(MoFA 04/24/09):-Last weekend, Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, and Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Sharif Hassan visited Ethiopia. The Somali delegation held talks with Prime Minister Meles and Foreign Minister Seyoum, and Prime Minister Shermarke, on his first visit to Ethiopia since his appointment, stayed in Addis Ababa until Wednesday. He said he had had a fruitful exchange of views. He noted that his government wanted to streamline the command and structure of the security forces and he hoped for Ethiopian aid in training and capacity building in security and other areas. His government’s top priorities were security and finance, and he underlined the need for IGAD assistance in institution building.
Prime Minister Meles made it clear that Ethiopia fully supported the new government as it had done since its inception. Ethiopia agreed that security and finance were the priorities and the government needed to generate revenue. Ethiopia was fully prepared to assist in training in finance, tax collection, customs and similar areas, together with other IGAD member states. It was also prepared to continue to train security forces. Ethiopia agreed Al Shabaab posed the greatest threat to the government and the government needed international community assistance in the security area as a matter of urgency. Foreign Minister Seyoum emphasized that Ethiopia would fully honor its commitments to provide capacity building to the new government. He pointed out the need to enable Somalia to manage its own affairs and urged the international community to redouble its assistance, noting that the fight against piracy should go hand in hand with practical moves to build up the government’s capacity.
In the discussions, Prime Minister Shermarke also emphasized the government’s interest in reconciliation and said it was working on the integration of the former TFG, ARS-Djibouti, Ahlu Sunna wal-Jamma, former ICU and different clan militias. He said the Government was engaging with Hizbul Islam but had given up hope of rapprochement with Al-Shabaab. Hizbul Islam is made up of four factions, one being the Asmara-based faction led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir ‘Aweys’. Sheikh ‘Aweys’ unexpectedly arrived back in Mogadishu on Thursday, flying down from Asmara where he has been for the last two years. His arrival underlined the Somali Government’s need for increased security. Despite claims that he might be prepared to talk to the new government, Sheikh ‘Aweys’ appears to be intransigent towards his former ICU allies, taking his tone from the statements of President Issayas. He has already denounced the government of Sheikh Sharif as infidels and declared they should be wiped out, and said the fight against AMISOM should be continued. Addressing a supporter’s rally, he said talks with “our deceived friends, government officials”, could only take place once AMISOM had left Somalia. “AMISOM”, he added, “is not a peacekeeping force…they are the bacteria in Somalia. Somalia has not yet reached peaceful agreement. So be patient. We are left with little time to fight and achieve our Islamic objective.”
Paradoxically, in Brussels on Thursday, the international community was talking about strengthening AMISOM and the TFG with impressive sounding pledges of funding, but saying nothing about the specific and looming danger posed by the arrival of Sheikh ‘Aweys’ in Mogadishu. The joint United Nations, African Union and European Union Conference on Somalia was co-chaired by UN Secretary General, Ban ki-Moon and African Union Chairperson, Dr. Jean Ping, and hosted by the EU. Among those attending in Brussels were President Sheikh Sharif of Somalia; Amre Mussa, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States; Professor Ekmelledien Ihsanoglu, Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Conference; Javier Solana, the EU High Representative of Common Foreign and Security Policy; and Louis Michel, the EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid. On Wednesday afternoon the conference was briefed by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, the UN Special Representative for Somalia, the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, the AU Special Representative to Somalia, the AMISOM Force Commander and the Somali Minister of Defence.
Delegates spoke of the prospects for a “new chapter” and a “brighter future” for Somalia, and the conference came up with pledges of over US$250 million to cover security and law enforcement, humanitarian aid and, possibly, a coast guard. This was US$90 million more than expected. However, it remains to be seen how far these pledges will be redeemed and how quickly. There is a significant disconnect between the international community discussions in Brussels and the situation on the ground in Mogadishu. The international community has so far shown no sign of facing up to the immediate challenge now facing the TFG in Somalia. As he emphasized, Somalia’s Prime Minister does most certainly need concrete and immediate support on a large scale.
Meanwhile, in a report to the UN Security Council dated April 16, Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon, responding to a January request from the Security Council to develop a mandate for a UN force in Somalia, proposed a three stage UN approach to Somalia. The Secretary-General notes that the plan for a UN peacekeeping operation of some 22,500 troops outlined in his report of March 9 remains a “high risk option”. He therefore recommends an incremental approach incorporating some of the other options he has put forward. The first step would be support for AMISOM coupled with UN assistance to build up some security institutions, support political reconciliation and provide humanitarian assistance. Mr. Ban ki-Moon said he anticipated this lasting for three or four months and being followed by a “light UN footprint” in Mogadishu, including direct assistance from the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS). Then after reference back to the Security Council, then and only then, the Secretary-General would be prepared to propose a full-fledged peace keeping operation to replace AMISOM. The Secretary-General regards this as a carefully calibrated and flexible approach. He also emphasizes the need to prevent “minority groups pursuing a hard-line approach” from disrupting progress, and for the TFG to be able to sustain its reconciliation efforts and extend its authority on the ground. All this, of course, looks very theoretical, even abstract, in the light of events on the ground in Somalia.