February 14, 2012 | Morning Headlines.

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Letter to the Somali Diaspora, by H.E Abdiweli Mahamed Ali, the Prime Minister of Somalia

13 Feb – Source: Office of the Prime Minister – 1892 words

I take this opportunity to engage in a dialogue with you as my government is in the middle of the implementation stage of major policy issues related to reconciliation and political outreach, constitutional dialogue and security matters. Also, a most important task awaits us and that is how to manage both the end-of-transition and post-transition political streams through a process that is as socially less disruptive and as fair and transparent as possible.

Key Headlines

Letter to the Somali Diaspora by H.E Abdiweli Mahamed Ali the Prime Minister of Somalia
Ugandan State Minister for Foreign Affairs visits Mogadishu (Source: Radio Bar-kulan)
Somalia wants arms embargo lifted to fend off al Qaeda ( Source: Reuters)
Denmark opens office in Somaliland ( Source: Somaliweyn)
Qatar nods for stronger relations with Somalia (Source: Radio Bar-kulan)
British Foreign Affairs Committee discuss Somaliland and Somalia (Source: Somaliland Press)
Big rally in Somalia for al-Qaeda-al-Shabaab merger (Source: AFP)

PRESS RELEASE

Letter to the Somali Diaspora, by H.E Abdiweli Mahamed Ali, the Prime Minister of Somalia

13 Feb – Source: Office of the Prime Minister – 1892 words

As a government, we were presented with challenges and opportunities, with each challenge and opportunity marking an important milestone, and I must stress that we have successfully withered the challenges, especially the famine which caused loss of lives and properties and also caused thousands of IDPs to pour into major cities. My government is ever grateful to the right worldly support extended to my people and in particular we will never forget the brotherly hood support delivered to us in his own hands together with his family members and government officials by H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Turkey.

We also took on the challenges of Alshabab’s insurgency in the middle of Mogadishu and successfully drove them out of Mogadishu starting in August 2011 and onwards. And we are in the middle of recovering large swaths of territory hitherto controlled by extremists.

On the other hand, we turned some challenges into opportunities. Since 2000, successive transitional governments have been presented with shopping lists of deliverable numbering close to 20, from security, peace, good governance, DDR, health care provision, the building of civil administrations on and on. The list was too long, too unfocused and too unrealistic for it to be built into workable benchmarks. Our strategy in consultation with other stakeholders was to streamline the deliverable into manageable and realistic goals and encapsulate them with complimentary policy directions matched by clear timelines through a concisely mapped out Road Map. The Four strategic goal elements of the Road Map as you are familiar with, are (a) Reconciliation and Political outreach (b) Completion of the constitution making process (c) delivery of good governance structures and (c) security.

It is on these policy issues that I want to start a dialogue with the Diaspora as we go forward towards the completion of the process to end the state of permanent transitions that our successive governments and our society have been subjected to over the past twenty years. I want to start this dialogue with you because I believe that you are one of best assets of our society: you are free, you are educated, you have resources and you are also opinion makers through your personal connections on the ground, through the internet and socialmedia, media that are changing the way we communicate even within Somalia. Above all, judging from the various media sources, you are very much engaged and attuned to the unfolding events in the country, a testament to your commitment the old country.

Going back to the four component benchmarks in the Road Map, I offer you this progress report and I do sincerely hope that you bring your input into the mix so that we can improve these strategies together.

Security: The security situation in Somalia has improved considerably since we took office. We started with the defeat of Al-Shabaab in Mogadishu in August 2011, and the subsequent mopping out operations of AMISOMand our forces in the rest of the city. Today almost 100% of Mogadishu is TFG-controlled, and Al-Shabaab has been reduced to fighting the population with cowardly hit-and-run tactics such as suicide bombs.

Securing all of Somalia is one of our key priorities, so with the assistance of AMISOM,and allied forces, we have taken the fight to Al-Shabaab-held territories around the country and are succeeding in liberating different parts of the country, including Gedo, Juba, central Somalia and Hiiraan.

