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ABRIDGED VERSION of Sheikh Sharif's Chatham House Speech

Discussions regarding non-clan national political parties.

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ABRIDGED VERSION of Sheikh Sharif's Chatham House Speech

Postby Jesteye » Wed Mar 10, 2010 11:08 am

Friend of mine, sent me ABRIDGED VERSION of Sheikh Sharif's Chatham House Speech.
=====================================================================================================
Somalia at a Crossroads and the Duty of the International Community
HE Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed
President of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (2009-)
8 March 2010
THIS IS AN ABRIDGED VERSION OF THE SPEECH.

HE Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed:
"Ladies and gentlemen,
First of all I want to thank the Directors and staff of Chatham House for their
kind invitation and warm reception. Equally I want to thank you for your
presence and participation. As this meeting and occasion are different from
others within my schedule, I hope we can all take part in search of agreement
on solutions.

Secondly in this short address, I will focus on four points, namely the
foundations of the crisis, the hopeful signs that are emerging, the priorities
that my government has developed, and the role of the international
community.

Ladies and gentlemen,
The situation in Somalia – the destruction, the loss and damage to men,
women, and human life – was not created today.

The collapse of the Somali state was based on the abuse of national authority
and power. This inevitably led to the wanton violation of basic civil and human
rights of our citizens. With this loss of state authority and institutions, armed
groups and warlords succeeded each other in a war for the country and the
nation. This produced death, displacement, flight of skills, knowledge and
capital, increased poverty and mortality, growth of clan and locality allegiance
for survival, external interference, proxy exploitation and socio-political
division of the country.

This produced successive generations of youth without education,
employment, or health and social provision. These youth became ready
victims of the groups and gangs engaged in illegal activities both offshore and
onshore in the country.

Many thinkers and theorists have confirmed that terrorism and piracy thrive
and grow in failed states where the authority of the state does not exist or
where it is very weak. Somalia is a testament to this and I believe we all
agree on this.

The only way to overcome terrorism and piracy is to fill the vacuum in which
they thrive, namely absence of state authority and capacity. Given this, our
first priority and responsibility is to find the way to rebuild active state authority
that is can enforce the law and deliver basic services too.

If previously the warlords and armed groups stood in the way of the reestablishment
of the state in Somalia, today the obstacles are the organized
international criminal groups.

Hopeful Signs

Ladies and gentlemen,

Although there are many difficulties and problems, I believe that the situation
in Somalia is not lost. Personally, I am very confident and this confidence is
based on three factors.

First Somali people have matured and reached new perceptions. Most
appreciate the gravity of the threats they face and the majority have also seen
the dangers and difficulties that the extremists have brought upon the nation,
the country and our faith.

Second, the hope and desire of the Somali people for a capable government
of their own and for well-rooted peace is clear and obvious to everyone.
Somali people have demonstrated this hope and desire on many occasions
and in different ways.

Third, we have today a government of national unity, which I state is wholly
committed to act and deliver on the situation in our country.

Government Priorities



The government that I lead has given first priority to four issues, namely reestablishment
of security and authority, reconciliation, humanitarian action,
and re-structuring of our political strategy and rebuilding our revenue sources
(such as the ports, airports etc).

As you are aware, we did not inherit much from the previous Government that
we could immediately employ and work with. It became necessary for us to
start again.

First we recruited a large army and we tried to secure training and equipment
for them. We also established a budget.

Some of you may be wondering about the year just past. You must know that
we were not idling and that much effort was made and realized. In addition, it
takes a minimum of a year and more to recruit, train and equip an army and
put it into the field. Professionals in this area know this very well. Be assured,
however, that no effort was spared.


Secondly, the government’s political objective / strategy is to reconcile and
reach agreement with every political group that wants peace and the reestablishment
of the Somali state. The most recent example of this is Ahlu
Sunna.

Third, Somali people face many difficulties. As you are aware, many of those
living in the country have been displaced and they are barred from their
livelihoods. We are determined to act to enable these citizens to return to
their homes and to work with the international community to assist them.
Fourth, on the political side, we want the nation to move on beyond the
transitional phase to a merit and quality based government that can fulfil its
duties. Given this, the short term plan of the government, apart from reestablishment
of security, is to enable the nation to reach the stage where it
can decide on its future. We are in the midst of preparing the official
constitution, which will enshrine the freedom and rights of the citizen and
which will allow for political parties through the establishment of a national
electoral commission.

Fifth, without financial resources, as you know, nothing can be achieved. All
the sources of revenue the government could have used have collapsed or
have been destroyed. Equally, one cannot always depend or be dependent
on others. We are seeking to develop all potential sources of revenue to
finance essential requirements such security and basic services. International
community support is always required but the government is seeking to
establish its own sources of revenue.

The Role of the International Community

There were many opportunities for the international community to tackle the
issue of Somalia. Unfortunately, the world did not respond and grasp these
opportunities. These issues have been detailed by Mohamed Sahnoun in his
book, The Missed Opportunities. The occasions he identified when it would
have been easier to act included the time just prior to the fall of the military
Government, after it had fallen and when the international military forces
arrived in the country. There were other additional opportunities that could
have been used to tackle the problems.

At present, there seems to be a change in the perception of the international
community. It is now evident that absence of security in one place or locality
will affect other places and localities. Therefore the attention of the
international community has begun to focus on the end products of

statelessness namely terrorism and piracy. Among the unfortunate
consequences of this is the abuse of young Somali youth to attack their
country of origin, which their parents fled for their safety, or to conspire
against the countries they grew up in. This is clear proof that the world is
small in terms of both security and development.

I wish to appeal to the world from this platform for international cooperation
and collaboration to tackle and overcome the root cause which is lack of an
effective and capable state.

As a government, we are ready and willing to do our part. To show that we
are ready and accountable, we contracted Price Waterhouse Coopers to
manage all funds provided by the international community. We are equally
ready for any other measures that will establish the confidence necessary,
given that the record of past administrations was seen as clan oriented.
I wish and hope that the efforts of the international community will support
and strengthen the government and its agencies, and that arrival of such
support will be timely.

Conclusion

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Al Qaeda terrorist groups and the pirates both require and have
international links and support. They pose a serious threat to governments
that are stronger and more established than Somalia. Given that this is a
threat of international scale, and that these groups grow and build themselves
up in countries with no or minimal central authority, international efforts must
be focused to deny Somalia to these groups as a base to operate in and from
which to launch their international attacks.

We have a major opportunity ahead of us. The hope of our citizens is
underpinned by the common view shared by our people and the international
community on the need for a Somali state with authority that can re-establish
the rule of law.

I believe that over the past one year we have laid firm foundations for the
Somali state that is our aim. And in the coming year I hope that we will realize
our larger ambitions.

Thank you."


http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/1459/

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