Without global support, Somalia will fall to opposition – top UN political official

Security Council considers situation in Somalia9 July 2009 – If the international community allows Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) – forged in a process of consensus – to fail, the poverty-stricken Horn of Africa nation will be taken over by opposition groups employing tactics of coercion and intimidation, the top United Nations political official cautioned today. Last year’s UN-facilitated Djibouti Agreement ended the conflict between the TFG and the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia, with President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed taking office in January and a new Government being formed in February.
“The choice before us is a stark one: either we help the Somali people overcome the current attempt to thwart efforts towards peace or we allow the new unity Government based on consensus and the Djibouti Accords to fall to a radical armed opposition,” B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, told an open meeting of the Security Council.
The TFG is being challenged by insurgent forces, backed by foreign fighters, but “strives to maintain cohesion despite the obvious difficulties faced by any government of national unity,” he said. It is reaching out, he noted, to opposition forces and working to broaden its support among community, religious and civil society leaders, while trying to project a moderate vision of Islam in line with Somali culture. In contrast, the rebel Al Shabaab has been assassinating clan leaders and Government officials, doling out harsh punishments for minor offenses, Mr. Pascoe said.
He also called for nations to honour the pledges made in April at a donors’ conference in Brussels for both the Government and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), emphasizing that it is in the world’s interest to ensure that the TFG does not collapse. “To enable the Government to enhance its legitimacy and broaden its base, we must invest in building the security institutions and improve its capacity to deliver public services and employment, which would have a positive impact on the hearts and minds of ordinary Somalis,” the official said...more..http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=31426&Cr=somali&Cr1=