COMMUNIQUE, GAROWE
Date: 20th – 24th October 2018
The 4th Conference of the Council of Inter-State Cooperation (CIC) held in Garowe, the capital city of Puntland State and was attended by four leaders of the Council including the chairman of the council, and the hosting President of Puntland Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas, the President of Jubaland, Mr. Ahmed Mohamed Islan, the President of Galmudug, Mr. Ahmed
Du’ale Gelle and the President of Southwest, Mr. Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden.
The Conference which was held from the 20-24 October, was also attended by other leaders and over 100 delegates representing the respective two (parliament and cabinet) councils member states of the Council.
During the five days of the meeting, the participants had deliberations on many issues with a special focus on security, political and social aspects; and they have at the end put out the following statement:
I. Security Issues
After close assessments, objective analysis and long deliberations on the prevailing security developments and in close scrutiny of the efforts towards the federal member state securities imed at securing the whole country:
1. Since the coming to power of the current government in early 2017, the Council has been consistently presenting recommendations and advices on how to secure the country and save its people, and quite a number of plans and procedures towards that very end were developed. But, unfortunately, and due to lack of vision and genuine intention towards anything security from the FGS side, all those plans have remained to be just plans written on papers. As a result, the security has gotten out of hand and the country is at the brink of Al Shabab take-over.
This has made abundantly clear that the FGS in its current form and behavior cannot be trusted with the security of the country. Therefore, the Council has decided:-
1.1 to create a genuine inter-regional security structure and plans uniting the Federal Member States armies with the main responsibilities, execution and fundings led by the FMSs.
1.2 To establish an “Interstate Security Council” as a mechanism to streamline and execute all security related matters in the territories of participating FMSs.
THE COUNCIL OF INTERSTATE COOPERATION
1.3 To raise and integrate FMSs security forces (darawish) and establish one command and control and task them with liberating the territories from the terrorists.
1.4 To raise 1,000 soldiers to join the integrated forces from each FMS within two (2) months so that they are trained together for smooth, seamless and unified offensive against Al Shabab.
1.5 To create a unified fund for security in order to bankroll the integration, training and operations of the said forces.
1.6 It has also been agreed that the FMSs establish a joint intelligence focal point to share intelligence and information about the enemy.
2. When a Federal Government width genuine Somali vision and clear orientation on security is realized, the Council will handover this integrated forces to join Somali National Army (SNA.)
3. The Council has realized the failure of all plans and structures that they previously agreed with FGS only after the fact that the leadership of the later has consistently opted to not implement them. Therefore, the Council has on this day of October 24th 2018 pulled out of all those abandoned plans.
4. The Council has asked itself some pointed questions – and has failed to come up with satisfactory logical answers as to how the very countries in the international community that are paying blood and treasure for the security of Somalia and her people, are reluctant to become part of finding appropriate solutions to this impasse while it is clear that the country is slipping back to anarchy and into the hands of Al Shabab.
READ THE FULL :COMMUNIQUE- THE COUNCIL OF INTERSTATE COOPERATION
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