The Defense Minister of Somalia’s Transitional National Government (TNG), Abdul Wahab Muhammad Hussein, said yesterday that he was upbeat about the forthcoming Somali peace talks and that his administration would respect their outcome. The peace talks are scheduled to take place in Eldoret, Kenya next week.
"The TNG will welcome the outcome of the peace talks and the broad-based government that will be formed. The warlords and opponents may be appointed to key positions," the minister told Arab News during an official visit to Saudi Arabia. During the visit, he had fruitful discussions with Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and the commander of National Guard, Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and the minister of defense and aviation, and other senior Saudi officials.
He said the talks should be based on the Arta peace process. Arta is a resort town in neighboring Djibouti, where the TNG was formed in 2000. "We (TNG) will reject the peace process from scratch. We have already suggested that any Somali group — even the TNG — who opposes the outcome of the talks should be prosecuted before an international legal tribunal. We have requested the United Nations and the international community to disarm warlords and their militias. Compromise is the only way to restore normalcy and to establish a government to consolidate peace and provide stability throughout the country," he said.
Since the downfall of the military regime more than ten years ago, Somalia has had no effective central government. Militias have looted all military equipment and weapons. Speaking of the collapsed army forces, the minister said, "We have enough military personnel at present. We have invited the former armed forces because they have a capability to defend their country and to consolidate the security. Lack of required international financial support has impeded our efforts to rebuild the armed forces." He added that the TNG has avoided using the armed forces to attack its opponents and warlords. "We never allow our military personnel to become involved in the country’s civil conflicts. To avoid a civil war, the TNG has earned a good reputation in the international community," he said.
Asked about his talks with Saudi leaders, the minister said that they discussed bilateral relations between the two countries, the regional security situation and the security inside Somalia. "The Saudi government pledged to support Somalia’s reconciliation process and has made a commitment to take part in the reconstruction of the war-torn country," he concluded.
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Many Somali women are attending a three-day workshop on peace in the southern town of Marka. The workshop is jointly sponsored by the United Nations Development Fund for Women and a local Women’s NGO. "The workshop, coming a few days before the Somali peace talks open in Kenya, is expected to give the women a forum to discuss, debate and develop an approach to peace that can succeed in the talks", said a press statement issued on Monday. The statement said the main objectives of the workshop are understanding the root causes of the civil war and dealing with the coming of peace. The statement added, "The workshop is also expected to promote the participant’s awareness of the Islamic view of women’s role in decision-making and political participation."
