Somali Foreign Minister Criticizes Eritrea

Somali Foreign Minister Ali Ahmad Jama urged leaders of the African states who will meet in the Sharm al-Sheikh resort on the Red Sea coast the day after tomorrow to support his country's efforts the secure the deployment of international peacekeeping for Somali Foreign Minister Ali Ahmad Jama urged leaders of the African states who will meet in the Sharm al-Sheikh resort on the Red Sea coast the day after tomorrow to support his country's efforts the secure the deployment of international peacekeeping forces to bring about peace and stability. In statements to Al-Sharq al-Awsat on the sidelines of meetings to prepare for the African Union summit, Jama said: "We hope that the Africans will support the deployment of UN forces and participate in them. Somalia needs urgent Arab and international support at this stage." He accused Eritrea of playing a bad role in the Horn of Africa and funding the Somali opposition. Contrary to expectation, he refrained from leveling any criticism at the Arab League and its member states. Currently, there is argument in many Somali circles whether the Arab League is playing a positive role to end the Somali crisis and whether its secretary general, Amr Musa, is making mediation efforts, like the efforts that he made with regard to the political crisis in Lebanon. Jama said: "I do not want to make a comparison between the developments in Lebanon and Somalia. However, we hope for more Arab support for the peace agreement and contribution to the restoration of security and stability." He added: "We do not want to enter the game of trading accusations. What is important is to focus on the future. Also, it is important for the Arab League member states to intervene and extend more support and backing to their Somali brothers." Jama affirmed to Al-Sharq al-Awsat that people affiliated with the Al-Qa'ida organization are still in Somalia and work to block any attempt to achieve security and stability in the state that has been torn by a grinding civil war since 1991. He added that these people do not want good for Somalia and work to take advantage of the political and security chaos to secure a safe haven in the country. However, he asserted that his government, in cooperation with various world states, seeks to curb what he termed this subversive activity. He said groups that do not want peace and stability to be achieved sought to assassinate Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf and senior government officials more than once. The Somali foreign minister said: "Of course, their goal is well known. They want the chaos to continue and seek to undermine any attempt to achieve stability and national reconciliation. We have lost many Somali personalities who returned from abroad, volunteering to contribute to supporting national action." Earlier,Terrorist AL SHABAAB, which is on the US list of terrorism, claimed responsibility for three assassination attempts, which Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf suffered over the past two weeks. The Somali foreign minister criticized a recent call by Abu-Yahya al-Libi, one of the Al-Qa'ida leaders, on the Somalis to reject the UN-sponsored agreement that was recently signed in Djibouti between the leader of the Somali opposition alliance who is based in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, and the Somali prime minister, Col Nur Hassan Hussein (Adde). The Somali foreign minister said his government is not interested in disagreements within the opposition some leaders of which signed the agreement and others refused to sign. He added: "I do not want to interfere in personal disagreements between the oppositionists. However, we know that the leader of the opposition alliance and the president of the alliance's central committee approved the agreement on behalf of the majority of the alliance. Besides, the majority of the Somali people and most of population of the capital, Mogadishu, support this agreement." Jama noted that this agreement is not a personal matter and that its aim is to achieve reconciliation in Somalia. He said the leader of the opposition alliance, Shaykh Sharif Shaykh Ahmad, took a bold, difficult, and sound decision in the interest of security and stability in Somalia. The Somali foreign minister accused Eritrean President Isaias Afworki of playing a negative role in the Somali crisis. He also accused him of extending financial aid and providing weapons for the opponents of the transitional authority, which Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf has led since 2003. He said: "Eritrea plays a bad role, not only in Somalia, but also in the Horn of Africa. It suddenly created a border problem with Djibouti. We know that the Eritreans supply the opposition with money and weapons, and this fact is mentioned in a recent report by the UN Security Council on the current situation in Somalia."