JEDDAH, 9 November 2002 — The finance minister of Somalia’s Transitional National Government (TNG), Hussein Mahamoud Hussein, has appealed to the international community to support the Somalia peace talks in Eldoret, Kenya. He has welcomed the outcome of the first phase of the peace talks. TNG representatives and most of their rivals have been holding peace talks since Oct. 15. In the first phase of the talks, the participants signed a cease-fire agreement, committed themselves to setting up a broad-based federal government, to combating terrorism and to improving the safety of aid workers in the country. “Eldoret brought together delegates from different groups in the country. The participants signed a cease-fire in their attempt to end the hostilities. Therefore, we (TNG) welcome the agreement, and call on the international community to support the peace talks and its results, “ the minister told Arab News in Jeddah on Thursday during a special visit to the Kingdom. He was a TNG delegate at the Eldoret talks and was in Jeddah after attending the 27th annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank in Burkina Faso on Oct. 22- 23. The minister said at the opening ceremony in Eldoret that representatives from Western countries and Arab League members had promised financial aid to Somalia if peace is achieved. “I hope Somalis will agree to form a federal government. The lack of international assistance could reduce the ability of any new administration to provide basic social and economic services which are a prerequisite for the improvement of the condition of the Somali people,” he said.
*****
The Somali peace talks under way in Kenya have been deadlocked over representation in the various committees being set up to discuss the establishment of an all-inclusive government. According to recent media reports, members of the leaders’ committee — comprising representatives of faction leaders, the TNG and five members from civil societies — have failed to agree on the number of participants each group would be allocated on the various committees.
A Somali source said, however, that the differences were such that it would take more than two or three days to resolve them. “The membership of the committees was supposed to be in direct proportion to the number of delegates each group had originally been allotted for the peace conference. Therefore some clans will have more seats than others on the committees and consequently the clan balance will be upset. There is a lot of confusion at the moment, “ he said.
*****
The authorities in the autonomous region of Puntland have denied asking the United Nations to leave, stating they will cooperate fully with the UN and other international aid agencies. According to a UN humanitarian media on Wednesday, the Puntland administration has not asked the UN to withdraw its staff.
The Mogadishu-based HornAfrik Radio reported Tuesday that Puntland had asked the UN to withdraw all its expatriate staff.
A UN statement confirmed that the UN had temporarily relocated three staff members for technical reasons.
“This week, the UN temporarily sent three international aid workers for technical reasons from Bosaso to another location and they are expected to return within a few days,” the statement said. It went on to say that the UN reiterated its commitment to the full implementation of the Memorandum of Cooperation recently signed between the international aid community and the authorities in Puntland.
“Puntland is fully committed to cooperating with all aid agencies, including those in the UN system, in the delivery of much-needed services to the people of Puntland and those in the rest of Somalia,” a Puntland administrator said.
