Meetings with Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi

Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development representatives met today with the Prime Minister of the Somalia Transitional Federal Government (TFG), Ali Mohamed Gedi, as part of our efforts supporting lasting peace and stability in Somalia. We underscored the importance of political accommodation with key Somali stakeholders, emphasizing the expectation that the upcoming National Reconciliation Congress will result in improved representation in the TFG and achieve a roadmap for the remainder of the transitional period leading to national elections in 2009.

We also expressed our concern that recent arrests and detentions of prominent citizens and respected non-governmental organizations in Mogadishu undermine efforts for a national dialogue and political reconciliation, including the general amnesty issued by President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed. We emphasized that efforts undermining this dialogue process or the National Reconciliation Congress are unacceptable, and urged Prime Minister Gedi to ensure the immediate release of individuals currently in detention consistent with the terms of the amnesty, and prevent further harassment of the opposition and the press.