Somalia
Arms Embargo
Suspended 1
Year,
Journalist
Jailed For
Rape Victim
Talk
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
March 6 --
After the UN
Security
Council voted
Wednesday to
suspend parts
of its Somalia
arms embargo
for a year,
Inner City
Press asked UK
Ambassador
Mark Lyall
Grant about
criticism from
Amnesty
International
and, in the
Council's open
meeting, from
Guatemala.
(Inner City
Press put
the resolution
online, here.)
Lyall
Grant first
said that the
attempt was to
bridge the
difference
between these
critics and
those who
wanted to do
away with the
arms
embargo
altogether.
He gave
examples of
safeguards,
ranging from
Somalia giving
“advance
notice” of
arms purchases
to reporting
twice a year
on the
restructuring
of its
security
forces. He
cited
the Somali
government as
requesting the
end of the
arms embargo.
Inner
City Press
asked about
Somalia
jailing
journalist
Abdiaziz
Abdinuur
for
interviewing
the victim of
a rape by the
Somali
security
forces. Lyall
Grant replied
that the UK
had condemned
this, but he
saw no
connection to
the
resolution. He
said there are
many
challenges to
be
addressed in
Somalia --
apparently
including the
jailing of
journalists
for doing
their job --
but overall,
the government
has
restored
sovereignty.
In
a quote that
the Somalia
Permanent
Representative
told Inner
City
Press he
particularly
liked, Lyall
Grant said the
resolution is
a
step away from
the
“international
trusteeship”
of Somalia.
“Let's hope
they follow up
on that,”
Somalia's PR
told Inner
City
Press. But
what about
journalist
Abdiaziz
Abdinuur?
Watch this
site.
Footnote:
after the
session, Inner
City Press
asked Lyall
Grant about
the Kenyan
naval
component of
AMISOM. He
said that much
of it had been
reembursed,
but that now
the Somalia
government
does not want
a naval
component. Ah,
African
Union...
, 
