Title: U.S.
Official Says Somalis Must Want Peace for Help to Be Lasting (Asst. Sec.
Kansteiner appears before Senate panel)
Author: Jim Fisher-Thompson
Date: 20020208
Text:
By Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington File Staff Writer
......
Commenting on help from outside Africa, Kansteiner told the senators:
"Probably the most aggressive [enthusiastic] have been the Italians.
They have gone around quietly saying: 'Should we not build a Friends of
Somalia group?' or something like that. We [the U.S. government]
practically are all ears and are willing to listen to anything" along
those lines.
Senator Feingold also brought up the question of the self-styled
Republic of Somaliland,
a section of the country that has achieved a degree of peace but has yet
to be recognized diplomatically by the United States. He asked: "Given
the relative stability of Somaliland
... doesn't it make sense for the United States to build some relationship
with its authorities?"
Kansteiner responded: "It's probably dangerous to make judgments
on the effectiveness of governing institutions in a place like Somalia,
but Somaliland
seems to have a pretty good grasp of some of the local, traditional
government services. They probably come closer to providing those services
than any of the others [faction-dominated regions]. And their economy is
probably the healthiest. So there is not only a temptation, but I think a
necessity to at least recognize the successes that they have had and to
try to build on them."
In that regard, former U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia and former Special
Coordinator for Somalia David Shinn, a career diplomat, told the panel,
"It is time to think about placing a few Department of State people
in Hargeysa" in Somaliland
because "there is a very low-level American involvement there."
Senator Bill Nelson (Democrat of Florida), a former astronaut,
concluded the hearing by rhapsodizing on the beauty of Somalia, which he
first saw from his space capsule as it orbited the earth. "It was so
rich in its tones of lor seen from outer space," he told the panel.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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Product Name: WASHINGTON FILE
Document Type: Article
Keywords: SOMALIA/POLICY; CONFLICT RESOLUTION;
KANSTEINER, WALTER; DEPARTMENT OF STATE; SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS
COMMITTEE; FEINGOLD, RUSSELL; FOREIGN AID; TERRORISM; 1E; 1C; JFT/SE(FR)/HR
Thematic Codes: 1C ; 1E
Languages: English
Originating Team: 02020801.GAF
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