Addis Ababa
03 February 2009
African Union soldiers in Mogadishu, Somalia (file photo) |
U.N. Special Representative Ahmedou Ould Abdallh says he does not know the exact details of Monday's incident in Mogadishu. He is in Addis Ababa, where he is accompanying Somalia's new president Sheikh Sharif Sheik Ahmed on his triumphal debut at the African Union summit.
But in a VOA interview, he suggested the report of a massacre by AU peacekeepers was contrived. He called it part of a media war to discredit peace efforts in Somalia, and compared it to the radio station Mille Collines, which incited the Rwandan genocide a generation ago.
"What happened is to divert attention from what is going on here, and as usual to use the media to repeat Radio Mille Colline, to repeat the genocide in Rwanda," said Abdallh. "We had a good election. The president had a good welcome. He is trying to work closely with the region."
AU officials in Addis Ababa declined to comment on news reports that AU AMISOM peacekeepers had fired on civilians in Mogadishu, killing many. They asked for more time to investigate.
AU President Jean Ping (File) |
U.N. envoy Ould Abdallah noted that few international news agencies actually have reporters in Somalia, but base their stories on information supplied by Somali journalists there. He charged most of the journalists have been compromised through threats and intimidation, and called for a moratorium on second-hand reporting about events in Somalia.
"There is a need to have a truce, one month truce in reporting on Somalia," he said. "There is a need to double check the sources with your correspondent. Because they live under tremendous pressure. I am sure they are professionals. They would like to help their country. But the time has come for one month truce on reporting till there is double, triple checking, because Somalia is exceptional. We have to have exceptional checking of the news."
Somalia's newly elected president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed arrives at the UN compound in Addis Ababa for consultations, 01 Feb 2009 |
"We would like to assure our full cooperation with the international community to do away with piracy, which has really damaged the Somalis more than anyone else," he said. "Yet we believe the solution is on the territory and not on the sea. And the Somali forces will carry out this job."
Mr. Sharif has also held bilateral meetings with several other African heads of state, and met with regional and international leaders to discuss a concerted effort to rebuild Somalia, which has been without an effective government since dictator Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991.