NORTHERN SOMALIS FOR PEACE & UNITY (NSPU)
P R E S S R E L E A S E
Conference on Somali Unity and Peace
For Immediate Release
September 8, 2006
The 2006 Conference on Peace and Somali Unity, an inclusive Pan-Somali event, will be held in the Washington Metro Area, tentatively, during the week of November 11 – 12, 2006. The Conference will be jointly sponsored by the Northern Somalis for Peace and Unity (NSPU) and Unionists of Northern Somalia (UNS). The two newly founded organizations with membership primarily from the Northern region of Somalia, share the goals of consolidating Somali unity and advocating for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Somali State against the backdrop of the prevailing internal and external disuniting factors.
The fall Conference will bring together a wide spectrum of participants, including members of the Diaspora, intellectuals, diplomats, academicians, former statesmen, and senior administrators from around the world. Although the core of the Conference will address the region-specific aspects of the conflict—i.e. Unity versus Secession; Unitary versus Federal—Somali elders, intellectuals, artists, poets, and wise men from all of Somalia will participate and share with us their memories of the golden era of Somali nationalism as well as their thought on the serious challenges facing our nation today.
The specific objectives of this Conference are the following:
To initiate the first ever serious and meaningful dialogue and open discussion on the question of Somali unity,
To highlight the mistaken belief that the people of the former British Somaliland are united on seceding from the rest of the country.
To emphasize secession as a political strategy is divisive and damaging to the nation state of the Republic of Somalia; and to instead explore effective approaches and strategies to sensitize the Somali people to the dangers of creating “Bantustan-like” enclaves.
To highlight those unifying cultural, social and economic factors and shared interests, from the perspectives of wise men and women, poets, artists and professionals, diplomats and intellectuals.
To consider suitable strategies to lobby the international community to continue its support for the Somali national unity and territorial integrity and to further consolidate its ongoing tireless efforts to assist the process of reconciliation in Somalia.
The details, including updates on the progress of the conference preparatory activities, will be posted periodically on the major Somali websites, and NSPUÂ’s website: www.somaliunity.org. Your support, both moral and financial, towards making this historical event a smashing success, will be appreciated.
For further information, please contact:
Gamal Hassan
Director, Communication & Public Relations
(NSPU)
5470 Merivale Rd. Ottawa, Ontario. K2C 3M1 Canada
E-mail: info@somaliunity.org website: www.somaliunity.org
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NORTHERN SOMALIS FOR PEACE & UNITY (NSPU) is a grass-roots Somali advocacy organization with Branches in Somalia, United Arab Emirates, Canada, USA, UK, and South Africa. We are dedicated to the promotion of peace and unity among the long suffering people of Somalia. We believe the ‘Somalia problem’ can only be dealt with within the framework of a holistic strategic approach aimed at the empowerment of a central government to rebuild national democratic governance institutions and restore law and order throughout the country. NSPU believes the balkanization of Somalia is a recipe for future conflicts and a bleak future for the Somali people, who are bonded by ethnicity, language, religion, and shared centuries-old culture and traditions.
