Leaders' retreat again postponed

A proposed retreat for Somali political leaders to discuss contentious issues affecting the peace process has again been postponed.

The retreat had originally been scheduled for 9 December, then postponed to 18 December. Now it has been put off again, said a source from the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD) which is facilitating the talks.

Meanwhile Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who is the current IGAD chairman, has called a meeting of Somali leaders in Kampala, ahead of any proposed retreat, the source told IRIN. That meeting is due to take place on 22 December.

But no new date has been set for the retreat, and there is now serious doubt that it will ever take place.

"It looks as though the Kampala meeting might replace the retreat," a Somali political source told IRIN. "Museveni is such a strong leader, he might be able to bang heads and accomplish what the retreat aims to do. Besides, he is someone Somalis like and trust."

The Ugandans have not issued an invitation list and it is not clear how many leaders will be invited. "They will most likely invite the most prominent leaders to this meeting," a source close to the international observers at the talks told IRIN. "Probably no more than a dozen will be invited."

The purpose of the original 10-day retreat, due to be held in Mombasa, was "to give the leaders a chance to iron out outstanding issues and engage in personal reconciliation", an IGAD source told IRIN.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud, told IRIN that his group was not aware of any invitation to the Kampala meeting.

"Our position on any retreat or meeting is very clear," he said. "Participation in any such meeting should be limited to the 24 leaders who signed the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement [in Eldoret in October 2002], plus [Transitional National Government President] Abdiqassim Salad Hassan. "Any gathering smaller or larger will not be acceptable to us."

The IGAD-sponsored talks have been underway since October 2002 and have been dogged by wrangles over issues such as an interim charter, the number of participants and the selection of future parliamentarians.