US DoS on Somalia Policy... will not recognize SOL

[Amistad]

Africa: Remarks to the Press from UNGA [

http://www.state.gov/p/af/rls/spbr/2010/147922.htm ]"Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:24:26

-0500"

 

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Remarks to the Press from UNGA

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Johnnie Carson

Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African AffairsPhilip J. Crowley

Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Public Affairs New York City

September 24, 2010

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*MR. CROWLEY: *(In progress) one of our regional assistant secretaries here at least

once. There's been many things that you've seen in terms of the work this week on

Africa. Certainly the high-level meeting that's happening on Sudan is an example of

that, and also the Secretary's bilateral today with President Museveni. But there

are a lot of things that you haven't seen in terms of engagement by others,

including Deputy Secretary Steinberg yesterday on Somalia, Assistant Secretary

Carson on a

wide range of issues from Zimbabwe to the Congo to others, so we thought we'd try

to have Johnnie for about 20 minutes just to kind of give you a broad sweep and

then answer your specific questions.

 

*ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON:* P.J., thank you very much, and thank you all for

coming this afternoon. It's a pleasure to see a number of the Washington faces also

migrating up to New York with us at the UNGA.

 

As P.J. says, this has been an important UN session for us because of the

Administration's focus on Africa. Two things that are happening this week that are

critically important: One is our engagement on Somalia, which occurred yesterday;

and the engagement on Sudan, which will happen this afternoon.

 

But over the course of the last several days, Secretary Clinton has, in fact, had a

number of important bilateral meetings, including a very long and productive meeting

yesterday with the South African Foreign Minister Mashabane, who is one of the most

impressive foreign ministers on the continent. She also had a brief meeting with the

president of Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan. And this morning she had a very

productive hour-long meeting with President Museveni. Let me say a little bit

about that meeting, if I could.

 

President Museveni is probably one of the most important leaders in East Africa, and

certainly in the continent. And he has, through his military, provided the backbone

of the AMISOM peacekeeping forces in Somalia. He has probably in excess of 5,000 of

the nearly 8,000 troops on the ground helping to defend the TFG government and

carrying out both a UN and a AU mandate. The Secretary expressed her deep

appreciation to President Museveni for what he is doing in Somalia on behalf of the

AU and

also on behalf of the international community.

 

The Secretary also took the opportunity to indicate to President Museveni that the

U.S. will continue to work with him and his government as he seeks to end the

repressive activities of Joseph Kony and the LRA. As you know, the LRA has been one

of the most ruthless rebel groups in all of Africa, having started its rampage of

terror in Uganda, taking it to Uganda, and taking it from Uganda to Congo and into

the Central Africa Republic. We will continue to work with the Ugandans as they try

to

eliminate the scourge of the LRA, and we will certainly continue to provide them

support and assistance.

 

One of the other big things that we've been working on here is on Somalia and our

Somalia policy. Yesterday afternoon, there was a major meeting on Somalia chaired by

the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. There were approximately four or five heads of

state there, including the prime minister of Ethiopia, the president of Uganda -

President Museveni, and a number of the foreign ministers, including the foreign

minister of France Kouchner, the foreign minister of Italy Frattini, the foreign

minister

of Great Britain, Mr. Hague, and we were represented at that meeting by our Deputy

Secretary of State Jim Steinberg.

 

Mr. Steinberg pointed out to those there that we see the problem in Somalia as a

national problem, a regional problem, and also a global problem. It is a problem

that has metastasized over the last two decades, which has led to a situation where

we now have international piracy, foreign fighters going into Somalia, and some

groups in Somalia supporting remnants of the al-Qaida East Africa cell that was

responsible for the destruction of our embassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi in

August of

1998.

 

It's a regional problem because of the large number of refugees that flow out of

Somalia into neighboring Kenya, an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 move out every year from

that country into Kenya, but refugees going into Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen, and

Djibouti as well; large amounts of illegal arms flowing, large amounts of illegal

commerce. Somalia is a collapsed state with a weak government unable to project

either power or stability or to provide services to its people.

