SOMALIA: Stalled peace talks to resume in one week

NAIROBI, 20 April 2004 (IRIN) - The Somali reconciliation conference sponsored by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is scheduled to reconvene in a week's time, according to an IGAD source close to the talks. Preparations for the final phase of the talks, being held in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, were proceeding smoothly, said the source. "We are in the process of bringing in traditional elders from Somalia. We expect that exercise to take about a week. We will then proceed to phase three of the talks," he told IRIN. This final phase involves the contentious issue of power-sharing, and therefore "should not be rushed, but take as much time as is needed to ensure that the outcome is acceptable to both the Somalis and the international community," he stressed. However, Awad Ashara, the spokesman for the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council, told IRIN on Tuesday that there were still outstanding issues that needed to be resolved before the talks proceeded to the final phase. The Council had said earlier that for the Nairobi conference to succeed, all IGAD member states must be represented. It also demanded clarification on who would participate in the selection of members of parliament. Ashara said the organisers "need to address outstanding issues we raised before we can proceed to phase three". He added: "Mistrust and suspicion have been created", so the current stalemate could only be resolved "if all outstanding issued are addressed transparently." Ashara said his group was not pulling out of the talks, but "ownership [with regard to directing the conference] must be returned to the Somalis, and the issues raised addressed properly". "We are here and have not withdrawn from the talks," he pointed out. The IGAD-sponsored talks, which opened in Kenya over a year ago, have been dogged by wrangles over issues such as an interim charter, the number of conferees and the selection of future parliamentarians.