We have developed a 3-year National Stabilization and Security Plan (NSSP) that envisions the rebuilding of our army, our police force and our justice institutions, as well as the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of our youth so that we can turn these youth actual citizens of a peaceful country.

It is most gratifying to see for the first time in many years, the streets and throughways of our capital city opening up and bustling with commerce and filled with cars, pedestrians and hawkers, and citizens sprucing up their properties and painting them in bright colors. It is also equally gratifying to see in the streets and alleyways of Mogadishu and also in the beeches many young children happily playing soccer in open make shift fields, with the certainty and self confidence that the days of destruction, of mortars and shelling of civilians and children are over.

Reconciliation: Social reconciliation is a necessity if we are going to find a way to get past the abuses and atrocities of the last 20 years. The Somali people need to rebuild the trust that has been lost in violent conflict, resource conflicts, clan rivalry, religious ideology battles, etc. My government has signed an agreement with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to dig 600 boreholes in order to address rural conflicts, mainly water-sharing conflicts. On the national level, we have been active in bringing together the TFG, regional administrations such as Puntland and Galmudug, and Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa to sit down and agree to support the Roadmap priorities and process. We are also encouraging local communities in various regions and districts to kick start local governance and local economic development.

The TFG has also supported local level reconciliation and peace building initiatives across the country, including but not limited to, sending reconciliation delegations to Galmudug, Ximan and Xeeb, Puntland and Gedo to reconcile conflicting groups. We have developed a policy and strategy to reconcile communities in the newly liberated areas, a process that will lead to the re-establishment of local civil as well as law enforcement administrations.

We are also in the middle of setting up peace committees in many regions and districts of the country and the mandate of these committees would be to reduce resource based conflicts before they snowball into civil and clan wars, to mediate conflicts and also to foster a culture of peace through dialogue among communities.

Constitution: The Transitional Federal Charter calls on our government to complete a constitutional process to bring the transition to an end. We are now in the final six months of this process. The Independent Federal Constitution Commission has diligently worked over the past few years to produce a draft constitution; a Committee of Experts is now working on it to finalize and then harmonize some of the large outstanding questions, such as our future system of government and the nature of the federalism we will adopt. They will be conducting intensive public consultations over the next few months. In line with the Garowe Principles adopted at the First National Consultative Constitutional Conference held in December 2011, a national constituent assembly shall be convened in May 2012 to provisionally adopt the new constitution and usher in a new era of Somalia’s political future, based on processes, fair play and not on personalities or group identities.

Let me remind you that it is necessary for societies that have undergone protracted conflict to examine their social and political arrangements and begin dialogue on a renewed and revised social contract. Thus the constitutional making process under way would be a parallel process and tool for conflict resolution and reconciliation as the various stakeholders in our society publicly debate about fundamental and foundational issues-fundamental rights and the state, systems of governance, the relationship between the center and the periphery and the desirability of devolution and decentralization so that governments become responsive to citizens including those who reside in rural communities.

Reforming our parliament is another key priority and as we approach the end of this transitional period, we will start the process of selecting our future lawmakers, focusing on the creation of a leaner, more efficient parliament.

Good Governance: My government is committed to the strengthening of Somalia’s public institutions as well as the transparent management of our public assets and finances. We are committed to putting in place system wide sturdy integrity institutions that can glue back the compact between the citizens and public institutions. Towards that goal, we have overseen the streamlining of the revenue collection system and have prepared our 2012 budget that was approved by the Council of Ministers in December 2011. We have revived Somalia’s Bureau for Investigation of Corruption and we plan to turn it into a robust anti-corruption institution. My government has also initiated a proposed Joint Financial Management Board that will ensure the channeling of both public financial management and international aid efficiently and effectively towards social and economic dividends to Somali citizens. We cannot allow a handful of selfish individuals to sabotage the future of all of Somalia anymore.

