Foreign Relations Forum |
An Open Letter to:
Hon Henry Bellingham
Minister for Africa
Foreign & Commonwealth Office,
King Charles Street,
London.
SW1A 2AH
Subject: The London conference on Somalia
(23 February 2012)
Hon Minister:
We the Forum for Foreign Relations of the recently established Khaatumo State of Somalia, based on the northern regions of Sool, Sanaag and Cayn regions (SSC) in NW Somalia (former British Somaliland) would like from the outset to thank you, and, through you, the British Government for organising this conference. We are already indebted to Great Britain for its unrivalled generosity to the Somali people since the collapse of the Somali State. Today, Britain hosts the largest Somali diaspora anywhere in the world whose remittances are the only source of income for tens of thousands of Somalis who would otherwise have perished. We hope that Britain's initiative to hold this conference, even if belated, may all the same be the one that finally finds a solution for Somalia's long-drawn out political and security problems.
We the Forum for Foreign Relations of the recently established Khaatumo State of Somalia, based on the northern regions of Sool, Sanaag and Cayn regions (SSC) in NW Somalia (former British Somaliland) would like from the outset to thank you, and, through you, the British Government for organising this conference. We are already indebted to Great Britain for its unrivalled generosity to the Somali people since the collapse of the Somali State. Today, Britain hosts the largest Somali diaspora anywhere in the world whose remittances are the only source of income for tens of thousands of Somalis who would otherwise have perished. We hope that Britain's initiative to hold this conference, even if belated, may all the same be the one that finally finds a solution for Somalia's long-drawn out political and security problems.
Turning to the London conference, we consider the topics selected for the conference as ones that strike a deep chord with most Somalis who care about their country. While some issues are of particular importance for the outside world, such as those relating to security, terrorism and piracy, others, such as the political process and local stability, are of greater interest to us as Somalis (and no less to the international community) since they are the bedrock on which rests the emergence of a functioning national government or regional authorities that could shoulder their respective responsibilities for security, terrorism, piracy, etc.Continued
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