By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 15, 2008 - "We have a very close relations with both the United States and France," the Somali Transitional Federal Government's Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Jama told the Press on Tuesday. "They are close and friendly states." Inner City Press had asked about the firing of missiles into Somalia by the U.S., whether the TFG is consulted before military action is undertaken. "They have contacted us," Ali Ahmed Jama replied. He was asked about the killing of civilians, both by the TFG and the Ethiopian troops who put the TFG in power in December 2006. He called the deaths unfortunate, and said the Ethiopia does everything possible to minimize collateral damage. That is not what human rights groups, and Inner City Press' sources on the ground, report. But Ali Ahmed Jama moved on, portraying those Somalis who criticize the Ethiopian presence as spoilers. In the front row of the press conference, the UN's envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, nodded at this and other statements.

Inner City Press asked how the TFG will respond to requests that the recently captured pirates who took over a French yacht off the coast of Somalia be tried in France, thousands of kilometers away from where the crime occurred. "They have contacted us," was Ali Ahmed Jama's reply. He said that a "holistic" process could "address the issues that France and other powers are concerned with." Video here, from Minute 23:31.

On the ground in Somalia, some towns have passed back into the control of the insurgents or resistence. Ali Ahmed Jama was asked to respond to a theory under which the UN Security Council is holding back from committing peacekeepers to Somalia not only due to violence, but also from concern that the TFG is "not stable."  Ali Ahmed Jama disagreed, said the Security Council "represents the whole world" and should "tackle Somalia in a holistic manner."

The president of the Security Council for April, South Africa's Dumisani Kumalo, continues to urge that the Council visit Mogadishu. He told Inner City Press on April 11 that he remains "very firm" about taking the trip, despite recalcitrance from the UN Department of Safety and Security. "They are not happy about the idea that we won't go... I will be very disappointed if I have to go to a nice hotel in Kenya to talk about Somalia right over the fence." Video here, from Minute 7:48.

The Transitional Federal Government, of course, was born in Kenya, and only returned to Mogadishu backed by Ethiopian troops...

Nodding back at the UN's Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, Ali Ahmed Jama said that a pamphlet has been published about good indicators in Somalia, that the "Western media" should cover more. He mentioned telecommunications, and this is true. Whether the innovation is attributable to the TFG is dubious; those on the ground note that investment recommenced once the Islamic Courts pushed out the warlords. And what is happening now? We will continue to follow this.

Source: Inner City Press