I write to you at a time of momentum and high hopes. We are heading to London in less than two weeks to attend the most high profile international dialogue on Somalia since our troubles began. We welcome and appreciate the global spotlight currently shining on Somalia, and we expect much from this Conference, but we must caution ourselves that it is the responsibility of the Somali human agency that can make the painful changes that are necessary to be undertaken. Those necessary changes require a change of heart, mind and attitude that focuses on the future and places all trust on reconciliation, forgiveness, dialogue and compromises, and also makes a clean break with the irrational zero-sum game which is a common feature in Somali politics. The Somali communities are in the proverbial prisoner’s dilemma and unless we cooperate for the common good, we will perish together. The Diaspora community is best positioned to play the role of paramount catalyst for this transformative process to materialize and as such, it must rise o the occasion.

My government is working very hard to ensuring that we end the transition by 21 August 2012 and we are aiming to have The Somali people find themselves perched at a crossroads. My government strongly believes Transparency, Openness and engaging with communities. There are regular and on-going Town Hall Meetings with TFG Leaders taking questions from the public. The aim of these meetings is transparency and accountability to the public at large. I have instructed all ministers to address the public through radios and TVs to discuss the progress of their ministries.
Ahead of us are two paths – one will lead us out of our state of perpetual transition towards a brighter future. The other will lead us back to where we came from, in a circle, and we will continue in circles, heading nowhere. My government is working hard on ensuring we take the first path, and we need all the support of every single Somali, in the country and in the Diaspora. We must work together and invest our energy, our resources and most of all, our imaginations in our collective future. Together we must re-imagine, re-invent and reconstitute the failed state that was ours and knit back together the various parts of this whole that we collectively and so cavalierly destroyed a long time ago. It can be done with the right frame of mind, and with your help.

Thank you.

SOMALI MEDIA

Ugandan State Minister for Foreign Affairs visits Mogadishu

13 Feb – Source: Radio Bar-kulan, Radio Mogadishu – 170 words

The Ugandan State Minister for Foreign Affairs Okelo Oryen on Monday visited Mogadishu, where he was expected to hold talks with the Somali authorities. Oryen was welcomed at the Aden Ade International Airport in Mogadishu by Somalia’s Deputy Prime Minister who is also the Minister for Defence, Hussein Arab Isse and several AMISOM officials.

Denmark opens office in Somaliland

13 Feb – Source: Somaliweyn – 343 words

Denmark is the first western country which has opened a bilateral program office in Somaliland. Much of Somalia is plagued by conflict and war, but Somaliland has made significant progress – both in terms of safety and incipient democracy.

Qatar nods for stronger relations with Somalia

13 Feb – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 155 words
Qatar will have strong cooperative relations based on peace and development with Somalia, officials say. Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani made the remarks after meeting with the Somali ambassador to the UAE, Omar Sheikh Idris Ali on Sunday.

Puntland security forces apprehend explosive expert

13 Feb – Source: Garowe Online, RBC – 207 words

The Minister of Security Gen. Khalif Isse Mudan held a press conference today in which he announced that Puntland security forces caught a key figure from a terrorist cell linked to al Shabaab operating in Golis Mountains, Garowe reports.

British Foreign Affairs Committee discusses Somaliland and Somalia

12 Feb – Source: Somaliland Press – 926 words

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, speaking on Thursday in the House of Commons said Somalia is presented with the greatest challenges facing the modern world. He said for twenty years Somalia has not had a functioning government and “presents the most acute symptoms of a failed state”. He made the remarks during a debate that saw Somaliland and security topics dominate the talks.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Somalia’s al Shabaab fighters celebrate Al-Qaeda alliance

13 Feb- Source: Daily Nation- 387 words

Gun-toting al Shabaab insurgents staged rallies across Somalia Monday to celebrate their group’s recognition by Osama bin Laden’s successor as a member of the Islamist Al-Qaeda network.

