International Community asked to be attentive of Eritrea’s destabilising actions in Somalia

7 August 2007

Mulugeta Alemu

The United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Somalia François Lonsény Fall, addressed on 7 August 2007 the National Reconciliation Conference being conducted under the chairmanship of Ali Mahdi Mohamed. He is among a series of other international figures who have attended the conference. This is cited by many as indicative of the increasing endorsement of the domestic process by the international community.

The TFG is taking bold measures against all odds. It has managed to bring thousands of delegates including key-clans and sub-clans to the conference. This includes the Hawiye clan, which in recent past had difficulty working with TFG. It has also provided support and committed itself for the strengthened and autonomous role of the National Governance and Reconciliation Conference. The delegates to the Conference are discussing myriads of relevant issues including terrorism. Some experts following the conference suggest that no where is such a debate on fundamentalist Islam and terrorism is being openly discussed.

There is a renewed call that the international community provide the necessary support and resources to the TFG and its reconciliation process. All concerned should learn from past mistakes where lack of support to TFG immediately following its establishment led to the difficulty in the consolidation of traditional federal institutions in Somalia and the resurgence of the Islamic Union Courts. The recent promise made by French Foreign Affairs Minister, Bernard Kouchner to provide financial and technical assistance to the TFG should be implemented as soon as possible.

The conference has not become what spoilers such as Eritrea has hoped it to be. The recent report of the Independent Expert Group monitoring the UN Arms Embargo to Somalia, published by Mid July, showed that Eritrea is massively providing troops to Somalia. These are the arms that are being used daily to attack AU peace keeping forces and innocent civilians. The Eritrean regime, true to its form and content, has not only encouraged and convinced Somalia detractors not to be a part of the reconciliation process but aims to organize a parallel conference of armed bandits and terrorist in Asmara in September. According to the Eritrea government, the declared aim of the conference is ‘"to form a coalition whose main objective is to end Ethiopia's occupation of Somalia."

Countries such as the US, Britain and Italy and others need to put pressure on Eritrean government. The Statement put up by the British Foreign Office on 27 July 2007 supporting the conference and urging all actors to refrain from violence is encouraging. But these statements and gestures need to go further and address the real cause of the problem, Eritrea’s continuing destabilising role through military shipment.