Somalia: Puntland President Statement at ICG meeting
5 Feb 5, 2012 - 8:14:56 AM
H.E. Abdirahman Mohamed Mohamud (Farole)
21st Meeting of the International Contact Group on Somalia
Djibouti City, Djibouti
5-6 February 2012
Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, Honorable Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am pleased to address this 21st Meeting of the International Contact Group (ICG) on Somalia. Our people and country has been in turmoil two decades and it is encouraging to see growing international attention towards Somalia. I am very hopeful that this renewed attention and engagement will bear positive results in advancing peace, security, stability, development, and democracy for the people of Somalia, the region and the wider international community.
Today, I would like to briefly touch on three key issues: 1) security and stabilization
efforts; 2) political developments; and 3) humanitarian issues.
Security and stabilization
Security remains precarious in Somalia as a whole, and more particularly in Mogadishu and the south-central regions. We welcome the international community’s efforts to increase the AMISOM peacekeeping force deployment in Somalia. We remind the international community that Al Shabaab terrorists continue to hold control over strategic areas in Somalia – particularly the port towns of Kismayo and Merka,in Lower Jubba and Lower Shabelle regions, respectively.
These ports, and nearby airports at Baidoa and Bali-dogle towns, serve as Al Shabaab’s cash flow and must be liberated in a coordinated effort between AMISOM, neighboring countries and Somali forces intent on stabilizing home regions.
We commend AMISOM troop-contributing countries’ commitment to serve in Somalia peacekeeping operation. However, we are concerned about the progress made since Al Shabaab’s declared retreat from Mogadishu 6 August 2011. We believe there should be more rapid movement towards regional towns under the control of Al Shabaab, with particular emphasis on towns with airport and port facilities, in order to cut-off the terrorists’ supply of funds, arms and fighters.
Furthermore, while we welcome the Kenyan army’s intervention in Lower Jubba and Gedo regions in partnership with local forces, we encourage more rapid progress towards liberating the key port town of Kismayo and we warn against availing time for terrorists to regroup and have a morale boost to launch attacks across Somalia, the region and around the world. Furthermore, we caution the Kenyan army to avoid collateral damage during military operations.
In Puntland State, we continue to improve internal security and we continue to train our security forces, including the Puntland Maritime Police Force, which targets piracy and illegal fishing activities in Somali waters. Puntland security forces have successfully disrupted terrorist cells and our courts have convicted and sentenced terrorists. I send my special thanks and praise to Puntland government forces, who serve to defend and safeguard our freedom and our way of life.
To maintain our hard-won peace and stability, it remains vitally important to provide Puntland Government with security-strengthening support, as Puntland’s strategic location has geopolitical significance that is of great importance to international security arrangements.
Puntland State urgently needs security sector support as part of the international community’s Somali stabilization efforts, particularly counterterrorism training, investigations, and capacity-building for our courts and prisons.
Puntland State has embarked to develop its natural resources, including exploration for oil and minerals. As security and development reinforce each other (no security, no development), we need international support to strengthen our security institutions and to advance socio-economic development projects.
We welcome investors to develop economic sectors in Puntland State, such as the development of hydrocarbons, construction and socio-economic infrastructure, livestock, fisheries, agriculture, transport and communications, banking and finance, among other economic sectors. It is noteworthy to mention that Puntland needs to develop its human resources sector, with the particular focus on economic development experts, which is crucial to alleviate poverty, address unemployment and contribute to improving security.
Political developments
Puntland Government remains fully committed to supporting the UN-backed Roadmap peace process. In September 2011, I traveled to Mogadishu leading a large Puntland Government delegation to sign the Roadmap agreement, alongside other Somali stakeholders. This marked a historic moment in Somalia, which showed the Somali people’s commitment to peace, security and the restoration of national governance in Somalia.
We are concerned to hear about the political infighting among members of the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP), which coincides at a time when the world’s attention is fixed on Somalia. It is unfortunate to learn that Members of Parliament are trying to disrupt the internationally supported Somali stabilization process to end the transition by 20 August 2012, reform the Parliament, and eliminate the terrorist threat in Somalia.
Since the collapse of the Somali central government in 1991, the international community has tolerated the perpetrators of conflict in Somalia, unlike other parts of Africa where perpetrators have been made to face justice. It was encouraging to see U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s recent statement on Voice of America (VOA) that the “era of impunity has come to an end” and we urge the international community to act strongly and decisively against perpetrators of conflict in Somalia who have engaged in organized crimes against civilians and who continue to work today against the interests of peace and security with impunity.
The international community should ensure the end of the Somali transitional period by
20 August 2012, under the guidance of the Roadmap and the Garowe Principles. The
Roadmap has already produced tangible results, as witnessed during the historic
Somali National Constitutional Conference held in Garowe (21-24 December 2011).
Humanitarian issues
As we all know, the humanitarian situation in Somalia is devastating to say the least. We would like to recognize and thank the international community’s commendable efforts to assist the drought and famine victims, both within the country and at refugee camps across the border. The immediate international response to alleviate the plight of Somali victims is an admirable and unforgettable humanitarian gesture. However, we would like to bring to the attention of this conference that it is not a panacea at all times to provide humanitarian and emergency relief aid every time a disaster occurs. A long-term solution needs to be instituted to address the preventable underlying causes of drought and famine, in order to avoid future tragedies.
Some of the discrepancies that need to be reversed include the negative effect of dumping food aid at local markets, which not only entrenches dependency, but also creates opportunities for food aid to end up illegally in the hands of profiteers. Because of this, we are deeply concerned about the management of humanitarian food aid in Mogadishu. Some of the food aid distributed in Mogadishu is brought to Puntland for sale at half-price, thereby impacting local traders with the effect of bankruptcy and job- loss for food traders, and eventually leads to revenue loss for the existing administrations like Puntland.
Furthermore, some humanitarian organizations buy food from importers before the food arrives at Somali ports and passes through customs, which allows traders to avoid taxation. This is a worrying trend that should be addressed immediately and comprehensively.
Therefore, we propose as a remedy that food aid supply should be bought from local traders and passed through customs, in order to protect employment and revenue generation. This is a cost-effective strategy that avoids excessive costs in transportation and distribution of food aid in major towns and rural areas.
Somalia is a country whose economy is based on livestock, therefore it is vital to address the scarcity of water in the first instance by undertaking a large-scale sustainable program of drilling boreholes, preventing land degradation and over- grazing, and introducing range management pilot projects. These programs create food security and need sustainable assistance, which is far more cost-effective than rushing relief aid whenever a humanitarian crisis occurs. We believe that more aid should be diverted to create job opportunities for vulnerable youth and to fund labor-intensive projects, such as construction of feeder roads, rehabilitation of existing highways, and support for vocational schools. It is also pertinent to emphasize that these steps will help to boost the security sector across Somalia.
I am hopeful that the international community’s renewed interest and engagement in Somalia strengthens and reinforces ongoing progress towards sustainable peace, security, stability, and development and democracy.
Thank you and God bless.
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