 

The African Union has stepped up and has put troops on the ground, but it does need

additional support in terms of more troop contributing - troop contributors, more

material support, and more monetary support. The U.S. Government has been working

very hard alongside of African governments to gain more men, more materiel, and more

money for this force. At the last African Union meeting approximately six weeks ago

in Kampala, I met with some 13 states and organizations to try to marshal greater

support for our initiatives in Somalia, and we have followed up in Washington with

a meeting of the same groups to try to increase support for any AMISOM effort.

 

We also outlined yesterday in a statement made by Deputy Steinberg what, in fact, is

a two-track policy. We will pursue one track, which is the familiar track of

supporting the Djibouti peace process, the TFG, and the government of Sheik Sharif,

trying to help it become more effective, to make it more inclusive, and to give it

the ability to provide services to its people. And we will also continue to work to

strengthen AMISOM. That is the first track. That's the track that most people are

familiar with.

 

But we will also be pursuing a second track, which we think is also increasingly

important, and that is we will work to engage more actively with the governments of

Puntland and Somaliland. We hope to be able to have more American diplomats and aid

workers going into those countries on an ad hoc basis to meet with government

officials to see how we can help them improve their capacity to provide services to

their people, seeing whether there are development assistance projects that we can

work

with them on. We think that both of these parts of Somalia have been zones of

relative political and civil stability, and we think they will, in fact, be a

bulwark against extremism and radicalism that might emerge from the south.

 

Equally as a part of the second-track strategy, we are going to reach out to groups

in south central Somalia, groups in local governments, clans, and sub-clans that are

opposed to Al-Shabaab, the radical extremist group in the south, but are not allied

formally or directly with the TFG. And we will look for opportunities to work with

these groups to see if we can identify them, find ways of supporting their

development initiatives and activities.

 

Let me stop right there and probably take your questions, which are probably more

central to your thinking than what I'm saying to you.

 

*QUESTION:* Well, actually, what you said about Somaliland and Puntland, at one

point you referred to them as countries. Are you contemplating some kind of a

diplomatic recognition?

 

*ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON:* No, we are not. We believe that we should follow the

African Union position on this. We still recognized only a single Somali state. This

is the position of the Africa Union, which is the most important and largest

continental regional body. We do not contemplate and we are not about to recognize

either of these entities or areas as independent states.

 

*QUESTION:* So what does the greater engagement -

 

*ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON:* The greater engagement can be defined as meeting on a

periodic basis with government officials from these two political entities, talking

to them about development issues, including a range of health, education,

agriculture, water projects that they might want to develop, looking for ways to

strengthen their capacity both to govern and to deliver services to their people. In

the past, we have not engaged these areas and political entities aggressively. We

will now

start to do so.

 

Yes, sir.

 

*QUESTION:* Is that decision - I mean, how does that decision reflect on your

assessment of the TFG's ability to have them get up and running? It sounds like

you're getting sort of a couple of backups ready because you don't think the TFG is

really going to pull it together.

 

*ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON:* We will continue to pursue the first track because it

is an important track. The TFG is the recognized political government of Somalia. It

is recognized by IGAD, which is the subregional organization. It's recognized by the

AU and it's recognized by the UN. Sheik Sharif and the TFG government senior

representatives are here participating in the UNGA.

 

The TFG faces enormous challenges because governing Somalia has been an enormous

challenge over the last two decades. It faces a security challenge from a radical

extremist group called Al-Shabaab. It faces the challenges of living in a very harsh

climate in which rainfall is frequently unpredictable. It is a challenge because of

its location, its history, and its environment.

 

We will continue to work with the TFG and its leadership, and we will work with

other moderate forces and elements in the south who share many of the same values

and principles of the TFG even though they may not be directly allied with it.

 

*QUESTION:* I mean, do you anticipate setting up some kind of permanent offices in

Somaliland, Puntland, or Hargeisa, or wherever?

