The East African (Nairobi)
ugust 30, 2004
Posted to the web September 1, 2004
Fred Oluoch, Special Correspondent
Nairobi
ONLY DAYS after Djibouti threatened to pull out of the Somali peace talks following the removal of Kenya's former foreign affairs minister Kalonzo Musyoka as head of the negotiations, a faction in the talks is demanding the revocation of some of the 194 MPs who were sworn into the Transitional Federal Parliament on August 22.
The chairman of the Somali National Reconciliation and Reconstruction Conference (SRRC), Hussein Mohamed Farah Aideed, has accused the International Facilitation Committee (IFC) of the Inter-Government Agency for Development (IGAD) of interfering in the selection of MPs, contrary to procedures governing the protracted talks.
Mr Aideed has also accused the frontline states - Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti - of pursuing their own agendas, instead of working for the interests of the Somali people. He claims that 49 MPs who had been listed for selection were struck off the list and replaced with others serving the interests of the various frontline states and the rule stipulating that 12 per cent of seats be set aside for women was ignored.
He has now petitioned Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni - who is the current IGAD chairman - to invalidate their inauguration as MPs.
Mr Aideed told The EastAfrican last week: "We are ready to respect the interests of our neighbours, but the main interest of Somalia is lasting peace based on mutual trust as the only way to ensure future stability."
But Kenya's ambassador to Somalia, Mohammed Affey, disputed Mr Aideed's assertions, arguing that IFC is supposed to facilitate the talks and has no business interfering with the selection. "Kenya has no vested interest other than to see a stable neighbour and government," he said.
Mr Affey said much of the confusion had been created by certain clans providing conflicting lists, but maintained that the IFC would go by the set down rules that require the MPs to be nominated by politicians and endorsed by traditional elders.
Also disputing Mr Aideed's assertion was an official at the UN Political Office for Somalia, who requested anonymity.
"The IFC has been helping a lot in the peace process and any allegations of interference can only come from those who are seeing things not going their way and would like to portray themselves as the victims," he said.
The IFC, which is charged with ensuring that the negotiating parties stick to the laid down rules, comprises ambassadors from Kenya, Uganda, Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
Mr Musyoka's removal as chairman of the Somalia and Sudan peace talks and Aideed's petition, threaten to derail the peace talks at a most crucial stage. The former foreign affairs minister was quietly asked by the Head of the Civil Service, Francis Muthaura, to relinquish his duties a few days prior to the swearing in ceremony held at the UN headquarters in Nairobi. He was replaced by the newly-appointed Minister for East African Co-operation, John Koech.
The departure of Mr Musyoka, who had achieved a good rapport with both the stakeholders and the financiers of the peace talks and continued to mediate despite his transfer to the Ministry of Environment on June 30, almost derailed the swearing in ceremony, with Djibouti at one point threatening to boycott the occasion.
During a visit to Kenya on July 7, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had urged the government to retain Mr Musyoka to ensure continuity.
Nairobi has attempted to play down the controversy sparked by the removal of Mr Musyoka as chair of the peace talks, a move which observers attribute to the simmering war between the National Alliance Party of Kenya and Liberal Democratic Party factions of the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC). The former Foreign Affairs Minister belongs to the LDP wing of the ruling Coalition which has been feuding with the NAK over a memorandum of understanding reached just before the 2002 election that saw Kanu give up power.
His repacement as chair of the talks is being seen as a continuation of the jostling in the coalition that saw him lose the high profile Foreign Affairs docket to the low key ministry of enviroment.
Observers now fear that the change of guard, coupled with the disaffection over the selection of MPs, could delay the conclusion of the peace talks further. According an earlier schedule, a new Somali government ought to have been in place in Mogadishu by July 31.
At the August 22 swearing-in ceremony, some 194 out of the required 275 MPs were sworn in as some of clans are yet to submit their lists because of haggling among various sub-clans.
The successful completion of the talks would be a major achievement for the Kenya government, which has hosted the peace initiative for more than two years.
A fully established parliament will elect a president to set up a new administration in Mogadishu after 13 years without a central government, but the likes of Mr Aideed are now warning that the envisaged Transitional Federal Government might not get broader support if rules and procedures are violated.
According to the formula for seat distribution, the four major clans - the Hawiye, Dir, Darod and Digil/Mirifle - are supposed to produce 61 MPs each chosen from their various sub-clans, while the remaining 14 minority clans are supposed to produce 31 MPs among them.
While IFC members deny the existence of any serious problems, the failure of the peace talks, could have far reaching political, economic and security repercussions for the whole region.
Indeed, observers fear that any delay in the conclusion of the talks will send the wrong signals to some militia groups in Somalia, who have shown little faith in the talks.
As it is, various countries and regions have major stakes in the final peace settlement. For the Western countries, which have been supporting the peace talks financially and morally, the failure could mean a free operation zone for terrorist elements believed to operating from the war-torn country, taking advantage of its lawlessness.
Kenya, which has borne the brunt of the 13 years of instability in Somalia in the form of refugees and insecurity brought about by the proliferation of small arms, would like to see a quick and lasting peace to stem the increasing threat of terrorism. The country has been a victim of terrorist bombings in 1998 and 2002.
Security concerns are also behind Ethiopia's keen interest in the Somali peace talks, given that the country, besides sharing 2000 km border with Somalia, hosts nearly six million people of Somali descent in Zone Five.
In addition, Ethiopia is keen to see a friendly government in place so it can gain access to the port of Mogadishu, having lost the Massawa port with the creation of Eritrea.
Also involved are the interests of a number of countries in the Middle East and North Africa, which have had relations dating back over 100 years with Somalia, which joined the Arab League in 1974.
Countries such as Egypt, Libya, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been funding various development programmes in Somalia for years, and are also keen to see to the installation of a friendly government.