http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Somalis-Unconvinced-by-London-Conference-140204183.html
February 23, 2012Somalis Unconvinced by London Conference
Gabe Joselow | Nairobi
A conference in London on the future of Somalia has brought together an
impressive range of leaders from around the world and from Somalia's own
abundant roster of political administrations. But average Somalis say some
important voices have been left out of the conversation.
The British Foreign Office has set out an ambitious agenda for the London
Conference: getting 40 countries to agree on a way forward for a country
that has been without a central government for 20 years.
There have been many past efforts, including the Ugandan-mediated Kampala
Accord and the U.N.-backed Djibouti peace process as well as negotiations
in Nairobi that established the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).
Abdi Samad, an independent political analyst in Nairobi, is optimistic that
the London conference will be more successful, because it brings together
more divergent parties.
“What I'm saying is, they invited [TFG President] Sheikh Sharif, they
invited Puntland, they invited Somaliland, they were not part of the Somali
peace process, today they bring on board," said Samad. "With the
combination of so many factors, I hope I can see a light at the end of the
tunnel.”
Representatives of the breakaway Somali region of Somaliland, and the
semi-autonomous Puntland and Galmudug regions are all attending the
conference.
While still technically a part of Somalia, all three have established their
own governments, and have made strong gestures toward independence,
rankling those members of the TFG that want to maintain a united Somalia.
But another, more powerful force tearing the country part, the Islamist
militant group al-Shabab and its allies, remains unrepresented.
Mohammed Ali Mohamud is a businessman with interests in Puntland and was
once a prominent vice minister in a previous transitional government. He
says it is a mistake to leave the Islamists out.
“The people, they are dealing with are one side of the problem. So if you
don't deal with the whole problem with all the factions fighting there,
then you are only siding with one section and nobody knows what the section
will produce,” he said.
It would be impossible to get many of the stakeholders in London to sit
down with al-Shabab; the United States considers the al-Qaida linked group
a terrorist organization, while Kenya is in the midst of a military
operation to crush the militants in southern Somalia.
But Mohamud says Somalia's Muslim partners should be more willing. "Those
who are thinking they are fighting because of Islamic value, you know,
Turkey and Qatar, or whoever, they can counter-balance. They say you are
Muslim, we are Muslim, let's talk and stop fighting,” he said.
A communique from the conference, leaked earlier on Somali websites,
recognizes the emergence of new “actors” in Somalia, specifically Turkey
and Qatar.
Without a central government, Somalis are often caught up in the constant
competition between local administrations, militias and even foreign armies
vying for control.
Take for example the tiny, dusty town of Tabda.
Not far from the Kenyan border, Tabda is part of the semi-autonomous region
of Azania. It was previously under the control of al-Shabab before TFG
forces and Kenyan troops repelled the militants. Now the town is guarded by
a militia allied with the TFG.
Here in Tabda, Ibrahim Mahamoud Mohamed, a village elder at the age of 38,
says all the people really want is peace.
Even those militias in the bushes can also be brought into the
negotiations, he says. It is important to know that nothing can be solved
through fighting.
But for Mohamed, and many others in Tabda and similar towns, food remains
scarce, health care is provided by aid workers, violence is a constant
threat and London is very far away.
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Received on Mon Feb 27 2012 - 10:05:29 EST