“The unification of Al-Shabaab with Al-Qaeda breaks the hearts of the enemy,” al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage told a crowd of several hundred in rebel-held Afgoye, just outside Mogadishu.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somalia wants arms embargo lifted to fend off al Qaeda

13 Feb – Source: Reuters – 321 words

Somalia’s government called on Monday for the lifting of an arms embargo to help it resist an al Qaeda-backed Islamist insurgency. The appeal follows al Qaeda’s declaration last week that the Somali militant group al Shabaab was joining its ranks, which raised concerns the Somali rebels’ weakened campaign might be re-energized.

Big rally in Somalia for al-Qaeda-al-Shabaab merger

13 Feb – Source: AP/Los Angeles Times/VOA News/Reuters/Dailystar News/News Day – 112 words

Hundreds of Somalis are gathering at a militant-organized demonstration on the outskirts of Mogadishu in support of the merger of the Somali militant group al-Shabaab with al-Qaeda.
Al-Shabaab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage told those gathered at Monday’s rally that al Shabaab is happy with its unification with al-Qaida, a merger announced last week by al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri. Rage also said that an upcoming international conference in London on Somalia is being organized to “colonize” Somalia.

Somali PM wants ‘Marshall Plan’ at London meet

13 Feb- Source: AFP- 305 words

Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali said Monday he hoped an upcoming conference in London on the war-torn country would produce a “Marshall Plan” to end two decades of chaos.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“Somalia is battered by hunger, drought (the worse in 60 years), disease, refugee crisis, anarchy, political chaos, the destruction of cities and a potential dismantling of separatist regions. In theory, the country has trusteeship status by the UN, African Union and the USA but, in practice, it is unprotected and forgotten by all.”

No one cares for Somalia

13 Feb – Source: The Prisma – 906 Words

High-ranking officials celebrate the US Navy Seal operation which freed prisoners in Galcayo, north-east Somalia, but not without killing nine kidnappers first. The freeing of American Jessica Buchanan and Danish Poul Thisted at the end of last January by a successful air supported commando rescue operation, with no US casualties, was celebrated as a great military victory.

Once again the soldiers who brought Bin Laden to an end in April 2011 and freed Buchanan and Thisted, were seen as heroes. They both work for the Danish Demining Group.

“While the conference purports to address security concerns, particularly piracy and terrorism, the ultimate intention of the conference, according to many Somali analysts, could be to undermine Somalia’s sovereignty and subject the Somali people to a new form of colonialism — including by “proxy states” such as Kenya and Ethiopia, which are sending high-level delegations to the conference.”

“The sense of humiliation that many Somalis feel about the conference is best described by Arman, who in an op-ed article in Eurasia Review writes: “At this dreadful moment in its history — when the obituary of a nation on life-support is being written — political correctness is a luxury that Somalis cannot afford.”

Reconstruction of Somalia after the devastating civil war in 1991is not moving forword, even if that let be slowly. Need for employment is enormous,but the payment of aid funds promised is slow.

Expect no miracle from British Government Consultation on Somalia in London

12 Feb – Source: Markacadeey/Ogaalka – 633 Words

Reconstruction of Somalia after the devastating civil war in 1991 is not moving forward, even if that let be slowly. Need for employment is enormous, but the payment of aid funds promised is slow.

Today is exactly 20 years since the civil war took place that devastated the capital city and surrounding areas and the most regional in Somalia. Somalia was thrown into our living room via television, radio and headlines in war style. After 20 years, the country has disappeared from the newspaper pages. What has been done in Somalia? Is there any hope today?

Large parts of the country are governed by extremists and militants. The majority of people live without access to justice, equal opportunities and human rights. Last 20 years Somalis has never known anything other than violence and war. Most people in Somalia are dependent on food aid literally held by starvation.