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DAWLADDA PUNTLAND EE SOOMAALIYA PUNTLAND STATE OF SOMALIA

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Garowe, June 25, 2000

To:

H.E. Ismail Omar Guelleh - President of the Republic of Djibouti -Djibouti

IGAD Heads of State and Government

UN Secretary General - New York, NY.

League of Arab States

Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) 

 European Union Heads of State and Government - Brussels

We believe the direction the Somali Peace Process in Arta (Djibouti) is taking, has put the process and the outcome of the conference in a collision course with Puntland and other areas in the Recovery Zones. We believe that the net result of the whole peace process may be to destabilize and rekindle the civil war in the only truly peaceful parts of country - the Recovery Zones of the North and the Bay area.

Puntland State has been established in 1998, and consists of five of the 18 regions that made the Somali Republic. Puntland has the stated policy that it "does not believe in any form of secession or break-up of the Somali Nation" and that "unity, integrity and sovereignty of Somalia is inviolable". This fundamental principle of unity of the Somali territories is a noble stand the majority of the Somali people support.

Since its creation Puntland has been working hard to bring together other Somali groups to form administrations based on grassroots participation and build up the institutions of the society. In Aug 99 we succeeded to form the Somali Peace Alliance (SPA) in which several main groups participated.

In Puntland we have succeeded in establishing the basic government institutions, and enacted laws that guarantee the basic human rights and protect the environment. We have succeeded in banning the burning of wood for charcoal production for export, which was widely practiced before my government came to office. We have also banned the export of wild life from areas in my government's jurisdiction. We have removed from Puntland Territorial Waters an estimated 3000 foreign vessels that illegally fished in our waters, or engaged in illegal activities like toxic waste dumping. In fewer 2 years we have created a civil service and law enforcement force of nearly seven thousand (7,000) men and women that oversee the smooth functioning of our institutions. We have scheduled an election in mid 2001 when the term of 3-year interim period will end.

The reality today is that, Puntland has been laying the corner stone for the reconstitution of the Somali nation, and the International Community has acknowledged our efforts, and here are some of the prominent examples:

The General Secretary's Mr. Kofi Anan concern with the lack of government in Somalia observed in his Report - GENERAL S/1999/882 16 August - that," As a country without a national government, Somalia remains unique," but acknowledged the, " fact that administrations in some parts of the country, notably in north-western Somalia ("Somaliland") and north-east Somalia ("Puntland"), have begun to provide some basic services to their people".

H.E. the President of the Republic of Djibouti Mr. Ismail Omar Guelle at the 54th session of UN General Assembly on 22nd Sept 99 stated that, " … indeed it (Somalia) is evolving into a country of stark contrasts between the troubled central and southern regions and the relatively stable and peaceful north, namely the self-declared Somaliland and the Puntland region". He also suggested that, " this move toward decentralization or self-administration by many parts and communities of the country is fueled by the need to survive. The international community, therefore, need to support economically these regions or communities that have achieved relative peace, security and development. We must reward those who have made serious efforts to restore security and peace to protect human rights."

The Declaration of the 7^th IGAD Summit of Heads of States and Government in November 1999 stated that, " The Heads of State and Government reiterated that those in Somalia who have so far sought to promote peace in their respective regions by encouraging the participation of Civil Society such as "Somaliland" later "Puntland" and more recently the region of Bay and Bakool and others, need the encouragement of the countries of the Sub-region and of the international community in general. They stressed the need for the international community to be forthcoming in providing assistance to make the peace dividend approach viable and to promote reconstruction effort underway in the various parts of the country

What we have seen, so far, from the Djibouti Conference is a reversal of the positions and intentions of the World Community as explained in the three examples we have quoted above.

The much-advertised "civil society" has been backtracked on as well. The avant-garde of the delegates appointed by the Djibouti consists of the people who held high portfolios in the late dictatorial regime toppled by popular uprising, which paved the way for the civil war.

These people who are good reminders of the excesses committed by the dictatorial regime are at the forefront of this Djibouti talks and are the likely candidates to hold the highest positions in the future Somalia government. Is Djibouti going to tell the world that these are the new civil society groups, which makes this conference different from its twelve predecessors?

Djibouti government reiterated many a time that she provides the venue and plays a role of a facilitator and the Somalis would have the deliberations and the final decision. The reality, however, turned to be otherwise. Djibouti started meddling in every phase of the deliberations, taking decision unilaterally, dictating and imposing its own agendas, and even intimidating those delegates who decry the manipulation.

Puntland worked with the Djibouti government in the initial stages of the process with the explicit understanding that the process will aim the reinforcement of the "building Block" and peace dividend approach where clearly the Recovery Zones in the North would be the corner blocks on which the rest of the country would be pulled up to reconstitute the nation again.

Djibouti Government has deviated from the intentions of the Peace Process. We tried to advice Djibouti many times to correct the situation, an advice Djibouti, unfortunately, decided to ignore.

It is now possible that the net result of Djibouti Peace Process would be a destabilization of the Recovery Zones in the North without really achieving peace and governance in the South.

The International Community - UN, OAU, the Arab League and other regional organizations should seriously examine the direction the Djibouti Peace Process is going. The Conference should not be allowed to continue in its present form. We also urge the international community to examine the facts on the ground in the country, and not to be misled by the seemingly rosy statements the Djibouti officials are making about the conference. A fact-finding mission(s) by the international community may be in order here. My government will be glad to receive such a mission in Puntland.

We appeal to the international community:

• To put pressure on Djibouti not to rekindle the subsiding flames of civil war in Somalia with its biased and undemocratic meddling in the Somali civil war;
• To refrain from giving any recognition and support to any outcome of Djibouti's mishandled plan which will only prolong the civil war and the anarchy still prevailing in some parts of Somalia.
• To recognize the fact that Djibouti has become a partisan in the Somalia's clan-based civil war;
• To safeguard the legitimate rights of the oases of stability in Somalia's chaotic situation, like Puntland; and to help Puntland convene a genuine Somali Reconciliation towards which Puntland has been working hard.

Your Excellencies,

Puntland would like to pick up this opportunity and express its thank and appreciation to the international community, the UN, the EU, the Arab League, the OAU, IGAD, OIC, NGOs and all those who expressed their sympathy to the Somali situation or relieved the suffering of the Somali people.

I thank you very much,

(Signed )

Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed

The President of the Puntland State of Somalia