Somali envoy urges council to partially lift arms embargo on his country

[Camel Mlik]

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 9 (KUNA) - Somali envoy Elmi Ahmed Duale on Tuesday urged the international community to pay more attention to the chaotic situation in his country and the Security Council to partially lift the arms embargo so that the government can fight the militias. "My government appeals to the international community to keep a more focus and to be seized with the Somali problem. We believe that we are not getting the desired attention that we should get after 15 years of suffering," Duale told a press conference.

 

"It is very sad that poor people are suffering, yet the international community does not seem very much engaged in this problem," he said.

 

He said the African Union offered to train the Somali security forces and the Police, and other promises were also made by the European Union, Arab countries and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.

 

"Unfortunately, it is not possible because there is an arms embargo and the Security Council did not see it wise to lift it even partially, or make an exemption to allow the government to be able to function," he complained.

 

He said the problem is that the warlords, militias and dissidents, including two ministers in the newly formed government, have all the arms they want through smuggling, but the government has no arms to fight them and the religious groupings "who do exist and can be very harmful." "My government has been seeking for a year that there should be not only a dialogue and reconciliation but a real governance to implement the peace making, peace keeping and surveillance of possible entrance of unwanted ones into Somalia," he said.

 

"As you know Somalia has been accused of harbouring dangerous elements from outside that attacked places in Kenya and Tanzania. Some more informed countries have more detailed of this. But I can only say that this is possible because for 15 years there is no government and no law and order," he said.

 

"Those who benefited from this chaotic situation would like to keep it on," he added. "This is the situation, if left as it is will deteriorate further into anarchy," he warned.

 

Source: KUNA

 

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Somalia: Security Appeal To U.N.

November 09, 2005

 

Somalia's government has issued an appeal to the international community for assistance in patrolling the country's coastline, Somalia's Ambassador to the United Nations Elmi Ahmed Duale said Nov. 8. He also asked the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) to relax an arms embargo to allow neighboring states to help train Somali police. The UNSC plans to meet Nov. 9 to address the situation in Somalia.

Source: Stratfor

 

 

 

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[Camel Mlik]

Brother's and Sister on Somaliaonline let us debate the issue.I open an all-out debate on the issue for all of the members on somaliaonline to join in this debate and take their share for the question below.

 

Should the Arms Embargo on Somalia be lifted?

From my point of view I think the arms embargo on Somalia should and needs to be lifted for this government to succeed.

 

The arms embargo is not only stoping weapons from coming in to the the country but is also stoping the help our nation dearly needs which is peace keeppers. Weapons is not the issue becasue their being smuggled in. But other help which we dearly need can not be smuggled in but need the arms embargo to be lifted.

 

I rest my cast.

[wind.talker]

Should the Arms Embargo on Somalia be lifted?

Absolutely not! We have enough weapons in Somalia as is.

[Yoonis_Cadue]

In my view it doesn't make a difference to the situation in Somalia if the arms-embargo is lifted or not.

 

The arms-embargo is not enforced and countries and illegal weapons-traders continue to sell weapons to Somali faction leaders.

 

So I would argue for the ban to be lifted so the government can get heavy weaponary to fulfill their duty promised to the Somali people.

 

The tanks, apache helicopters and long-ranging missiles are already ready for the Government but we can't use them because the nation or state that has supplied us with this modern weapons would be sanctioned and referred to the UN-Security Coucils.

 

Lift the ban and get a credit from the World Bank and get the latest weapons to militarily defeat all your enemies this is the political ambition of the TFG. If we only could get this weapons the warlords would come "running to the TFG's fold and camp in Jowhar".

 

All the nations are allowed to aquire weapons for selfdefence and the TFG must be allowed to get those weapons in order to defeat the enemy within aswell as the enemy outside.

[Gabbal]

In my v

[Jumatatu]

Annan reappoints arms embargo monitors

 

NAIROBI, 9 Nov 2005 (IRIN) - At the request of the UN Security Council, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has reappointed a four-member group that has been monitoring the movement of weapons into Somalia since early 2004.

 

The panel was established to monitor violations of an arms embargo imposed by the UN on the strife-torn Horn of Africa country in 1992.

 

In a letter to the president of the Security Council released on Tuesday, Annan extended the mandate of the four experts for six months.

 

The members are Melvin Holt, Jr, of the US and Joel Salek of Colombia, who have been members of the panel since its inception; Harjit Singh Kelley of Kenya, who once served on an expert panel on Liberian sanctions; and Bruno Schiemsky of Belgium, who was part of a team monitoring the embargo against the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

 

The mandate of the group, which is based in Kenya, includes investigating "the points of entry and exit of arms and the flow of weapons into Somalia; the mode of transport used; the destination of the weapons; the warlords, faction leaders or businessmen receiving the arms and weapons; the areas or regions under the control of the faction leaders, warlords and businessmen and their associates" as well as the operation of arms markets in Somalia and the source of the arms.

 

They will assess the actions of Somali authorities and other UN member states through field-based investigations in the region to ensure the full implementation of the arms embargo.

 

In a resolution in October, the Security Council condemned the increase in the flow of arms and ammunition into Somalia.

 

The resolution followed findings by the monitoring team that violations - both by the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG), its opponents in the capital, Mogadishu, and certain states in the region - had recently taken a "sustained and dramatic upswing".

 

[ENDS]

 

Source: IRIN, Nov. 09, 2005