IGAD meeting to discuss peace talks

Foreign ministers of member states of the regional grouping, Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), were due to meet in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Monday to discuss the Somali peace talks. They were expected "to add impetus" to the year-old talks, a source close to the process told IRIN. Among other issues, the ministers "will try to achieve inclusivity in the talks, and to bring all stakeholders on board", he said. The IGAD-sponsored talks began in October 2002 in the western Kenyan town of Eldoret, but were moved to Nairobi in February this year. They have been dogged by wrangles over issues such as an interim charter, the number of participants in the talks and the selection of future parliamentarians. Moreover, a number of prominent leaders have walked out of the talks. They include Abdiqassim Salad Hassan, the president of the Transitional National Government; prominent Mogadishu-based faction leaders Muse Sudi Yalahow and Usman Hasan Ato; the leader of the Kismayo-based Juba Valley Alliance, Col Barre Adan Hirale; and Muhammad Ibrahim Habsade of the Rahanweyn Resistance Army. The IGAD foreign ministers are also expected to make a decision on a planned retreat for Somali political leaders. The 10-day retreat was due to begin in Mombasa on 9 December, bringing together most of the Somali leaders. The idea of the retreat was "to give the leaders a chance to iron out outstanding issues and chart the way forward", said James Kiboi of the IGAD facilitation committee, which is steering the talks. "The retreat will not happen on Tuesday as planned, but will happen soon," he said, adding that consultations on who should be invited were still in progress. "A decision on a final list will be made by the ministers today [Monday]," he stated. However the list of proposed participants remains a contentious issue, with some of the IGAD members arguing that only the most prominent leaders should be invited first. "Once they reach consensus it can be expanded - the so-called concentric circle idea," one IGAD source said. "There is no point in inviting briefcase leaders who have little or no influence on the ground." In a letter to conference chairman Ambassador Bethuel Kiplagat of Kenya on 1 December, on behalf of the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), its chairman Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud said participation in the retreat should be limited "to the 24 leaders who signed the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement [in Eldoret in October 2002], plus Abdiqassim Salad Hassan". Shatigadud also warned the organisers not to allow the proposed retreat to become a parallel conference.