UN Special envoy to Somalia Mr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdalla - Photo: Hiiraan Online
Hiiraan Online
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Ottawa, Canada (HOL) - The United Nation Special envoy to Somalia Mr Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah met with Canadian Foreign Affairs officials in Ottawa, on July 31, 2009. The purpose of Mr. Abdalla’s official visit was to appraise the Canadian officials about the status of the peace process, the significant improvement that the Somali government has made under President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and the challenges facing his government.
This meeting comes on the heels of Mr. Abdallah’s July 29, 2009 address before the UN Security Council where he proposed that the UN take more pro-active role on the Somali issues.
In the Afternoon Mr. Abdalla held a round table discussion with a small group of Somali Community where he also briefed the audience about his recent address to UN Security Council and current situation in Somalia. However, from the proceedings, it was evident that the meeting was stacked with opponents of the UN policy towards Somalia.
Prof. Amina Mire and Prof. Abdiwali M. Ali were particularly critical of the special envoy. Prof. Mire blamed the envoy on several issues including lack of UN's action on illegal dumping of nuclear waste and massive and unreported illegal fishing . On the other hand, Prof. Abdiwali Ali also criticized Mr. Abdallah of gearing the UN resources and efforts to the southern problems and sidelining peaceful regions of Puntland and Somaliland. He further suggested that this is evidenced by the fact that Mr. Abdalla never paid a visit to those regions. Mr. Abdallah deflated this argument and stated that he and his assistant Susannah Price have visited Puntland and Somaliland many times, and he questioned whether Prof. Abdiwali ever visited those regions.
Some of the participants give advice and recomendations to the envoy on how to move forward to the current situation in Somalia.
One participant in the meeting who chose to remain anonymous summed up the mood of the meeting, “The problem with these critics is that they are just armchair cynics. Their only role, sadly, is to blame those who are dirtying their hands to find solution. It is really a shame”, he said.
Another person in the audience asked why the capital city Mogadishu can not be relocated to a more peaceful city. Mr. Abdallah responded the decision is entirely to the Somalis and he has nothing to do with.