From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Thu Oct 29 2009 - 11:39:35 EST
Somalia: Building stability and peace
Date: 28 Oct 2009
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HE Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke
Prime Minister of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia
HE Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke:
Director, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is a privilege to be here to talk to you
today. I know that a number of my fellow Ministers have been made very
welcome at Chatham House in the past. It is a matter of some comfort that
such a place exists where international problems, such as those facing
Somalia today, can be aired and discussed.
I must begin by expressing my sincere concern for the British couple who are
missing and presumed kidnapped. I have discussed this matter with the
Foreign Secretary and I want to give my assurance to the family that my
government will do everything it can, within its resources, to find this
couple and return them safely.
I am confident that with the consistent level of media coverage given to
Somalia, you will be familiar with the backdrop to the problems of my
country. It is very likely that you will have your own perception of our
problems and the likelihood of ever solving them.
Well I address you today with one message: this Somali government - my
government - is strong, determined and unified; we have a Somali plan for
the Somali people and we intend to implement it. This is why I am here in
London this week meeting the Foreign Secretary, and why I shall be going on
from here to meet other European leaders. The problems of Somalia have been
allowed to perpetuate for long enough, and I must tell you, as I am telling
them, that we intend to do something about it.
First, let me take a few moments to update you on the current situation in
Somalia generally and in Mogadishu specifically.
The level of violence in Mogadishu is stable - we are being attacked once a
day. This is what we mean as stable in Mogadishu. It is hard to gauge the
precise number of casualties but good people, Somali heroes in fact, are
dying in Mogadishu each week trying to make a difference. Since the radical
insurgents have resorted to suicide bombings, the Government have taken time
to restructure their forces, and retrain where necessary, in order to flush
out radicals in Mogadishu and mount a new offensive in the regions.
People often say that Al Shabab control more regions than the TFG. But their
interpretation of 'control' is confused and inaccurate. People use a
different yardstick to measure this control. Al Shabab needs only to control
through intimidation and fear, whilst the TFG is only considered to be in
control when they are providing services and law and order. With the TFG,
people are citizens but with Al Shabab they are tools.
Transitional Governments have come and gone in Somalia over the past 18
years, such is the enormity of the task. But our current President, Sheik
Sharif, and his Government are bringing renewed unity to the country. As I
have recently written to your Prime Minister, Mr Brown, the TFG has drafted
a stabilisation plan that will begin the process of restoring peace to
Somalia including Puntland and Somaliland, given support from the
international community.
By 2011 the TFG will eradicate Somali piracy through a civil affairs and
information campaign backed up by the rule of law and resurrected military
and law enforcement capabilities. This demonstration of government potential
in the north will help shape the conditions for the military defeat of
insurgents in the south by 2012.
Piracy will be eradicated by offering a sustainable business proposition to
the pirates and the communities they support, while demonstrating the will
and capability to protect Somali waters from foreign exploitation. This
'carrot' will be supported by the 'stick' of new laws, credible law
enforcement and the prospect of incarceration in a Somali prison.
Our plan for defeating the insurgency is not for open discussion but we will
succeed by using professional, disciplined Somali forces, trained to respect
human rights, mindful of the need to win and maintain the support of the
Somali people, versed in Somali history, motivated by patriotic duty and
inspired to fight for their country by a vision they can believe in.
The TFG has sought expert international advice in the development of this
plan and has grown more unified and more confident through the process. We
firmly believe that our plan is the only chance to eradicate piracy, prevent
Somalia from becoming a Jihadi haven and rescuing our long-suffering people
and the country they still love.
It has always been necessary for Somalia to demonstrate leadership and
commitment to earn the trust and support of the world. I am not here to
comment on the past, I am here simply to tell you that this Government is
ready to lead the country out of its current dilemma. The most important
thing to appreciate is that we, the Somali people, understand our problems,
and we are best placed to determine the manner in which they can be
resolved.
Overtly, the twin themes of terrorism and piracy dominate media coverage,
and thus the international perception of our country. I suspect Captain Jack
Sparrow has a great deal to answer for, but even in the 21st century piracy
makes high drama on the high seas, and a news editor's dream.
I shall return to piracy in a moment, as it is essential to our thinking,
but it is the threat of insurgent extremism and the potential for terrorism
contained within it, that I shall focus on first.
It is well known in every culture that if governments are weak or fail and
leave a leadership vacuum, it will be filled by those with the energy and
the desire to take over, no matter their ethics or agenda. In cases where a
government concedes power to radical extremist groups who control with
lethal violence and intimidation, a rot sets in that can be hard to remove.
This has happened in Somalia, and Al Shabab have been a credible threat to
peace and stability throughout Somalia in recent years. As we sit here
today, I would describe their position as strong but not invincible.
In the world at this time however, radical Islamic extremism also acts as a
cloak for terrorism, and Somalia has now clearly become a haven for the
pariah that is Al Qaeda. We cannot be certain of the precise size of their
presence in our country, but Al Qaeda are here, they are training and
planning in our land. Somalia is serving as an ideal place for them to
re-group and redeploy. It is clear that the future of Somalia depends on the
defeat of Al Shabab but it is also very clear that our success in this
battle is of importance to the whole world.
A radical insurgency with links to Al Qaeda are presenting a real threat to
the state of Somalia today and they are starting to spread regionally in the
Horn of Africa. Somalia has for decades had internal power struggles, and
the most recent insurgency, Al Shabab, is growing in influence, just like
the Taliban. It is growing in a climate of economic poverty and lack of
governance.
Somalia has had 18 years of failure and another generation of internecine
war would destroy the fabric of society. The tribal structures that glue the
country together will collapse. Two generations of illiterate children would
result, thousands more refugees will inevitably become displaced. Already
fragile state institutions will be so shattered that they will take decades
more to be resurrected.
