Nairobi - Eritrea, often accused of supporting Islamist rebels in Somalia,
on Monday criticised foreign interference in the war-torn country, ahead of
an upcoming peace conference in Britain.
"External actors, even those most friendly and most sympathetic to Somalia,
need to resist the urge... to act on behalf of Somali people, as such an
approach has been repeatedly proven to be counter-productive," Eritea's
foreign ministry said in a statement.
"The people of Somalia should be allowed the political space and time to
hammer out among themselves a political arrangement that serves as the basis
of peace, stability and development."
Several peace bids have failed to restore normalcy in Somalia, which has
lacked an effective central government since the 1991 ouster of president
Mohamed Siad Barre sparked civil unrest.
Somalia's current Western-backed transitional government, which was set up
eight years ago, has also been unable to assert its authority and its
mandate is set to expire in August.
"The way forward for Somalia is thus clear - a Somali-owned and driven
political process supported by an honest and effective facilitation process
that empowers Somalis and wards off interventions that undermine their
efforts," said the statement.
Eritrea, which has denied accusations of supporting the al-Qaeda-linked
Shabaab rebels fighting to topple the Somali government, said military
interventions by Somalia's neighbours were worsening the crisis.
Kenya and Ethiopia recently deployed troops to southern Somalia to crush the
Shabaab insurgents, while Burundi, Djibouti and Uganda have sent soldiers
for the African Union force protecting the Somali administration in
Mogadishu.
"The military interventions of Somalia's immediate neighbours, whatever
their motivations, have to be brought to an end as they complicate and
worsen the situation," Asmara said.
Somali and foreign leaders are due to take part on Thursday in London in a
major conference aimed at tackling the chaos that has allowed the Horn of
Africa country to become a haven for al-Qaeda and pirates.
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Received on Wed Feb 22 2012 - 10:07:52 EST
