Saturday, August 02, 2008
In a statement issued in Nairobi, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN Special Representative for Somalia, called on all Somalis to work together for peace and reconciliation in their country.
"The authorities should remain focused on peace and I hope to see them shortly. I call on the President, the Speaker, the Prime Minister, and all members of the Parliament to move forward. I also call on the (opposition) ARS (Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia) to continue to encourage reconciliation," Ould-Abdallah said.
The UN envoy's statement came a day after Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf reportedly reinstated Mogadishu Mayor, Mohamed Dheere, who was fired last Wednesday by Prime Minister Nur Husseinover the alleged misuse of public funds and worsening insecurity in the capital.
But Dheere has said he was happy to quit only after his sacking had been endorsed by President Yusuf.
"The Somali people knew there would be challenges on the path to peace and they should not be discouraged," said Ould-Abdallah in the statement.
"As the end of the transition period is less than a year away, I call on the Somali people to remain united and solve their political problems."
Ould-Abdallah said it was unfortunate that this situation came at a time when the parties which signed the Djibouti Agreement have just submitted the names of their participants in the two key committees.
He added that the Joint Security Committee, which is tasked to follow up on the implementation of security arrangements, and the High Level Committee, which will deal with political cooperation, justice and reconciliation, will be holding separately meetings shortly.
"I welcome this important step by the Transitional Federal Government and the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia and their continuing commitment to the Agreement," said Ould-Abdallah.
"We must keep moving forward to ensure the Agreement is fully implemented as soon as possible," the UN envoy said.
The Horn of Africa nation has been rocked by violence with local insurgents launching near-daily attacks on the transitional administration backed by Ethiopian troops.
A roadside bomb killed a Ugandan soldier on Friday. The deceased was a member of a small African Union peacekeeping force based in the bullet-riddled capital. Somalia has not had a functioning central government since 1991.
Source: Xinhua, Aug 02, 2008