27 March 2001
Amman, Jordan — Somali President Abdelkassim Salat Hassan on Tuesday officially accused Ethiopia of sabotaging his country's reconciliation efforts with the intention of overthrowing his government.
"Somalia is faced with direct and indirect aggression by its neighbour Ethiopia with the view of overthrowing the government and dividing the country into cantons," the Somali President told the opening session of the two-day Arab League summit in Amman. He accused Addis Ababa of planning to unleash a new war in the Horn of Africa.
Hassan appealed to Arab leaders to intervene and convince Ethiopia to end its interference and "stop its aggression" against the Somali people.
He told the summit that his government had managed to promote reconciliation with two factions, which had joined it, and were taking part in national recovery efforts. But he conceded that some foreign-backed armed groups still existed and were causing havoc in Somalia.
"The government avoids all forms of confrontation with them and has continued with efforts aimed at bringing them to the negotiating table," he added.
Hassan said that his country was facing numerous other problems, particularly those related to the collapse of the economic fabric and the financial system following ten years of civil war and foreign interference.
He appealed to the summit to launch an Arab reconstruction programme to assist Somalia, which has an enormous potential for agricultural, livestock and fisheries development, provided funds were available.
"This is why I am appealing to Arab businessmen and investors to come and invest in Somalia," he said.
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