 

*ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON:* No, we do not anticipate setting up any new diplomatic

facilities in all of those - in any of those areas. But I must say that we were very

pleased with the announcement yesterday at the meeting on Somalia that the UN is

going to begin to staff on a regular basis its offices in Mogadishu. We think that's

a positive development to have UN staff there (inaudible).

 

*QUESTION:* (Inaudible) Somaliland or Puntland in terms of specific projects, money

that --

 

*ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON:* No, but we did have both embassy and AID officers in

Hargeisa approximately four weeks ago. They had some very useful and exploratory

meetings with the government there. We hope that we will be able to have, on a

regular basis, opportunities to exchange views with government officials and to look

for areas where we can provide development assistance and to help them stabilize and

improve the economic and social conditions in their country.

 

*QUESTION:* Okay. Just to - this is run out of Nairobi?

 

*ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON:* This is run out of Nairobi. Our operations for

Somalia, all of Somalia, are based in Nairobi.

 

*QUESTION:* One more about AMISOM. The Ugandans were quoted again and the military

chief of staff was quoted recently as saying that they're ready to send up to 10,000

additional troops but they're awaiting U.S. funding to get that going. Given the

troop deficit you've frequently mentioned, is the U.S. to fund this? Is that a plan,

and when is that money going to happen?

 

And secondly, on AMISOM, there's a discussion about whether or not they should - the

forces there should be going on a more - taking a more aggressive stance and

actually going after the rebels. What's the U.S. position on that?

 

*ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON:* First of all, the U.S. Government has been one of the

largest supporters of the AMISOM peacekeeping effort. We support the AMISOM

peacekeeping effort because it grows out of an African desire to support the

Djibouti process, the TFG, and the current TFG leadership. We also endorse and

support the efforts of the IGAD and the AU to expand the number of AMISOM

peacekeepers. The United States will continue to make contributions to the AMISOM

force based on our ability

to win the appropriate congressional support for funding of that operation. We will

not take responsibility for paying for all of the additional troops that go in

there. We think that obligation should be shared broadly by the international

community. As I said earlier, we believe that the problem in Somalia is both a

regional and a global problem and, in fact, should be shared globally.

 

Let me just point out again the fact that over the last three years, we have seen an

enormous upsurge in the hijacking of ships passing through the Red Sea and the upper

northwestern corner of the Indian Ocean. When that happens, it has an impact not

just on the states in the region, but it has an impact on the global community as a

whole.

 

Yesterday afternoon, I had a conversation with my counterpart in the Japanese

Government, and we talked about how the situation in Somalia directly impacts Japan.

Any products that are moving from Japan or from Asia to Europe, or vice versa, from

Europe, Germany or England and the Netherlands around to Asia, comes out and around

through the Mediterranean and through the Suez Canal, down to the Red Sea, and

around.

 

When ships are subject to hijacking, it has three or four negative global impacts.

First, it raises substantially the cost of international insurance. Second, it can,

if the countries believe it too dangerous to go through the Suez Canal and down to

the Red Sea, extend the journey, the movement of products from Europe to Asia, or

Asia to Europe, by as much as a week after they go around the Cape of Good Hope. And

thirdly, it increases the cost of not only insurance and potentially time, but it

also costs those countries that are contributing naval forces to prevent piracy -

it costs them enormous amounts to fund the naval operations out here. So the impact

is global.

 

We are encouraging countries not only in Europe and Africa, but the Middle East and

Asia, to recognize the negative impact that Somalia has on the global community as

much as it has on Africa. African countries take a disproportionate burden for

handling of the Somali pirates.

 

I also would point out that the - still the second largest source of income for a

country like Egypt is the use of the Suez Canal. When traffic is diverted because of

problems in the Red Sea, it costs them money as well. So it's a major problem, not

just a problem for Africa.

 

*MODERATOR:* This has to be the last one, because I'm getting the staff scared that

Johnnie is paying for our lunch.

 

*QUESTION:* In the context of your meeting with your Japanese counterpart, did you

discuss any possible joint projects or new solutions to this problem?

