Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-07-06-Speech-4-218"
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"en.20060706.33.4-218"2
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".
Mr President, Somalia has not had effective government for more than 15 years now. Instead we have seen bitter and tragic civil war between warring factions, Islamic militia and factions controlled by rival war lords.
On 4 June 2006, to the surprise of many, the Islamic Courts militia took control of much of southern Somalia, including the capital Mogadishu – partially destroyed by now – when they drove out the powerful faction leaders who had controlled Mogadishu since 1991, when the central administration was toppled. That has dramatically changed the political landscape in the region and the power shift has left the outside world in an unsure position as to with whom it should or could negotiate and develop a relationship.
What is required from the EU is to recognise what has happened and to support the work to date of the Arab League, for example, which initiated a dialogue in Khartoum on 22 June between the Transitional Federal Government institutions and the Union of Islamic Courts, which controls the south. They have agreed for now not to fight each other and to engage in dialogue for peace and reconciliation.
We must also support the efforts of the African Union to monitor and, if necessary, enforce peace to protect civilians.
The truth is that serious concern exists on a number of levels. The first concern is what to make of the Union of Islamic Courts. Is it a body that can be trusted and a partner for peaceful discussion? I know that the US has recently opened a dialogue with various parties about prospects for confidence-building measures. The other, and more real, concern is that in an effort to achieve stability and an end to violence, strict and fundamentalist Islamic law will be enforced on large populations. That is very worrying and the concern is well founded.
Yesterday’s media reports of a cinema crackdown in Somalia’s Galgadud region, where two people were shot after protests following the closure of a cinema there, are of great concern. Also yesterday, the Islamic Courts vowed to practice Sharia Law throughout the country and, in particular, in Mogadishu.
Sheikh Abdullah, one of the co-founders of the Union, said yesterday: ‘He who does not perform prayer will be considered an infidel and our Sharia Law orders that person to be killed’. That kind of language is inflammatory and dangerous. The EU needs to monitor what is happening carefully and be careful which sides it supports."@en1
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