Somalia: Somali PM wants ‘Marshall Plan’ at London meet

[General Duke]

Updated:- 11 hours ago| Commnets

 

MOGADISHU — 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.

 

“Somalia expects a lot from this conference. We expect the establishment of a trust fund for Somalia. We expect a complete reconstruction plan for Somalia. We expect a Marshall Plan for Somalia,” he told AFP in an interview.

 

British Prime Minister David Cameron will chair the February 23 conference, gathering Somali and foreign leaders to find a solution to the civil unrest that has plagued Somalia almost without interruption since 1991.

 

The meeting will “help galvanise a common approach to address the problems and challenges of Somalia that affect us all,” the Foreign Office said.

 

“I hope the London conference will galvanise the international support for Somalia, bring back the attention of the international community on Somalia, and with it all the necessary help for rebuilding Somalia,” Ali said.

 

Decades of war and lawlessness have ruined the Horn of Africa country, leaving it with no basic infrastructure, its people in deep poverty and a humanitarian crisis the United Nations describes as the worst in the world.

 

Earlier this month, British Foreign Secretary William Hague visited war-scarred Mogadishu, marking a new drive by London to address the country’s protracted crisis.

 

During the visit, London also appointed an ambassador to Somalia, the first in 21 years.

 

Ali dismissed a proposal circulated ahead of the London conference that Somalia be put under a temporary UN or African Union administration until December 2013.

 

The mandate of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Institutions expires in August, and the country’s Western backers are against any further extension.

 

“We are in the 21st century. Somalia is a sovereign country with a government recognised by the international community, it is ridiculous,” Ali said of the proposal.

 

“I understand the concern. … We have to give the maximum efforts in the implementation of the roadmap,” he added, referring to a UN-backed plan agreed by Somali leaders to secure the country, write a new constitution and hold elections by August.

 

Somalia has lacked an effective central government since president Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991, unleashing cycles of bloody conflict that have defied countless peace initiatives.

 

Since then, the country has been variously governed by ruthless warlords and militia groups in mini-fiefdoms, becoming the epitome of a failed state.

 

A hardline Islamist movement with links to Al-Qaeda now controls much of southern and central Somalia, while pirate gangs rule coastal villages.

 

The Islamist Shebab rebels have been fighting to topple the Western-backed Somali government in Mogadishu, where the administration survives under the protection of a 10,000-strong African Union force.

 

Regional countries have recently increased pressure against the Shebab, with Kenyan troops battling the rebels in the south of Somalia since last October.

 

Ethiopian also sent forces to southwestern Somalia in November, the second such incursion in less than three years.

 

The 9,700-strong AU force, comprising troops from Burundi, Djibouti and Uganda, protects the government.

 

The Shebab abandoned fixed positions in Mogadishu last August, but has continued to carry out grenade and suicide attacks on government targets in the anarchic capital.

 

Source: AFP

[General Duke]

Bold stance from the PM...

[General Duke]

Ra'iisul Wasaaraha Soomaaliya oo rajo ka muujiyay shirka lagu qabanayo London

 

Talaado, Feberaayo 14, 2012 (HOL) − Ra'iisul wasaaraha Soomaaliya, Cabdiweli Maxamed Cali ayaa rajo wanaagsan ka muujiyauy shirka lagu qabanayo London 23-ka bishan Feberaayo, kaasoo looga hadlayo arrimaha Dalka Soomaaliya.

 

Dr C/weli Gaas wuxuu sheegay in shirkan uu udub dhexaad u noqon doono deggenaaasho lagu soo celiyo Soomaaliya 20-sano oo colaado ah kaddib, isagoo xusay in shirkan uu indhaha caalamka kusoo duwayo Soomaaliya.

 

"Waxaan rajeynayaa in shirkan ay kasoo bixi doonaan qorshe dhameystiran oo dib loogu dhisayo Soomaaliya," ayuu ra'iisul wasaaruhu u sheegay warbaahinta, isagoo sidoo kale xusay inay dadka Soomaaliyeed rajo wanaagsan ka filayaan shirkaas.

 

Ra'iisul wasaaraha Ingiriiska, David Cameron ayaa sannadkii hore sheegay inuu shir u qabanayo Soomaaliya, kaasoo uu sheegay inuu indhaha caalamka ugu soo jeedinayo Soomaaliya si wax looga qabato colaadaha raagay ee ka taagan.

 

"Waxaan sidoo kale rajeynayaa in shirka London uu sabab u noqdo in caalamka uu kordhiyo taageeradiisa Soomaaliya, dibna u soo celiyo dareenka bulshada caalamka ee ku aaddan Soomaaliya," ayuu Dr C/weli hadalkiisa ku daray.

