Second Somali Diaspora Conference in Washington, DC

Press Release
December 10, 2007

Speakers at the Second Somali Diaspora Conference were (from left) Prof. Ahmed I. Samatar, U.S. Congresssional Advisor Ted Dagne, and Mr. Abdilahi Oday (Photo: Somali Cause)

WASHINGTON DC -- On November 30 & December 1, 2007 approximately two hundred Somali-Americans and Somali-Canadians convened a major conference in the Washington, DC Metro area. The attendees agreed to forge a unified front to free Somalia from occupation and oppression, and to bring a lasting peace and freedom to the Somali people. The attendees agreed to urge all Somalis to:

1. Transcend tribal and regional divisions while embracing national identity and unity as our guiding principles
2. Promote the principle of tolerance, fairness, and that injustice to one is injustice to all
3. Play an active and a positive role in bringing lasting peace to our homeland by joining forces with "Somali Cause"
4. Develop an all-inclusive, competence based system for post liberation governance to avoid the return of warlordism and chaos
5. Increase universal awareness on the plight of the Somali people brought about by the occupation and tyranny.

The attendees agreed to urge the international community, particularly the United Nations, United States Government, European Union, Arab League, African Union, and Organization of Islamic Conference to:

1. Demand the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia
2. Compel the Ethiopian forces and the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to immediately cease shelling civilian areas and to stop denying food aid to the displaced people
3. Replace the Ethiopian troops with forces from Muslim & non-frontline African states, equipped with a clear mandate
4. Provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the over one million internally displaced people (IDP) in Somalia, especially in and around Mogadishu
5. Demand the immediate halt of the rampant human rights abuses, the closing of independent media, and the arrest of journalists
6. Facilitate an all inclusive reconciliation conference in a neutral and safe environment
7. Respect the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia while addressing the legitimate grievances of regions
8. Establish an international criminal court for Somalia to rigorously investigate and prosecute war crimes and human rights violations that have been committed by any party against the civilian population
9. Demand the immediate release of all political prisoners and victims of widespread arbitrary detention.

Somali Cause, a first of its kind of union of Somalis across tribal and regional affiliations, was founded by the following organizations:

1. Alliance for Peace and Development (AFPD), Columbus, OH
2. Baltimore Somali Community, Baltimore, MD
3. Greater Boston Somali Community, Boston, MA
4. Somali American Peace Council (SAPC), Washington DC
5. Somali Canadian Diaspora Alliance (SCDA), Toronto, Canada
6. Somali Diaspora Network (SDN), Fairfax, VA
7. Somali Institute for Peace and Justice (SIPJ), Minneapolis, MN
8. United Somali Diaspora (USD), Minneapolis, MN