Vision for Somalia: 2016 and beyond
Press Release
Washington, DC- April 23, 2015– In August 2016, both the term of the current government and the mandate of all federal institutions of Somalia are scheduled to come to an end. As Gurmad—a movement made of Somalis in the diaspora and homeland—we affirm our resolute commitment to ensure that the political process and roadmap to transition into 2016 is Somali-owned.
This, needless to say, could only happen by preventing the absolute control and monopoly over the political decision-making by a few Somali political figures or foreign actors.
“Currently, Somalia is entangled in a web of domestic and foreign political strings, ropes and shackles. Before we can disentangle them, we must have a viable strategy. We must also place Somali-owned reconciliation and the preservation of institutions on top of our priority list,” said Abukar Arman, former Somalia Special Envoy to the U.S. and one of Gurmad’s founding members.
Somalia urgently needs national debate on the constitutional and legislative options and models of change for a sustainable political transition.
We are scheduled to hold our 1st press conference on Friday April 24, 2015 at 2:00 pm [The National Press Club 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor Washington, DC 20045 Zenger Room]
