November 21, 2008
NAIROBI: A proposal by Somalia’s president to move reconciliation talks with the Islamist opposition from Djibouti to Libya threatens to cripple peace efforts and undermine the government, observers said yesterday.
President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed suggested on Tuesday that the UN-sponsored talks, which started in May, be moved to Tripoli, highlighting a rift in the transitional government.
UN peace envoy Ahmedou Ould Abdallah did not react but the announcement shocked many who see the talks between the government and Islamist-dominated Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) as the only slim chance of restoring order and stability in Somalia.
ARS leader Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed’s faction has endorsed the Djibouti talks but other senior ARS members oppose the negotiations, and rival factions of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), the main ARS movement, have clashed in recent days.
The hardline Shebab, the former military and youth wing of the ICU, is closing in on the capital Mogadishu and now appears on the brink of completing a conquest of the country.
Prime Minister Nur Hassan Aden, who is feuding with Yusuf over the peace process and formation of a new unity cabinet, sneered at his boss.
“Changing the venue to Libya means destroying the whole peace process. We cannot accept that,” he said.
“The vast majority of the Somali people support the Djibouti deal. Now is the time to support the process and thank those who assisted it, including the government of Djibouti,” Hussein said. “It is unwise to call for a change of venue.
The Djibouti peace talks are at an advanced stage and have produced joint committees tasked with facilitating a lasting political settlement,” said a spokesman for Sheikh Ahmed.
“A ceasefire agreement has already been reached to end the hostilities. Both the ARS and transitional government are ready to face the challenges, the call for a parallel venue can be seen as act of sabotage,” the spokesman said.
Yusuf, a veteran warlord who invited Ethiopian troops into the country to oust the Islamists in 2006, appears increasingly isolated.
On a visit to Tripoli on Tuesday, the Somali president said he had “turned over the file” to Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi and asked him to personally take charge of it. He argued that not enough resources had been allocated by Djibouti for the talks.
But independent Nairobi-based Somali analyst Abdisaid Ali said Yusuf was taking huge risks changing the talks venue now after the government and ARS had pledged their commitment.
“Most of south and central Somalia has been captured by forces that did not support the Djibouti peace deal or the general pacification of Somalia,” said the analyst.
“Now is the time to go forward with peace commitments as signed by both the ARS and the government, a new venue is not a matter of urgency at all,” said a Western diplomat who has followed the talks.
