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Press Statement from the Office of Spokesperson, on the OIC position
on Somalia. |
| The Ethiopian government welcomes the references to Somalia in the final communique of the 11th Summit conference of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, issued in Dakar, Senegal, last night. Earlier, the text of a prepared speech by the General Secretary made a number of irresponsible remarks about Somalia and the role of Ethiopian troops there. The offensive text was not in fact delivered, but an original draft of the final communique replicated similarly inaccurate and offensive language. Following presentations by the Foreign Minister of Somalia and by the Senegal chair, the references to Somalia were, however, brought into line with African Union views on Somalia, providing a more accurate appreciation of the situation there. The final communique’s relevant paragraph reads: “(32) The Conference reaffirmed its respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and unity of Somalia, consistent with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. It called upon OIC Member States to consider providing troops and other forms of assistance for the future deployment of the UN Peacekeeping Forces in Somalia in order to support peace and stability in the country. In the meantime, the Conference called upon the international community to provide logistical, financial, technical and other support to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). It expressed Support for the reconciliation efforts of the Transitional Federal Government through the special representative of the Secretary General for Somalia, Mr. Ahmadou Ould-Abdallah, and called upon the Somali government and opposition as well as the international community to support the ongoing reconciliation process in order to bring lasting peace and security to Somalia. The Conference strongly condemned all terrorist activities in Somalia, including the rising trend of suicide attacks and targeted assassinations.” While there is a need to find out the source of the original misrepresentations about Somalia, and this attempt to insert provocative elements into the decisions of the conference, the Ethiopian Government welcomes the final communique and the current position of the OIC on Somalia.
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