS: PREL PINS MASS PBTS DJ ER FR
SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI/FRANCE - Public Spat over GOF Reliability as Ally 
 
REF: 10 DJIBOUTI 125 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: James Swan, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(B), (D) 
 
1.(C/NF)  Summary:   A Djiboutian Foreign Ministry publication has 
accused France of "playing an extremely negative role detrimental 
to the vital interests of the Republic of Djibouti" in regard to 
its border dispute with Eritrea.  The French Embassy issued a 
two-page letter to rebut this charge, and planned to convoke the 
Djiboutian Ambassador in Paris over the matter.  Djiboutian 
officials have long privately grumbled at what they see as weak 
French military and diplomatic efforts on behalf of the GODJ 
against Eritrea.  But this public criticism of the former colonial 
power is highly unusual and underscores the depth of Djiboutian 
feelings on this issue.  End summary. 
 
 
 
MFA Publication Lauds U.S., Blasts France 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
 
 
2.(U)  In mid-February, the Djiboutian MFA distributed a 79-page 
Foreign Ministry Publication, dated December 2009 and entitled 
"Sovereignty of Djibouti over Ras Doumeira and the Island of 
Doumeira:  Well-Founded Facts."  Available in Arabic, English, and 
French, the booklet is mostly a straightforward recounting of the 
chronology of the military situation and diplomatic efforts related 
to the Eritrea's military incursion at the Djibouti/Eritrea border 
at Ras Doumeira and Doumeira Island.  The publication includes 
aerial photographs of the area, as well as basic background 
documents, including copies of the original French and Ethiopian 
boundary agreements, relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, etc. 
 
 
 
3.(U) The final pages of the publication, however, include a 
section entitled "Support to the Republic of Djibouti."  After 
commenting on solidarity with Djibouti from other regional and 
African states, the MFA booklet includes three paragraphs about the 
U.S. and France, as follows: 
 
 
 
"We would miss the basic rules of recognition if we overlook the 
positive and constructive role played by the United States of 
America during the different phases of this painful crisis, which 
is still ongoing.  As such, the Government and people of Djibouti 
are immensely grateful to the United States. 
 
 
 
"For the record, and given the duty to inform the people of 
Djibouti and international public opinion, it is important for us 
to affirm powerfully and persuasively that France has, since the 
beginning of this crisis, played an extremely negative role 
detrimental to the vital interests of the Republic of Djibouti in 
Ras Doumeira and Doumeira Island. 
 
 
 
"This unintelligible attitude of France, historical ally and 
allegedly unwavering supporter of the Republic of Djibouti in such 
circumstances, has profoundly disappointed the government and 
people of Djibouti and risks to permanently affect the common 
interests of the two countries." 
 
 
 
French Embassy Responds, Asks for Retraction 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------- 
 
 
 
4.(SBU) In a February 18 diplomatic note to the MFA, copied to all 
missions in Djibouti, the French Embassy fired back, noting its 
support for Djibouti in a variety of ways, including: 
 
 
 
-aerial surveillance and intelligence-sharing on the 
 
DJIBOUTI 00000203  002 OF 003 
 
 
Djibouti/Eritrea border; 
 
-provision of historical records from the French archives 
documenting boundary lines; 
 
-convocation of the Eritrean Ambassador in France on 25 April 2008; 
 
-a visit to the border by the French Forces Commander in Djibouti 
on 14 May 2008; 
 
-a visit to the border by General Puga, French Chief of Operations 
on 1 June 2008; 
 
-deployment of French forces to the border area as of 14 June 2008 
(note:  this is after the clash between Djibouti and Eritrea on 10 
June 2008); 
 
-medical support for Djiboutian military evacuees following the 
Djibouti/Eritrea clash of 10 June 2008; 
 
-diplomatic support, including French votes for UNSCRs 1862 and 
1907; and 
 
-a reminder by visiting French President Sarkozy on 19 January 2010 
that France had condemned the Eritrean aggression at Doumeira (see 
also Ref A regarding the Sarkozy visit). 
 
 
 
5.(SBU) The French diplomatic note concludes with a request that 
the MFA make the "necessary corrections" to the record, and 
"regrets that the positions and actions of France have not been 
correctly reflected or recognized as they should be in the document 
published by the Djiboutian government." 
 
 
 
Djiboutian Publication was Minister-Level Decision 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------------- 
 
 
 
6.(C/NF)  Asked privately about the exchange, French Ambassador 
Dominique Decherf told Ambassador 18 February that the French had 
been aware of the planned publication since late December.  Decherf 
said the offending passages had been written at a time when the 
Djiboutians were particularly irked over what they saw as GOF 
foot-dragging on adoption of a UNSCR to sanction Eritrea 
(eventually, UNSCR 1907).  The French thought this matter had been 
resolved following their vote in favor of the resolution, and 
President's Sarkozy's discussion with Djiboutian President Ismail 
Omar Guelleh and public statements of French support for the UNSCR. 
Decherf said Djiboutian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf had 
explained subsequent publication of the booklet with the poor 
excuse that it had already been printed and the GODJ wanted to 
ensure its position on the border dispute received wide play. 
Youssouf defended this decision in an hour-long telephone 
conversation with Decherf after the booklet was distributed, 
according to the French Ambassador. 
 
 
 
French MFA to Convoke Djiboutian Ambassador in Paris 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------------- 
------ 
 
 
 
7.(C/NF)  Decherf said this matter had received sufficient 
attention in Paris that the Foreign Ministry would convoke 
Djiboutian Ambassador Rachad Farah to register its displeasure with 
the content of the booklet. 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
------------ 
 
DJIBOUTI 00000203  003 OF 003 
 
 
8.(C/NF)  The MFA publication merely reveals publicly what 
Djiboutian officials have been saying privately almost since the 
start of the border dispute with Eritrea:  that the GOF military 
responded only after the fighting had stopped and that French 
diplomacy delayed and at various times weakened Security Council 
action.  It is highly unusual that the Djiboutians were so open in 
their criticism of the French, but this reflects the GODJ's very 
real disappointment over the performance of their closest 
historical ally on a central national security issue for Djibouti. 
SWAN