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Munaa Sabadaha soo Socda

Somalia: Building Stability and Peace

Somalia: Building Stability and Peace

HE Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke Prime Minister of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, Following is the speech made by the Somali Prime Minister, H.E. Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke at Catham House in London. Catham House is the home of the Royal Institute of International Affairs for nearly nine decades. Catham House mission is to be a world-leading source of independent analysis, informed debate and influential ideas on how to build a prosperous and secure world for all.

HE Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke:

Director, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is a privilege to be here to talk to you today. I know that a number of my fellow Ministers have been made very welcome at Chatham House in the past. It is a matter of some comfort that such a place exists where international problems, such as those facing Somalia today, can be aired and discussed.

I must begin by expressing my sincere concern for the British couple who are missing and presumed kidnapped. I have discussed this matter with the Foreign Secretary and I want to give my assurance to the family that my government will do everything it can, within its resources, to find this couple and return them safely.

I am confident that with the consistent level of media coverage given to Somalia, you will be familiar with the backdrop to the problems of my country.

It is very likely that you will have your own perception of our problems and the likelihood of ever solving them.

Well I address you today with one message: this Somali government – my government – is strong, determined and unified; we have a Somali plan for the Somali people and we intend to implement it.

This is why I am here in London this week meeting the Foreign Secretary, and why I shall be going on from here to meet other European leaders. The problems of Somalia have been allowed to perpetuate for long enough, and I must tell you, as I am telling them, that we intend to do something about it.

First, let me take a few moments to update you on the current situation in Somalia generally and in Mogadishu specifically.

The level of violence in Mogadishu is stable – we are being attacked once a day. This is what we mean as stable in Mogadishu. It is hard to gauge the precise number of casualties but good people, Somali heroes in fact, are dying in Mogadishu each week trying to make a difference. Since the radical insurgents have resorted to suicide bombings, the Government have taken time to restructure their forces, and retrain where necessary, in order to flush out radicals in Mogadishu and mount a new offensive in the regions.

People often say that Al Shabab control more regions than the TFG. But their interpretation of ‘control’ is confused and inaccurate. People use a differentyardstick to measure this control. Al Shabab needs only to control through intimidation and fear, whilst the TFG is only considered to be in control when Transcript: HE Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke they are providing services and law and order. With the TFG, people are citizens but with Al Shabab they are tools.

Transitional Governments have come and gone in Somalia over the past 18 years, such is the enormity of the task. But our current President, Sheik Sharif, and his Government are bringing renewed unity to the country. As I have recently written to your Prime Minister, Mr Brown, the TFG has drafted a stabilisation plan that will begin the process of restoring peace to Somalia including Puntland and Somaliland, given support from the international community.

By 2011 the TFG will eradicate Somali piracy through a civil affairs and information campaign backed up by the rule of law and resurrected military and law enforcement capabilities. This demonstration of government potential in the north will help shape the conditions for the military defeat of insurgents in the south by 2012.

Piracy will be eradicated by offering a sustainable business proposition to the pirates and the communities they support, while demonstrating the will and capability to protect Somali waters from foreign exploitation. This ‘carrot’ will be supported by the ‘stick’ of new laws, credible law enforcement and the prospect of incarceration in a Somali prison.

Our plan for defeating the insurgency is not for open discussion but we will succeed by using professional, disciplined Somali forces, trained to respect human rights, mindful of the need to win and maintain the support of the Somali people, versed in Somali history, motivated by patriotic duty and inspired to fight for their country by a vision they can believe in.

The TFG has sought expert international advice in the development of this plan and has grown more unified and more confident through the process.

We firmly believe that our plan is the only chance to eradicate piracy, prevent Somalia from becoming a Jihadi haven and rescuing our long-suffering people and the country they still love.

It has always been necessary for Somalia to demonstrate leadership and commitment to earn the trust and support of the world. I am not here to comment on the past, I am here simply to tell you that this Government is ready to lead the country out of its current dilemma.

The most important thing to appreciate is that we, the Somali people, understand our problems, and we are best placed to determine the manner in which they can be resolved.

Overtly, the twin themes of terrorism and piracy dominate media coverage, and thus the international perception of our country. I suspect Captain Jack Sparrow has a great deal to answer for, but even in the 21st century piracy makes high drama on the high seas, and a news editor’s dream.

I shall return to piracy in a moment, as it is essential to our thinking, but it is the threat of insurgent extremism and the potential for terrorism contained within it, that I shall focus on first.

It is well known in every culture that if governments are weak or fail and leave a leadership vacuum, it will be filled by those with the energy and the desire to take over, no matter their ethics or agenda. In cases where a government concedes power to radical extremist groups who control with lethal violence and intimidation, a rot sets in that can be hard to remove.

This has happened in Somalia, and Al Shabab have been a credible threat to peace and stability throughout Somalia in recent years. As we sit here today, I would describe their position as strong but not invincible.

In the world at this time however, radical Islamic extremism also acts as a cloak for terrorism, and Somalia has now clearly become a haven for the pariah that is Al Qaeda. We cannot be certain of the precise size of their presence in our country, but Al Qaeda are here, they are training and planning in our land. Somalia is serving as an ideal place for them to re-group and redeploy. It is clear that the future of Somalia depends on the defeat of Al-shabab but it is also very clear that our success in this battle is of importance to the whole world.

A radical insurgency with links to Al Qaeda are presenting a real threat to the state of Somalia today and they are starting to spread regionally in the Horn of Africa. Somalia has for decades had internal power struggles, and the most recent insurgency, Al Shabab, is growing in influence, just like the Taliban. It is growing in a climate of economic poverty and lack of governance.

