Somaliland sultans in reconciliation meetings

Sultans - senior and traditional elders - of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, northwestern Somalia, are holding meetings to reconcile differences between pro-administration elders and their opposition counterparts, a local source in the Somaliland capital, Hargeysa, told IRIN on Tuesday. The dialogue between the two groups of elders was reportedly initiated by the new Somaliland president, Dahir Riyale Kahin, earlier this month.

He began the process by first meeting opposition elders, who were said to have been impressed by the new president's sincerity. "They were very surprised by his forthright approach," said a local source, who had spoken with the elders after their meeting with Dahir. Dahir then arranged a meeting between the opposition sultans and those from the Gurti, or members of the House of Elders.

"By all accounts, the meetings are going very well, but so far no statement has come out of it," the source said.

Some of the opposition sultans involved in the talks were among a group of elders arrested last year by the Somaliland authorities for "holding an illegal meeting". The elders, members of the Sultans’ Council, had claimed they were "the highest authority in Somaliland", sources told IRIN at the time.

The talks between these two traditionally mutually opposed groups were being held at a time when Somaliland was in transition, being in the process of trying to move forward with multiparty elections, a regional analyst told IRIN.

The two camps hold differing views on the way forward for Somaliland, especially after former President Muhammad Ibrahim Egal's death. The Gurti members believed that Somaliland was a constitutional democracy with a multiparty system, and should therefore move ahead with multiparty elections, the analyst said. But the opposition elders contended that Somaliland was not ready for elections, and therefore a national conference of all the clans should be convened to decide the way forward.

"It augurs well for the stability of Somaliland if these groups are seen to be working together," added the analyst.