Peace talks falter over proposals for parliament

The Somali peace talks, currently underway in Kenya, are in danger of collapse if a compromise solution is not found to the selection and number of future parliamentarians, a faction leader warned on Wednesday. Speaking on behalf of the G8 alliance of factions, the influential Mogadishu-based faction leader, Muhammad Qanyare Afrah, told IRIN that certain groups - "with the tacit approval of some Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) technical committee members" - had proposed a 450-member parliament, with the 361 delegates to the peace conference forming the basis. The regional IGAD body is facilitating the talks. "This is unacceptable to us," Qanyare said. "Somalia cannot afford such a large number of MPs." He said the G8 had proposed a "compromise number" of 275 members. The G8 brings together an influential group of factions, including Qanyare; Mogadishu-based leaders Umar Finish and Usman Hasan Ali Ato; the Juba Valley Alliance which controls Kismayo and much of the Juba valley; the RRA faction of Shaykh Adan Madobe and Muhammad Ibrahim Habsade which controls the important southwestern town of Baidoa; the Gedo-based Somali National Alliance faction of Col Isak Bihi; and Mowlid Ma'ane of SAMO (Somali African Muki Organisation) who represents the Somali Bantus. Qanyare went on to say that the idea of the delegates forming the basis of a new parliament was not in conformity with earlier agreements. He argued that the selection process should involve traditional leaders, in consultation with political leaders. He also warned of a "hidden agenda" by some members of the IGAD mediating team. "Insistence on this idea of 450 MPs will lead to a collapse of the talks," he said. The talks - which began last October - are being held under the auspices of the IGAD technical committee, made up of Somalia's neighbours or so-called frontline states, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti. The country's Transitional National Government (TNG) also opposes the proposal. "We share the view that 450 is not a reasonable option for Somalia and we cannot justify it to our people and our international partners," Information Minister Abdirahman Ibbi told IRIN. "We also reject the idea that the 361 delegates automatically become MPs." Asha Haji Ilmi, a leading member of the civil society group at the talks, agreed that 450 MPs for Somalia was "unrealistic". "Somalis need workable institutions which can deliver," she said. Foreign diplomats involved in the talks have expressed similar reservations. A 450-member parliament would be "too large and unwieldy to make the hard decisions necessary in the interim period", one diplomat told IRIN. Meanwhile, in Somalia itself civil society groups are reportedly organising demonstrations against the proposals. Abdullahi Muhammad Shirwa of the Civil Society in Action, speaking on behalf of 41 civil society organisations, told IRIN that "450 MPs selected by faction leaders, as is being proposed, will be a disaster for Somalia, economically, politically and in every other way". "It is unfortunate that after nine months of talks, we are in a worse position than we were when the talks started," he observed. He proposed a parliament of 171 members selected by traditional leaders, and a cabinet "of no more than 13 members", with a three-year transitional period would be "more acceptable and more realistic for Somalia". The Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), a group of factions opposed to the TNG, is reportedly in favour of a 450-member parliament with the 361 delegates forming its basis. However, Ismail Warsame an official of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland - which is a member of the SRRC - told IRIN he would "reserve comment for the time being".