 

*ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON:* I certainly encouraged the Japanese Government to

think about financial contributions to help defer the cost of countries in the

region to handling pirates. States like Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritius, the Seychelles

incur an enormous amount when they take pirates, have to prosecute them and jail

them. Assisting them financially in doing that was one of the issues I discussed.

 

I also encouraged them to think about making monetary contributions that can be used

and directed towards AMISOM and directed towards supporting the TFG in its ability

to deliver services. I also asked them to think about and consider providing the

military equipment that could be used by AMISOM. This is something that we are

encouraging a number of states in Europe, the Middle East, and in Asia to look at.

It's important that countries in - who are part of the Arab League participate in

this as

well. We've seen the hijacking of some supertankers from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia

could be of great assistance in this. It is a close neighbor to Somalia and it is

impacted by what happens in Somalia. They too could make substantial financial and

material contributions to this.

 

So when President Museveni says Africa and Uganda are prepared to put in troops,

that's their part of this international contribution. It is important that European,

Middle Eastern, and Asian states find a way to make a contribution as well through

material support or through monetary support. That's what I think President Museveni

was saying, and it's a point that we believe is important to stress as well.

Africans are prepared to play their role; it's important for others to do so as

well.

 

*MR. CROWLEY:* Thank you.

 

*QUESTION:* P.J., what's the latest on the settlements?

 

*MR. CROWLEY:* I have nothing to add to what I said last night. (Laughter.)

 

*QUESTION:* Thank you.

 

*ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON:* Okay, take care.

 

*MR. CROWLEY:* Thanks, Johnnie.

 

*QUESTION:* P.J., EAP in Washington is telling us to ask you for any statement on

the release of the Chinese captain by the Japanese. They keep deferring us back up

here to you. They say, "P.J. will have something to say on it."

 

*MR. CROWLEY:* Well, as we had stated yesterday, we were concerned that this was an

issue that had the potential to escalate. I think Jeff Bader yesterday talked about

the strong nationalist fervor that had been generated both on the Chinese side and

the Japanese side, so we are gratified that the situation has been resolved. It was

something that the Japanese Government assured us that would be done within

accordance of their legal process and international law. This was a Japanese

decision to

make, and we're just hopeful that with the release of the ship captain, tensions

will recede and the countries in the region will get back to normal business.

 

*QUESTION:* Thank you.

 

*QUESTION:* Just one Japanese question. Is this - I mean, maybe that Prime Minister

Kan's - his new cabinet is criticized by the other side, opposite side of the party

- I mean the - this compromise means that Japan lost diplomatic - diplomatically

with the Chinese - I mean this kind of chicken game, people (inaudible) chicken

game. Don't you think that this kind of criticizing (inaudible)?

 

*MR. CROWLEY:* I mean, as we - we think this is a proper outcome. And we had

discussed this with the Japanese. It came up, as we said, in the meeting that the

Secretary had with Foreign Minister Maehara yesterday. We had some low-level -

lower-level conversations with the Chinese as well, and we sensed that there was a

desire on both sides to resolve this soon. We think this is the right decision. It's

how mature states resolve these things through diplomacy . And we think this is in

the

interest of the two countries and the interest of the region. Obviously, there are

some underlying issues that have been triggered by this episode. The United States

continues to support freedom of navigation in the region, and we will continue to

emphasize that. Obviously, we have an important meeting that'll be going on today

involving the ASEAN countries and you'll be seeing a communique that comes out of

that meeting.

 

*QUESTION:* Regarding to the Clinton and Maehara discussion, was there any

indication from the Japanese side of this possibility to release him?

 

*MR. CROWLEY:* This is a decision for - that Japan has made, and I'll defer to the

Japanese Government to explain its reasoning. But obviously, we believe that this

will significantly reduce the existing tension. We think it was a proper decision

for Japan to make.

 

*QUESTION:* Thank you.

 

*MR. CROWLEY:* Thank you.

 

PRN: 2010/1344

 

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