President Hassan on the 1st Anniversary of the Attack on the Banadir Regional Court Complex
President Hassan on the 1st Anniversary of the Attack on the Banadir Regional Court Complex: “12 months on, the fact that these courts and legal offices are working again is a testament to those who died on 14 April, 2013”
Mogadishu, 14 April 2014 – H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, today attended a ceremony to mark the first anniversary of the deaths of Somalii citizens in a terrorist attack on the Banadir Regional Court Complex in Mogadishu. The Chief Justice Eideed Ilka-Hanaf and the Minister of Justice and Constitution Farah Abdulkadir were among government officials attended the event.
Marking the first anniversary of the attack in the now fully rehabilitated and functioning court complex, the President expressed his condolences to the families and colleagues of those who died in the attack. “Let me also express my admiration to you, the families and colleagues of those who died in the attack, for the strength you have shown over a difficult 12 months. 12 months on, the fact that these courts and legal offices are working again is a testament to those who died. Rest assured that, just as you will not forget the fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters who died that day, nor will the people of Somalia forget their sacrifice in the name of justice.”
The President also remembered a second attack on the Sunday, 14th April, 2013, on a Turkish Red Crescent aid convoy. “There are those who seek to attack the institutions of the state like the justice system or our friends in the international community as they try to help Somalia become whole again. I say to them, 12 months on, what have their bloody attacks achieved? The courts still work and our Turkish brothers are still here, providing vital assistance to the people of Somalia and helping to rebuild the country. They have not succeeded and they will not succeed.”
The President continued: “Security is improving all the time and the Somali National Army is increasing in numbers and capability all the time. Towns are being freed every week from the hold of the enemies of Somalia and the free Somalis are feeling the benefits: security, desperately needed assistance like food and medical treatment, and, in the longer term, reconstruction and stability.”