Technical committee talks fail

Talks between the frontline states trying to prepare a Somali reconciliation conference have ended in the Kenyan capital Nairobi with little agreement between the sides.

According to an official press release, the talks - held on 19 and 20 May between Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya - were characterised by "warmth, frankness and mutual understanding". However, a proposed visit to Somalia by the three states - which make up the technical committee preparing the conference - was deferred pending further consultations between regional leaders at a summit of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in Addis Ababa later this month.

Officials from Djibouti said the technical committee talks had failed, because the members were "unable to speak with one voice". "The main reason is differences over major political issues," Mohamed-Siad Dualeh, a senior Djibouti foreign ministry official and member of the delegation, told IRIN on Wednesday. He said this primarily meant differences over the objectives of the conference.

He noted that the committee had previously stressed the need to speak with one voice when dealing with the Somali parties to eliminate problems arising from "any conflict of interpretations". Ethiopia wants the peace process to start from scratch again, insisting that the Transitional National Government (TNG) of Somalia should simply attend the talks as a faction. But Djibouti says there is no question of starting all over again.

"We are building on the achievements made so far to widen and deepen the reconciliation process towards the ultimate goal of establishing a broad-based and all-inclusive government without preconditions," Dualeh said. He added that this had been the position of all regional and international organisations such as the OAU, Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the UN.

A UN Security Council resolution on Somalia, issued in March, stressed that the Council "reiterates its support to the Arta peace process [which brought in the TNG], which continues to be the most viable basis for peace and national reconciliation in Somalia".

Regional analysts told IRIN that the proposed convening of the conference in June or July - already postponed from April - is unlikely to go ahead, given the inability of the technical committee members to reach agreement. "Kenya will have to make clear its position on Somalia," one analyst said. "Kenya has to assume its role as the chairman of the technical committee and reconcile the Ethiopia and Djibouti positions."