DAWLADDA
PUNTLAND EE SOOMAALIYA
PUNTLAND STATE OF SOMALIA
XAFIISKA MADAXWEYNAHA
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
Garowe, March 20,2001
MW/DPS/PRESS-022/2001
To:
H.E. the President of the UN Security Council, New York
H. E. Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, New York. New York.
Cc:
President Omar Al-Bashir of Sudan &
Chairman of IGAD, Khartoum.
President of the European Union, Stockholm, Sweden.
Dr Prodi, President of the European Commission, Brussels, Belgium.
Italian Foreign Ministry & International Cooperation Rome,
Italy.
MISGUIDED ACTIONS OF THE WORLD BODY (UN) and PUNTLAND POSITION
ON PEACE AND NATIONAL RECONCILIATION IN SOMALIA - Update 4
We regretfully understand that the UN
Secretariat General is considering recognizing arbitrarily the Arta Faction (the so-called
TNG) in Mogadishu as the only official and legitimate national government of Somalia. It
is also contemplating to move UN offices from Nairobi to Mogadishu under the guise of
Peace Building Mission for Somalia. Mr. David Stephen, UN Secretary General Representative
to Somalia, and Randolph Kent, UNDP Resident Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator
for Somalia, both of who are presently in New York, are advocating such UN action to be
taken urgently. This is a futile attempt on the part of these two UN officials to prolong
the imminent demise of Arta Faction for inexplicable reasons of their own.
The UN strategy or the action plan is as follows:
1. To
secure the UN recognition of the Arta Faction and, consequently, encouraging UN member
states to follow suit.
- To move UN
principal offices from Nairobi, Puntland and Somaliland to Mogadishu under the excuse of
the proposed UN Peace Mission theory.
- To channel all
funds for humanitarian, relief, rehabilitation and development projects through the Arta
Faction trying to make them the only legitimate entity in Somalia, giving the TNG a major
say in the allocation of such international assistance.
- To undermine
Puntland State of Somalia, Somaliland and RRA regions by punishing them for their
non-cooperation with the Arta Faction, thus, ignoring the reality on the ground in Somalia
that these zones are peaceful and their authorities control large areas.
- To undermine
and obstruct all UN Security Council, OAU and IGAD/IPF resolutions on pursuing the
national process through dialogue and reconciliation.
Such diabolic plan would definitely lead to
renewed conflict and bloodshed in Somalia. It would also be a further proof of the
flagrant UN bias and political favouritism in Somalia’s political zones and
organizations. The UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) and UNDP should be
concentrating, if they were genuine officials of the UN having the interests of the Somali
people at heart, on the current critical issues of national unity, security, economic,
currency and drought crises. Arta Faction/TNG, which is confined in 3 hotels, is a dead
horse and any UN bilateral effort to save it is bound to meet with utter failure.
Puntland State of Somalia, while
reserving the right to protect its security, interests and obligations to national unity
and reconciliation, seizes this opportunity to appeal to the UN Security Council and the
international community as a whole that the United Nations refrain from hasty foreign
imposed decisions on the fate of Somalia. As has been often stated in resolutions of the
UN and other international organizations, Somalis are responsible for finding solutions to
their problems. If left alone politically, the Somalis will eventually resolve their
differences and reconcile. Can
the UN, please, honour its own resolutions in this regard and respectfully leave us in
peace to settle our political problems in our ways.
With the assurance of my highest consideration,
Best Regards
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed
Puntland State President