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DATE=10/10/00

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-267706

TITLE=U-N / SOMALIA (L-O)

BYLINE=LISA SCHLEIN

DATELINE=GENEVA

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: The United Nations is appealing to the international community to help Somalia's new government rebuild the country after years of chaos caused by rival warlords. Lisa Schlein in Geneva reports the United Nations has asked donor countries for nearly five-million-dollars in assistance.

TEXT: At a peace conference in Djibouti near the end of August, Somali clan leaders and elders appointed a transitional national government to run the country. In the weeks since then, Somalia has taken other steps on the road to recovery. Last weekend, Ali Khalif Galaydh was named prime minister, making him the first prime minister the country has had since 1991.

But U-N Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Randolph Kent, says Somalia still has many hurdles to overcome. He says the country's peace is very fragile and must be nurtured.

/// KENT ACT ///

If we do not catch the moment, if we do not engage now, if we let this very fragile process go unassisted, we will have missed a tremendous opportunity to see whether or not we can support what the people of Somalia have tried at last to pull together and that is a peace process that is there. We cannot afford not to engage and we have to support this process.

/// END ACT ///

Mr. Kent rejects the suggestion by some members of the international community that aid should be delayed until it is certain that the peace will hold. He says the best way to help Somalia is to extend help now. But he says the aid must be carefully targeted toward the most vulnerable segments of society. He says aid must be given for education and water and sanitation - and for other things the Somali people consider important.

/// 2ND KENT ACT ///

One of their priorities is demobilization, to try and ensure that there will be a lessening of arms, a movement of people from militia and clan factions into some kind of more stable police system. And, that is clearly one priority. A second priority is indeed the whole question of the need of this new administration to have capacity to function.

/// END ACT ///

Mr. Kent says the United Nations is putting together a plan to handle the immediate needs of Somalia. After that, he says the U-N will draw up a broader strategy for the country that will include rehabilitation and developmental assistance. (SIGNED)

NEB/LS/KL/RAE