Peace talks in jeopardy following announcement of breakthrough

Delegates at Somali peace talks taking place in Kenya adopted an interim constitution on Monday in what has been termed "a major breakthrough". However, some political groups have come out against the agreement. According to a statement from the mediators, delegates attending the conference "this [Monday] evening adopted a Transitional Federal Charter", which will pave the way for the formation of a transitional parliament that would last four years. The statement said its members would be selected by Somali traditional leaders and politicians officially invited to the talks in Kenya by an IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) Technical Committee that organised the meeting. However, the agreement was rejected by the president of the Transitional National Government (TNG), Abdiqassim Salad Hassan, who, along with a number of faction leaders, had earlier walked out of the talks but returned to Nairobi on 14 September to resume their participation in the discussions. "This is the end of this conference," Abdiqassim told IRIN. "We arrived here on Sunday in good faith but without being given an opportunity to have our voices heard, we are presented with the so-called adoption of the charter. This is unacceptable and I think whoever is behind this treachery has succeeded in scuttling the peace process. The talks have totally collapsed." Muhammad Husayn Adow, an ally of faction leader Muse Yalahow, echoed this view. "This was a mistake. With our arrival they [the organizers] had an opportunity to correct past mistakes but instead they compounded them. This was a deliberate action to destroy the talks and I think they have succeeded." Adow said Abdiqassim and the other leaders who returned with him, including the leader of the Juba Valley Alliance, Col Bare Hiirale, and representatives of Yalahow and Muhammad Ibrahim Habsade of the Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA), had now agreed to leave the talks. "We are in agreement to withdraw from these talks and will issue a statement," he said. On the other hand, Mogadishu-based Muhammad Qanyare Afrah, who was at the venue of the talks, told IRIN that the adoption of the charter was "a victory for the Somali people and was in their best interest". Qanyare said that those opposed to the charter were "looking for personal gain". He advised them to join the process and "put the people's interest before theirs". A source close to international observers at the talks told IRIN they were not sure what had happened and were trying to ascertain the facts before commenting. A regional analyst familiar with the process told IRIN that Monday's developments were "disturbing and could lead to a dramatic shift in positions, even leading to the withdrawal of support for the process". The IGAD-sponsored talks began in October 2002 in the western Kenyan town of Eldoret, but were moved to Nairobi in February this year. The talks have been dogged by wrangles over issues such as the interim charter, the number of participants in the talks and the selection of future parliamentarians.