The conflict in Somalia risks engulfing the region. Al Shabab is now
starting to threaten regional stability. If piracy were to become the
funding stream for Al Qaeda, like narcotics is for the Taliban, takeover of
the state would be imminent. And Somalia does risk being taken over by Al
Qaeda, just as Afghanistan was the haven of Al Qeada was in the 1990s.
Fundamentally, however, we must appreciate that extremism cannot be defeated
by guns and missiles alone. Yes, greater security capability is required,
but it must come within a holistic regeneration plan. People and communities
currently playing host to Al Shabab must see a government making progress,
offering a credible alternative and leading the way to peace and prosperity.
People must have confidence in the alternative and they must see the
government as providing all those civil amenities and services that are
currently lacking. An insurgency needs chaos, discontent and poverty and we
must take that away.
The restoration of security can succeed only within an effective
rehabilitation of the nation's economy.
If we are going to drive people to do something different, they must be able
to see and experience that the alternative is better for them, their
families and their communities.
The choice must never be simply between fighting or being dependent on the
state; the choice must be between fighting or working. Since the dawn of
time, commercial activity and the prospect of an improving standard of
living has driven societies forward, and that basic premise is no different
in Somalia today.
I said I would return to piracy, and it is appropriate to do so now. If
extremism is the dominant problem in Mogadishu and Southern regions, then
piracy dominates the Centre and North East. But here I must correct
perceptions.
Somali piracy is broadly perceived solely as a criminal activity. It is
rarely seen for what it really is - a desperate survival measure and in many
coastal communities the only job available and the only viable means of
income. I do not condone it, I want it to stop, but I reflect on how
humanely they treat the crews caught in the middle, and that 30% of each
ransom is used to support the local community. The pirates too are acting to
fill a vacuum in government and leadership. They too are responding to the
loss and disappearance of their livelihoods. Many of these pirates were once
profitable fisherman and would be so again given the chance.
If commerce and reconstruction work can lead people out of extremism in the
South, a return to a profitable, healthy fishing industry can lead people
out of piracy in the North. I shall not name names, but suffice to say many
countries are fishing illegally in Somali waters. We estimate that the value
of the fish being taken from our waters is perhaps hundreds of millions of
dollars each year. It is wholly unacceptable for these countries, many of
whom claim they want to help Somalia, to turn a blind eye to this theft.
Particularly when that theft robs thousands of Somali people of a way out of
poverty and a way out of piracy and while the payment for international
fishing licenses could be enabling my government to rebuild our country. Do
you know exactly where your fish come from?
Now ask yourself who is causing the problem of piracy. It is not just
Somalia.
We ask you to act to do something about it. Support our claim to a rapid
resurrection of our rightful EEZ, stop your fleets from illegal fishing;
insist that they buy an international fishing license; condone our right to
police our waters; and respect our efforts to manage fishing in our waters
sustainably.
I am fully opposed to piracy and I wish to see it end. I am willing to
cooperate with the international community and I welcome and thank the
unprecedented international naval efforts to curtail the problem. We also
welcome the Contact Group report on regional capability development and the
initiatives it contains. We understand that there may be reasonable long
term solutions in the report, but we wish to see the same sense of urgency
we have to tackle the cause of the problem rather than simply the symptom.
The naval cooperation between EU, NATO, Combined Maritime Forces, China,
India, Japan, Malaysia and Russia is quite superb and an example of what can
be achieved when the international community faces a common threat. It is
also a very clear indication of just how important this issue is to the
Western world.
We ask the International community to remember that a naval presence off the
coast of Somalia is a very expensive commitment and to realise that the cost
of this commitment over 3 years is probably ten times as much as is needed
to implement our plan for the restoration of peace and stability within the
same period.
On every count, it is the Somali people themselves who can and must solve
these problems. It is not the UN, the EU, the African Union, the Americans
or the British in isolation. It is we, the Somali people who will win back
Somalia. We must take responsibility for this task and we do.
We welcome cooperation with UNPOS, and we want to work more closely with
them to integrate our thinking and develop an expedient and sustainable
solution that will not entail years of open ended UN resources and
commitment.
The TFG have great confidence in our plans for security, stability and
justice in Somalia by 2012, but we can only succeed in its implementation
with the support of the International community. It is to you that we turn
for trust, expertise and investment. We do not wish our people to continue
to pose a threat to the world's most essential trading and shipping route
and we most certainly do not want to foster extremism and export terrorism
or Al Qaeda fighters to cause fear and mayhem around the world.
Neither do we want to be policed from afar by people too distant from our
situation. I assure you that the cost of policing us would be vastly more in
the long run than the investment we believe can launch the process of
recovery and prosperity.
In my lifetime, Somalia has been a thriving commercial centre with beautiful
cities, a strong culture and a sustainable economy - tourists even came to
Somalia on holiday! We, the people of Somalia, want that back again. We have
a country wealthy in resources and opportunities that can be used to restore
peace and prosperity to this troubled land. We have political unity and will
and a confident administration ready to face the challenge.
We do not want years of charity. We do not seek donations. We seek
investors. People, corporations or governments ready to play a crucial role
in the reconstruction of our country and the restoration of a buoyant
economy that attracts our people into work, gives them hope and gives them a
future.
We expect to give a good return to our investors.
The time to act is now. Each day we do nothing, the insurgency grows
stronger, the terrorist threat increases, and the cost of shipping and world
trade increases.
The government of our country is unified, determined and strong. We
understand our problems and how they impact on the wider world. We
appreciate the help and support we are receiving, but now we have a Somali
plan for the people of Somalia and we are asking for a short term investment
to implement it.
Thank you.
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