/ 19 October 2006

Diplomats meet in Kenya to push Somali peace talks

Western and African diplomats met in Kenya on Thursday in a push to ensure peace talks between Somalia’s interim government and rival Islamists go ahead despite rising tensions in the Horn of Africa nation.

The Arab League is mediating talks in the Sudanese capital Khartoum between the Islamists and the Western-backed but virtually powerless government, based in a provincial Baidoa.

The rise of the Islamists, who have seized most of southern Somalia since taking Mogadishu in June, has eclipsed the government’s plans to impose central rule on a land in anarchy since 1991.

One diplomat attending the Contact Group meeting, which includes the United States, European nations, the United Nations and the Arab League, said the event was to ensure both sides were committed to what they had agreed at previous negotiations.

He said they would meet both sides separately to ensure they were committed to talks scheduled for Oct. 30.

The United States embassy in Nairobi confirmed the attendance of US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer at the Nairobi talks, while Somali officials said President Abdullahi Yusuf would also be present.

Ibrahim Hussein Adow, in charge of foreign relations for the Islamists, played down his expectations for the Nairobi meeting.

”We are going there to show the international community what we have done and what our expectations are,” he said before boarding a plane in Mogadishu.

”It is unusual that the president is attending this meeting because this is a ministerial-level meeting. (But) our opponents cannot reach a decision without Ethiopia’s approval.”

The Contact Group in August urged the two sides to strike a power-sharing deal, saying it was vital before they could help rebuild Somalia.

Watchdog condemnation

At the last round of Khartoum talks, both sides agreed in principle to create joint military forces.

The talks have otherwise produced little other than a promise by both sides to recognise each other and not to make any military moves. Both accuse the other of violating the deal.

The government says the Islamists’ advances on new territory constitutes a violation.

The Islamists accuse Ethiopia of invading Somalia with troops to prop up the government, to which Addis Ababa is closely allied. They have declared holy war against Ethiopia, which says the Islamists are led by terrorists.

Separately, a press watchdog condemned what it called ”attacks on the media” in Somalia, citing the closure of a radio station and the burning of newspapers critical of the Islamists.

Critics accuse the movement of proposing draconian rules for the media, designed to muzzle critical reporting. They have shut down several radio stations and briefly arrested some reporters.

The Islamists on Sunday closed down a Mogadishu radio station formerly owned by a US-backed warlord its fighters defeated in June.

”We urge the Islamic Courts Council to reopen the radio and let the original employees work safely and freely,” Gabriel Baglo, director of the International Federation of Journalists’ (IFJ) Africa office said in a statement.

IFJ also said an angry mob in the self-declared enclave of Somaliland had burnt more than 1 000 copies of the Haatuf newspaper for being too critical of the Islamists. – Reuters