Somalia Situation Deserves UN attention
Al-Jazeerah has reported that Somali opposition figures,
including leaders from the Islamic Courts Union, have opened a 10-day congress
in Eritrea to call for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia. About
400 delegates gathered for the meeting on Thursday, exactly a week after the
end of a clan reconciliation conference in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.
Sheikh Hassan Aweys, leader of the Islamic Courts, which
briefly controlled most of Somalia before being ousted by Ethiopian-backed
government forces, was present at the gathering. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed,
another of the movement's leaders, was also present.
Sheikh Ahmed said the meeting was "to establish a political
organisation that liberates the country and ends the violence and chaotic
situation"."We call upon Ethiopia to unconditionally withdraw its troops from
Somalia and stop its imperialistic adventure on our territory," he said.He
warned that a prolonged conflict in Somalia would eventually spill over into
neighbouring countries."We remind her [Ethiopia] that the longer the conflict
goes on, the higher the risk it will engulf the whole region," he said."The
United States' foreign policy towards Somalia has been strangely
confrontational. We call upon the United States to play a more positive role in
the Somali conflict."
The US has backed Ethiopia's military operations in Somalia
and toughened its stance towards Eritrea, Ethiopia's neighbour and long-time
enemy, which Ethiopia says has been arming groups in Somalia and elsewhere in
the region.The Islamic Courts had boycotted the earlier clan reconciliation
conference in Mogadishu, arguing that any peace efforts should take place only
after an Ethiopian withdrawal.
.We feel that the the UN and independent press have all
forgotten the tragic Somalia issue.Somalia has faced so much suffering, first
because of military take-over, then by US and Ethiopian intervention, now again
by Ethiopian military intervention.US hardly plays a positive role any where
unless their puppets are involved.We do not see any end to the problem but
still we request the UN to take steps in this regard.