 

Ra'iisul wasaaruhu wuxuu intaas ku daray in Soomaaliya ay tahay dal xor ah oo ay dunidu aqoonsan tahay, balse ay dagaallo muddo dheer ka socdeen, isagoo xusay in xukuumaddiisu ay xoogga saarayso sidii uu ku fuli lahaa Raodmap-ka oo looga saarayo Soomaaliya xilliga KMG ah.

 

Dhanka kale, Xarakada Al-shabaab oo ku biirtay Al-Qaacida ayaa waxay shirka London ku tilmaantay qorshe lagu doonayo in Soomaaliya lagu geliyo maxmiyad, iyagoo sheegay inay shanta farood uga hortagayaan qodobbada kasoo shirkaas.

 

Maxamed Xaaji Xuseen, Hiiraan Online

maxuseen@hiiraan.com

Muqdisho, Soomaaliya

[Mintid Farayar]

Two points I pointed out to the 'deaf, dumb, and blind' on this Forum about a month ago:

 

1) Ali dismissed a proposal circulated ahead of the London conference that Somalia be put under a temporary UN or African Union administration until December 2013. (AFP)

 

2)The mandate of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Institutions expires in August, and the country’s Western backers are against any further extension. (AFP)

[The Hermet]

he's lucky to get a colonial map of the future of Somalia....he is a persona non grata as of August....Farwell Government, the whole world knows this government is nothing...i think its about time you woke up to the reality of the current situation. :cool: TRUSTEESHIP....

[Carafaat]

Money isnt the problem nor the solution for Somalia's problem. every kid understands that.

[Mintid Farayar]

Carafaat;788974 wrote:

Money isnt the problem nor the solution for Somalia's problem. every kid understands that.

 

True, but the Western mortgages of TFG ministers/officials need to be paid off just like the mortgages of those who preceded them in those posts. Abdullahi Yusuf's family owns several choice commercial properties in downtown Toronto - all purchased after his rise to TFG presidency.

[Carafaat]

But Abdiwali isnt from Toronto. He is somewhere from US. Will he buy property there, cant imagine. nothing would be better then a bungalow on the Indian Ocean. Liido, Marka or Kismayo I would recommend.

[SayidSomal]

Mintid Farayar;788942 wrote:

Two points I pointed out to the 'deaf, dumb, and blind' on this Forum about a month ago:

 

1) Ali dismissed a proposal circulated ahead of the London conference that

Somalia be put under a temporary UN or African Union administration

until December 2013. (AFP)

 

2)The mandate of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Institutions expires in August, and the country’s Western backers

are against any further extension.

(AFP)

And what did the 'deaf, dumb, and blind' people say to you?

[Mintid Farayar]

Sayid*Somal;789020 wrote:

And what did the 'deaf, dumb, and blind' people say to you?

I put you in the 'aloof while shaking his head' category, saaxiib. And we're still waiting for the 'abaal' from the Qardho community after hosting a large segment of that society during the bad, old A. Yusuf days in Puntland...

[Mintid Farayar]

Oodweyne,

 

I saw how ill-prepared for the public stage Abdiweli is during his interview with AlJazeera. He's way out of his depth and,just like Ina-Sharmarke, is using the position to burnish his credentials/CV for his eventual return to his Western home. Having said that, 'dad badan buu dhaamaa'.

[NGONGE]

Just found out that the entire conference lasts for just one day! AMAZING!

[Mintid Farayar]

NGONGE;789029 wrote:

Just found out that the entire conference lasts for just one day! AMAZING!

To use your latest term, just goes to show you that it's a 'stitch-up'. The resolutions have already been prepared. This is what worries not only Somalis, but the troop-contributing IGAD countries.

[SayidSomal]

^LOL@ Awaiting Abaal - Horta have you repaid the 'abaal' you owed back in the good old sixties - when Qardho elevated you into Somali premiership of Somali politic league?

 

On serious note - I am against the whole conference on principle - as I honestly believe anything decided outside of somalia by none Somalis can ever be good for Somalis and Somalia.

[Mintid Farayar]

Sayid*Somal;789033 wrote:

^LOL@ Awaiting Abaal

- Horta have you repaid the 'abaal' you owed back in the good old sixties - when Qardho elevated you into Somali premiership of Somali politic league?

 

On serious note - I am against the whole conference on principle - as I honestly believe anything decided outside of somalia by none Somalis can ever be good for Somalis and Somalia.

I thought the '60s alliance was an equal alliance, beneficial to both sides in marginalizing certain trouble-some quarters Agree with you on the second point. But this situation we find ourselves in is facilitated by a radicalized diaspora...