Ethiopian FM calls for support to fragile Somalia

Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin on Thursday urged the international community and donors to extend towards efforts underway to ensure peace in Somalia through broad-based reconciliation.

Speaking to ambassadors of donor countries and representatives of international donor organizations at a meeting held here, Seyoum said this is a historical and unique opportunity for Somalis to ensure peace and stability in the country, which remained stateless and rocked by instability for many years.

He said it would be inappropriate for the international community to see Somalia to turn into chaos again by ignoring the existing opportunity.

Seyoum said the international community should give necessary support to deploy immediately an African Union peacekeeping force to Somalia.

He said the international community should also encourage other African countries to participate in the deployment of the peacekeeping force, as the number of the peacekeeping force is beyond the capacity of member countries of East Africa's regional body IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development).

Seyoum said the international community should support the efforts of reconciling Somalis by helping rout out their differences and ensure peace and stability in that country on time.

Pointing out that Ethiopia is keen to withdraw its troops immediately, Seyoum said deploying African peacekeeping force is critical.

He said both the president and the prime minister of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia have expressed their readiness to hold reconciliation with clan leaders, members of the business community, elders, women and youth association and moderate members of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), who renounce their ideology.

Seyoum said it was inappropriate to compare the situation in Somalia with that in Iraq.

Ambassadors of donor countries and representatives of international donor organizations who participated in the meeting said they would extend support for efforts underway to ensure peace in Somalia.

According to an Ethiopian Foreign Ministry official, who declined to be named, the ambassadors and representatives said details regarding the number of peacekeeping forces and necessary support required should be made available soon.

Seyoum gave explanation to questions regarding the various short-time activities that the TFG would undertake.

He also said there is a plan to hold regional reconciliation conferences in the Somali capital Mogadishu and its environs in Benadir with the objective of bringing about lasting peace in Somalia.

In late December last year, the UIC was ousted by Ethiopia- backed transitional government forces. The UIC had taken control of much of central and southern Somalia over the past six months, before being routed from the capital Mogadishu and driven south.

Source: Xinhua