Somali Islamist leader says US policy on country "limited", based on "ignorance"

 

November 10, 2006

 

 

 

[Presenter] The chairman of the executive council of the Islamic courts, Shaykh Sharif Shaykh Ahmad, has described the consistent US government remarks on the situation in Somalia as a good example of its ignorance about what is going on in the country.

 

Our reporter Yasmin Umar Siyad has the details.

 

[Siyad]: The chairman of the executive council of the Islamic Courts Council, Shaykh Sharif Shaykh Ahmad, contacted by HornAfrik, said there were wrong perceptions believed by the US government with regards to Somalia. He said there were no Al-Qai'dah elements - in any form - inside Somalia and that the changes in Mogadishu were occasioned by the will of the Somali people, whom he said had gone without basic law and order for many years. Owing to the [poor] leadership of the former warlords who had controlled Mogadishu, Shaykh Sharif said the Somali public resorted to an uprising and revolted against the warlords, finally bringing about changes and removing the warlords.

 

Describing USA as the world superpower, capable of helping the Somali reconciliation process and stop other countries from obstructing Somali peace process, Shaykh Sharif said:

 

[Sharif] It [USA] can help a lot if it has the will, because Ethiopia would not send its troops into Somalia if it did not have US permission. So, if they [USA] care about [Somalia] they should put pressure on Meles Zenawi [Ethiopian premier] to pull his troops out of Somalia, so that the talks [with the federal government] could resume without a hitch.

 

We expect that to happen; we are ready for our part, but some of the issues which are obstructing the talks have to be resolved; these include the [pull-out of] Ethiopian troops and that Somalis should not hold talks in foreign countries.

 

[Siyad] The chairman of the executive council also said the US knowledge about what is happening inside Somalia was limited, adding that the US had before backed the former Mogadishu warlords and provided them with funds in order to undermine the Somali peace initiatives. He said the Somali people still have in their memory what the US had done before.

 

[Shaykh Sharif] On US remarks about Somalia, the information it has is very wrong and very limited. The US had never obtained accurate information on Somalia. It is common knowledge that the assistance it had provided to the troublesome warlords in Mogadishu painted a very bad picture on how the US policy has always been wrong and it became the victim [of its policy. [How can] a government that boasts of freedom and justice contact and supply weapons to criminals against the Somali people, urging the warlords to attack as they provide the funding? This is really damaging to the US.

 

Still the US attitude is bent on that very policy. There is no Al-Qai'dah in Somalia. There are Somalis who have come out to restore their security and dignity. If that implies to the US of an Al-Qai'dah presence, then that is a different issue. But this is a Somali state and what is going on is being done by Somalis, so, it would have been good to respect the will and views of the Somali people.

 

[Siyad] The chairman of the executive council also mentioned that the Islamic courts, in all areas under their control, were ready for any form of reconciliation that could lead to fruition which could bring about order and administration based on the Holy Koran.

 

This means that, the Somalis are prepared to be governed by the Koran and that the courts are the only group that had brought about peace in various regions including the capital city, Mogadishu.

 

Source: Radio HornAfrik, Mogadishu, in Somali 0500 gmt 10 Nov 06

 

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