Somali PM Calls for Support, Warns of Diaspora Radicalisation

Wednesday, 28 September 2011

Background

Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, Prime Minister of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG), told the United Nations General Assembly, on 24 September 2011, that his country was the ‘first line in the global defences against the plague of terrorism’. Prime Minister Ali spoke of opportunities for progress in Somalia, but also warned that extremists were attempting to radicalise members of the Somali diasporas in Australia, Europe, Canada and the United States.^[1]

Comment

Addressing the sixty-sixth session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Mr Ali called for continued international support to capitalise on the withdrawal of al-Shabaab militia forces from Mogadishu on 6 August. The al-Shabaab withdrawal, after a series of victories by TFG forces, now leaves almost all of the Somali capital in the hands of the TFG. This provides it with an opportunity – the likes of which it has never had before – to implement some form of meaningful governance and the rule of law. The hope is that the gains made can be extended and at least some degree of normality returned.

The Consultative Meeting on Ending the Transition, held successfully in Mogadishu from 4-6 September, endorsed a road map charting the return to a permanent government in August 2012. The TFG has committed itself to the road map; with security, reconciliation and good governance as priorities. This requires the TFG to be able to effectively marshal its meagre resources; to manage the country’s longstanding and complicated clan rivalries; prevent the re-emergence of al-Shabaab or local warlords; and to demonstrate to Mogadishu’s long-suffering citizens, a tangible improvement in their quality of life.

It is no easy task, and one that is made worse by the famine now gripping much of central and southern Somalia, including Mogadishu and its camps of internally displaced persons. According to the UN, nearly half of the Somali population – some 3.7 million people – are now in crisis. The TFG, with UN support, has formed a disaster management agency to harmonise humanitarian efforts. Access to the worst affected areas of the country, which remain under al-Shabaab control, is still very limited. The plight of those in need is unlikely to be addressed by the militia. According to Prime Minister Ali, al-Shabaab has ‘... policies of systematically looting grain stores; forcible recruitment of, and extortion from, farmers and their families; and preventing access to the most affected regions in the south to aid agencies.’

In his UN address, Mr Ali also warned of efforts by al-Shabaab to export its activities, saying that:

‘... al-Shabaab and other groups affiliated with Al-Qaida were now “actively planning to strike further afield,” with al-Shabaab leaders quoted only this week as saying the group wanted to destroy the UN and the United States. “It is also a well-known fact that the al-Shabaab have been focussing their recruitment and radicalisation efforts on Somali diasporas in Australia, Europe, Canada and in the United States.”’^[2]

Although three of the five suspects arrested in association with the 2009 attempted terror attack on Holsworthy Army Barracks, near Sydney, were alleged to have had connections with al-Shabaab, the veracity of Mr Ali’s claims will be difficult to prove.

Leighton G. Luke

Manager

Indian Ocean Research Programme

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