The African Union’s Peace and Security Council has urged the Somali faction leaders to demonstrate their commitment to a successful conclusion of the peace process when they meet in Nairobi, Kenya, today. The council stated that Africa and the international community at large would not understand if ongoing efforts to reach a solution failed because of the lack of cooperation of some leaders and factions.
The Somali peace talks, which started in Kenya on Oct. 15, 2002, have been sponsored by the Inter-Government Authority on Development (IGAD). The talks are aimed at forming a government in the war-torn country.
“The council welcomes the decision of the IGAD Facilitation Committee to proceed with the Reconciliation Conference in Kenya and to convene a ministerial meeting. In this respect, the council urges all members of the Facilitation Committee to participate at the appropriate ministerial level,” noted the statement. The council issued the statement at the end of its session in Addis Ababa.
The council has encouraged the IGAD countries to display the level of cohesion required to facilitate the conclusion of the Reconciliation Conference. It has also urged the international community to continue to provide the financial resources needed to ensure the successful conclusion of the Reconciliation Conference.
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The Reporters Without Borders said in its annual report that Mikhail Rashid Barre of the Mogadishu-based Radio Shabelle was detained by police for several hours on June 25 last year in the Lower Shabelle region. It said the reporter was criticized for his coverage of events in Somalia.
The report also stated that Abdurahman Mohamed Hudeyfi and Hussein Mohamed Gheedi of the privately-owned radio station Banadir Radio were arrested on the night of June 30 and taken to a detention center in the capital. They were freed on July 2 without being charged.
The report also said gunmen in the pay of wealthy businessman Ahmed Abdisalam seized control of the privately-owned radio and TV station HornAfrik in Mogadishu on the night of Jan. 10, 2003, and paralyzed all of its operations.
Abdisalam had said his militia would stay until the station stopped defaming him and recognized it had made a mistake when it reported that he belonged to a terrorist group.
After intense negotiations, the gunmen withdrew from HornAfrik three days later and the station was able to resume broadcasting.
