Somalia's transitional parliament sworn in

NAIROBI, Aug. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Members of Somalia's Transitional National Assembly were sworn in on Sunday in Kenyan capital Nairobi, paving the way for an end to the decade-old anarchy and factional violence in the Horn of Africa nation.

Over 200 members of the new parliament read their oath at the United Nations headquarters in Nairobi, witnessed by international mediators.

"Today is an historic occasion, an occasion which I believe will assure in a lot of hope for people of Somalia in peace and tranquillity," said Kenya's Regional Cooperation Minister John Koeck, head of a regional mediation team for Somalia.

"The light at the end of the tunnel which we have been going through is not that far from us," said Kenyan diplomat Bethuel Kiplagat, chief mediator at the talks, "that we will keep going inorder to build a new, united, strong, and peaceful Somalia, and this is the beginning of the end of a very important stage."

Each of Somalia's four major clans was allocated 61 seats in the proposed 275-member parliament, while an alliance of minority clans would have 31 MPs.

The inauguration of new transitional parliament has been postponed several times because of clan disagreements over how to share the seats.

Besides, the delay of the peace and reconciliation talks was also caused by the deficit, which prevented the delegates at timesfrom using the facilities in the talks venue until the debts are paid.

Yet after the swearing-in ceremony, there are still a few members to be elected in two weeks due to contentious issue withinthe major clans.

A speaker and two deputy speakers will be elected later from among the parliamentarians to preside over the election of the president, who will in turn appoint a prime minister mandated to form a government.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan sent a statement to the swearing-in ceremony, congratulating the new parliament and pledging UN's support for the Somali peace process.

Annan said the new parliament is the "beginning of a long-awaited reconciliation process" in Somalia and the process would get "utmost support" from the United Nations.

The UN chief, however, noted that the new parliament still faces challenges in electing a national president and "realizationof a governance structure for the country."

Somalia has been in chaos and without an effective central government since warlords toppled military ruler Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991. A transitional government formed in 2000 never extended its influence beyond the capital Mogadishu.

African and international mediators helped steer the peace process in Somalia.

However, the inauguration of the Transitional National Federal Assembly, had been put off three times since July 31 because of inter-clan disputes.

In January Somalia's warlords and traditional leaders endorsed a charter for a transitional government as almost two years of negotiations in Kenya to end fighting in the Horn of Africa nationentered their final stage.

Based on a clan system, the transitional parliament will have afive-year term.

Annan commends the efforts made by the Inter-Governmantal Authority on Development, a regional conflict resolving body that played a key role in the Somali peace process.

The IGAD-sponsored Somali National Reconciliation Conference began in October 2002 in the western Kenyan town of Eldoret, and was moved to Nairobi in February 2003.

IGAD groups Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda. Somalia is also a member, but is not fully represented because it lacks a functioning government.

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