|
Nairobi, Dec. 19, 2009 – A UN-backed international
meeting on Somalia has called on the world community to support
initiatives aimed at stabilizing the Horn of Africa nation which has had
no central government for almost two decades.
In a communiqué issued following a day-long International Contact Group
(ICG)'s meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the meeting called on the
international community to offer practical and, where possible, direct
support to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) as it battles
extremists in the lawless nation.
"Doing so gives the TFG the opportunity to demonstrate that it can
deliver on completing urgent tasks and be held accountable including
through such mechanisms as the Central Bank or Price waterhouse
Coopers," read the communiqué issued by the Nairobi-based UN Political
Office for Somalia said on Friday.
"The ICG believes the international community should make further
progress on understanding the requirements of the TFG. It welcomes the
continuing development of the partnership between the TFG and the
international community."
According to the joint statement, the 33-member ICG on Somalia noted the
TFG's call for the global community to establish a greater presence in
Mogadishu as soon as possible, and welcomed the Organization of the
Islamic Conference (OIC) decision to open an office in the war-torn
capital.
"The ICG condemns the continuing violence perpetrated against Somali
civilians by extremists," the group said, citing in particular the Dec.
3 suicide bomb attack on a graduation ceremony for medical students
which killed at least 15 people in Mogadishu.
The ICG called on the international community to provide coordinated,
timely and sustained support to build Somali security institutions
including the provision of stipends following the completion of
training.
The meeting also deplored the continuing piracy off the Somali coast and
its "devastating effect on the lives of those in Somalia and the region
as well as international trade" and welcomed the international naval
presence while recognizing that the causes of piracy are on land and
must be addressed urgently.
The ICG reiterated its support for the 2008 Djibouti process, a peace
accord between the TFG and one of the rebel groups, the Alliance for the
Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), which was meant to pave the way for the
cessation of all armed conflict across the faction-plagued country.
The meeting agreed that holding a well-planned, international
conference, as specified in the Djibouti Agreement, would be an
important contribution towards establishing the objectives of the
transition.
According to the communiqué, the Jeddah meeting agreed that the
discussion on transition should be placed within the framework of a
longer term recovery effort, noting the Somali prime minister's call for
this conference to take place as soon as possible.
"It calls on all groups and factions to join the Djibouti process and
work with the Transitional Federal Government which is the legitimate
and internationally recognized Government of Somalia," the communiqué
said.
The ICG also welcomed the fragile government's commitment to continue
its outreach efforts to all groups willing to cooperate and ready to
renounce violence and encourages the TFG to continue and expand its
efforts.
Islamist fighters including the hard-line Shabaab militia have waged
battles against the transitional government, its predecessor cabinet and
their allies, vowing to fight until all foreign forces withdraw and
Sharia law is imposed.
The AMISOM force -- the only security presence backing the government --
is well short of the 8,000 soldiers initially planned and is regularly
attacked by the Islamist Al-Shabaab militia.
More than one million people have fled their homes. Fewer than one in
three Somalis, whose life expectancy is 46 years, have access to clean
water.
Somalia has had no effective central authority since former president
Mohamed Siyad Barre was ousted in 1991, setting off a bloody cycle of
clashes between rival factions.
Source: Xinhua, December 18, 2009
|
|