Somalia has had 18 years of failure and another generation of internecine war would destroy the fabric of society. The tribal structures that glue the country together will collapse. Two generations of illiterate children would result, thousands more refugees will inevitably become displaced. Already fragile state institutions will be so shattered that they will take decades more to be resurrected.

The conflict in Somalia risks engulfing the region. Al Shabab is now starting to threaten regional stability. If piracy were to become the funding stream for Al-qaeda, like narcotics is for the Taliban, takeover of the state would be imminent. And Somalia does risk being taken over by Al Qaeda, just as Afghanistan was the haven of Al Qeada was in the 1990s.

Fundamentally, however, we must appreciate that extremism cannot be defeated by guns and missiles alone. Yes, greater security capability is required, but it must come within a holistic regeneration plan. People and communities currently playing host to Al Shabab must see a government making progress, offering a credible alternative and leading the way to peace and prosperity. People must have confidence in the alternative and they must see the government as providing all those civil amenities and services that are currently lacking. An insurgency needs chaos, discontent and poverty and we must take that away.

The restoration of security can succeed only within an effective rehabilitation of the nation’s economy.

If we are going to drive people to do something different, they must be able to see and experience that the alternative is better for them, their families and their communities.

The choice must never be simply between fighting or being dependent on the state; the choice must be between fighting or working. Since the dawn of time, commercial activity and the prospect of an improving standard of living has driven societies forward, and that basic premise is no different in Somalia today.

I said I would return to piracy, and it is appropriate to do so now. If extremism is the dominant problem in Mogadishu and Southern regions, then piracy dominates the Centre and North East. But here I must correct perceptions.

Somali piracy is broadly perceived solely as a criminal activity. It is rarely seen for what it really is – a desperate survival measure and in many coastal communities the only job available and the only viable means of income. I do not condone it, I want it to stop, but I reflect on how humanely they treat the crews caught in the middle, and that 30% of each ransom is used to support the local community. The pirates too are acting to fill a vacuum in government and leadership. They too are responding to the loss and disappearance of their livelihoods. Many of these pirates were once profitable fisherman and would be so again given the chance.

If commerce and reconstruction work can lead people out of extremism in the South, a return to a profitable, healthy fishing industry can lead people out of piracy in the North. I shall not name names, but suffice to say many countries are fishing illegally in Somali waters. We estimate that the value of the fish being taken from our waters is perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars each year. It is wholly unacceptable for these countries, many of whom claim they want to help Somalia, to turn a blind eye to this theft. Particularly when that theft robs thousands of Somali people of a way out of poverty and a way out of piracy and while the payment for international fishing licenses could be enabling my government to rebuild our country. Do you know exactly where your fish come from?

Now ask yourself who is causing the problem of piracy. It is not just Somalia.

We ask you to act to do something about it. Support our claim to a rapid resurrection of our rightful EEZ, stop your fleets from illegal fishing; insist that they buy an international fishing license; condone our right to police our waters; and respect our efforts to manage fishing in our waters sustainably.

I am fully opposed to piracy and I wish to see it end. I am willing to cooperate with the international community and I welcome and thank the unprecedented international naval efforts to curtail the problem. We also welcome the Contact Group report on regional capability development and the initiatives it contains. We understand that there may be reasonable long term solutions in the report, but we wish to see the same sense of urgency we have to tackle the cause of the problem rather than simply the symptom.

The naval cooperation between EU, NATO, Combined Maritime Forces, China, India, Japan, Malaysia and Russia is quite superb and an example of what can be achieved when the international community faces a common threat. It is also a very clear indication of just how important this issue is to the Western world.

We ask the International community to remember that a naval presence off the coast of Somalia is a very expensive commitment and to realise that the cost of this commitment over 3 years is probably ten times as much as is needed to implement our plan for the restoration of peace and stability within the same period.

On every count, it is the Somali people themselves who can and must solve these problems. It is not the UN, the EU, the African Union, the Americans or the British in isolation. It is we, the Somali people who will win back Somalia.

We must take responsibility for this task and we do.

We welcome cooperation with UNPOS, and we want to work more closely with them to integrate our thinking and develop an expedient and sustainable solution that will not entail years of open ended UN resources and commitment.

The TFG have great confidence in our plans for security, stability and justice in Somalia by 2012, but we can only succeed in its implementation with the support of the International community. It is to you that we turn for trust, expertise and investment. We do not wish our people to continue to pose a threat to the world’s most essential trading and shipping route and we most certainly do not want to foster extremism and export terrorism or Al Qaeda fighters to cause fear and mayhem around the world.

Neither do we want to be policed from afar by people too distant from our situation. I assure you that the cost of policing us would be vastly more in the long run than the investment we believe can launch the process of recovery and prosperity.

In my lifetime, Somalia has been a thriving commercial centre with beautiful cities, a strong culture and a sustainable economy – tourists even came to Somalia on holiday! We, the people of Somalia, want that back again. We have a country wealthy in resources and opportunities that can be used to restore peace and prosperity to this troubled land. We have political unity and will and a confident administration ready to face the challenge.

We do not want years of charity. We do not seek donations. We seek investors. People, corporations or governments ready to play a crucial role in the reconstruction of our country and the restoration of a buoyant economy that attracts our people into work, gives them hope and gives them a future.

We expect to give a good return to our investors.

The time to act is now. Each day we do nothing, the insurgency grows stronger, the terrorist threat increases, and the cost of shipping and world trade increases.

The government of our country is unified, determined and strong. We understand our problems and how they impact on the wider world. We appreciate the help and support we are receiving, but now we have a Somali plan for the people of Somalia and we are asking for a short term investment to implement it.

Thank you.

Munaa Sabadaha Kale