UN Special Representative for Somalia approves political inclusion in the national in

[General Duke]

PRESS RELEASE 004/2007

 

Friday, October 05, 2007

 

Nairob (UNPOS) - UN Special Representative for Somalia, Mr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, is pleased with the decision taken by the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in its meeting on 4 October.

he decision to endorse the recommendations of the recently concluded National Reconciliation Congress (NRC) “should pave the way for greater inclusion of Somalis from a larger political spectrum”, said Mr. Ould-Abdallah.

 

This endorsement has long been awaited by Somalis and the entire international community. Mr. Ould-Abdallah commended this decision as a first step towards national reconciliation and urged the TFG to go further by extending the mandate of the National Governance and Reconciliation Committee (NGRC) as soon as possible.

 

Mr. Ould-Abdallah hopes that, by allowing the Committee to continue the national reconciliation process, the TFG will prepare the ground for serious talks between Somalis inside and outside the country. He also calls the international community to support this helpful move.

[General Duke]

UN envoy hails Transitional Government moves on political inclusion

 

October 05, 2007

 

The senior United Nations envoy to Somalia today hailed a decision by the country’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to endorse the recommendations of the recently concluded National Reconciliation Congress on political inclusion.

 

UN Special Representative for Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah issued a statement in Nairobi saying the move “should pave the way for greater inclusion of Somalis from a larger political spectrum.”

 

Mr. Ould-Abdallah commended this decision as a first step towards national reconciliation and urged the TFG to go further by extending the mandate of the National Governance and Reconciliation Committee as soon as possible.

 

The statement voiced hope that by allowing the Committee to continue the national reconciliation process, the TFG will prepare the ground for serious talks between Somalis inside and outside the country.

The international community, the envoy said, should “support this helpful move.”

 

Held in Mogadishu during July and August, the National Reconciliation Congress aimed to foster internal coherence in Somalia, which has had no functioning government since Muhammad Siad Barre’s regime was toppled in 1991.

© 2007 UN News