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Africa News afrol News
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Africa News afrol News
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afrol.com, 16 September - In contrast to the anarchy and civil war that had prevailed in Somalia for the past 10 years, the recent creation of the National Assembly ushered in a new era for peace and stability and constituted the first step of restoring order and central authority in the country, Abdikassim Salad Hassan, the President of Somalia, told the UN General Assembly yesterday. The spontaneous reaction of hundreds of thousands of Somalis, he said, demonstrated vividly that they wanted to leave years of civil war behind and open a new era of peace, tranquility, good governance, restoration of the rule of law and national unity. He called upon the warlords to review their positions, hear the voice of reason and respect the legitimate aspirations of the Somali people to achieve national unity, social and economic development, and durable peace. President Abdikassim Salad Hassan said he was fully prepared to engage in peaceful dialogue with the warlords and those who still remained outside the reconciliation process. The challenges Somalia faced were monumental, said Abdikassim Salad Hassan. There had been large-scale destruction of the physical infrastructure in both urban and rural areas. Children had not gone to school for two decades. The role of the international community to assist in peace building, rehabilitation and reconstruction was of pivotal importance. He reaffirmed unqualified support to the principles of the United Nations and extended his profound appreciation for the commendable role it had played in the efforts to alleviate the plight of the Somali people over the past 10 years. Abdikassim Salad Hassan paid a special tribute to the President of Djibouti for his exceptional role in the recently concluded National Reconciliation Conference, held in Arta. Previous conferences had been based on attempts to reconcile the personal differences between power-seeking faction leaders, he said. The Arta Conference had concentrated on the constructive engagement and interaction of traditional clan elders and sultans, religious leaders and other representatives of the Somali society, leading to the general agreement on the adoption of a Transitional Charter and establishing the National Assembly, which elected the President. In the immediate future, priority areas for his Government would be: restoration of peace, stability and national unity and formation of an effective security force; disarmament of the militias and subsequent rehabilitation and training in all the regions of the country; and maintenance of law and order through the creation of effective law enforcement agencies and professional courts of law. He reaffirmed unqualified support to the principles of the United Nations and pledged to cooperate with relevant regional and subregional organizations. He would promote economic partnership, open borders and common services of ports within the countries of the Horn of Africa. He requested the General Assembly to facilitate the adoption of a resolution under the title “Assistance to the Somali Republic” in the following areas of need: Urgent assistance from member States for rehabilitation and reconstruction; resumption of sustained economic cooperation with the international community in general and with member States of the United Nations in particular; and calling on relevant United Nations agencies and organizations to redouble their efforts in providing financial and material assistance to the people of Somalia. He extended his profound appreciation to the United Nations for the commendable role it had played in the efforts to alleviate the plight of the Somali people in the last 10 years. Source: UN
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