December 2, 2000

Regrettably, some Arab countries have been supplying arms and other military hardware to the Djibouti/UN-installed regime in Mogadishu, under the pretext that the military hardware will be used by the newly constituted police force in Mogadishu to return law and order in the country. We believe that these countries are, perhaps unknowingly, contributing to the re-kindle the civil war again. The Arta (Djibouti/UN) process had installed an illegitimate and unrepresentative ‘government’ in Mogadishu, that has made it clear that it will use all means possible to seek international legitimacy to the Somali Statehood. The Northern Recovery Zone, which Puntland State is part of, did not participate or recognize the Arta Process and therefore view the supply of military and financial support to the Arta faction as a hostile act and a serious threat to Puntland and other peaceful areas of the country. We caution these countries to re-consider their positions vis-à-vis the Somali conflict. We hope our brothers in Sudan, Yemen, Egypt and other neighboring Arab countries will try to establish the facts in Somalia and act in a manner consistent with good neighborliness. We also appeal to the international community to take notice of this new and dangerous development in Somalia.

Puntland is stable, peaceful, self-governing regional State with a well functioning public administration firmly in place. It consists of 5 of the 18 Somalia regions and contains over one-third of the land surface and one-fourth of the population of the Republic of Somalia. The 2-year Old State has democratic constitution, elected State President, Legislative Council and independent Judiciary. Within its limited resources, it undertakes to promote justice, good governance, and to protect human rights and the environment in Puntland.

PSS was the outcome of 8 painful years of quiet deliberations on the failures of all efforts on national reconciliation and the need for local political and administrative structures in Puntland. A series of Consultative and Constitutional Conferences attended by 600 representatives of these 5 regions of Puntland took place over a period of 12 months from October 1997 to August 1998. These representatives from all sectors of Puntland society came together and jointly established, on their free will, the Puntland State of Somalia on 1st August 1998.

PSS is an integral part of the Somali Republic and strongly stands for the preservation of the unity, integrity and sovereignty of Somalia. It urges and appeals to the national and international communities to respect and uphold these fundamental principles. Our regional State has been ready to be one of the first pillars of a National Federal government, which should be all-inclusive, equitable and democratic that is untainted by involvement and influence of former dictatorial regime or extremists.

In Puntland we have succeeded in establishing the basic government institutions, and enacted laws that guarantee the basic human rights and protect the environment. We have succeeded in banning the burning of wood for charcoal production for export, which was widely practiced before my government came to office. We have also banned the export of wild life from areas in my government's jurisdiction. We have removed from Puntland Territorial Waters an estimated 3000 foreign vessels that illegally fished in our waters, or engaged in illegal activities like toxic waste dumping. In the 2 years my government has been in office, we have created a civil service and law enforcement force of nearly seven thousand (7,000) men and women that oversee the smooth functioning of our institutions. We have scheduled an election in mid 2001 when the term of 3-year interim period will end.

Best regards,

Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed