Here are the latest about the tragedy in Somalia. Today, the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) opened their congress in Djibouti (it will last until the 24 July). The main 2 objectives of this congress are a briefing about the reconciliation meeting between and within the ARS that took place in Sana'a, Yemen, during the last week and the official adoption by the ARS of the Djibouti Agreement reached last June 09. A weeks-long reconciliation process within the fractured Islamic Courts movement ended 2 days ago, with both sides announcing a new agreement that would end a public dispute among Somalia's Islamist leaders. That reconciliation meetings in Sana'a attracted delegations from Eritrea and Djibouti, where exiled Islamists have lived since the Ethiopian intervention of late 2006. Some of the ARS members who took part at this meeting told me that the ceasefire clause, the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces from Somalia and their replacement by a United Nations stabilization force were the most hotly debated topics during meetings in Yemen. But it seem that the good news is that they reached a final agreement… Although no words were heard from officials of the Eritrea-based Islamist faction. They didn't addressed the media about the Yemen talks, but one senior insider confirmed me that an agreement had been reached. According to my source, the Islamic Courts factions of Eritrea agreed to accept UN peacekeepers on the condition that they are from "Muslim countries." The Palestinian ambassador residing in Djibouti, H.E Kamal Gazzaz (and dean of the diplomatic corps -he like very much that title!) made a speech today at the opening of the ARS congress in the name of the Arab League and he presented to Sheikh Sharif Sheik Ahmed, chairman of the ARS, a list of muslim country that may be ready to send troops to Somalia. He added that it is the responsability of the ARS to lobby the Arabs and Muslims countries if they went to reach a positive result in term of Peacekeeping troops from muslim countries. He even added to the insult that he can even give them advises on how to lobby Arabs and Muslims countries and that the ARS should learn from the late Yasser Arafat in terms of lobbying!! I saw a lot of the ARS members who were fulminating!!! In his brefing speech in front of the 106 members of the ARS who were able to be present (the quorum was 96), Sheik Sharif confirmed that the ARS is again united and that the division was the result of bad communications. He said that the main issue is still the departure of the Ethiopian occupation troops from Somalia and if that goal can be reached politically, it is still an achievment for the ARS. The Djibouti peace agreement called for a 90-day ceasefire to be implemented within one month, while setting a timetable for Ethiopian troops to withdraw by October 9 after being replaced by a "sufficient" number of UN peacekeepers. First of all, the so-called International community is still refusing to comit themselfs concerning the UN peacekeepers (we will see what will happen with the so called list of Kamal Gazzaz and his advices in term of lobbying).... Secondly, the Al-Shabaab fighters, who formed the core of the Islamic Courts military machine and are believed to be spearheading the insurgency, did not participate at the Djibouti peace conference and are no more part of the ARS alliance, which also includes ex-Somali lawmakers and Diaspora activists.
It is for these reasons that critics continue to voice many doubts about the implementation of the peace deal, especially regarding the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces and the arrival of UN peacekeepers in the war-ravaged Horn of Africa country (see the report drafted by Dr. Michael A. Weinstein, professor of Political Science in Purdue University: 'Somalia: A Paper Cease-Fire Turns in to Ashes' ) On the other side, the Somali transitional parliament (TFG) has broadly welcomed the peace agreement reached last month in Djibouti between the Somali transitional government and the ARS. The lawmakers listened to a briefing about the Djibouti Agreement from government ministers including the Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Abdisalam who led the Somali government delegation to the UN mediated peace talks in Djibouti early last June. So, now the the 2 sides have adopted the Djibouti agreement, all of them have secured their tickets to Makka where they will meet the Saudi king at the nd of this month and in his 'blessed' presence, they will officially ratify this agreement... Ironically, yesterday, July 18, 2008, marked the 48th anniversary of the independence and unification of the Somali Republic, but nowadays there was nothing worth celebrating about after the total disintegration of the Somali nation-state and the complete destruction of all its institutions. But at least, there is always someone who still have an indefectible faith and hope... Mr. Ban Ki-Moon said in his latest quarterly report to the Security Council that: "Somalia remains a challenge for the international community, but recent developments provide reason to hope'... Youpie! for the nearly 3.5 million Somalis who are in urgent need of food assistance by the end of this year, according to the UN's World Food Program. P.s: The Economist published 2 days ago an interesting article about pirates in the Somali coast. Hope you will like it reading...
That's all for now. Starting from tomorrow and for the next 3-4 days, the ARS congress will continue but behind closed doors. I will do my best to get interresting info and keep you update."
It is for these reasons that critics continue to voice many doubts about the implementation of the peace deal, especially regarding the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces and the arrival of UN peacekeepers in the war-ravaged Horn of Africa country (see the report drafted by Dr. Michael A. Weinstein, professor of Political Science in Purdue University: 'Somalia: A Paper Cease-Fire Turns in to Ashes' ) On the other side, the Somali transitional parliament (TFG) has broadly welcomed the peace agreement reached last month in Djibouti between the Somali transitional government and the ARS. The lawmakers listened to a briefing about the Djibouti Agreement from government ministers including the Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Abdisalam who led the Somali government delegation to the UN mediated peace talks in Djibouti early last June. So, now the the 2 sides have adopted the Djibouti agreement, all of them have secured their tickets to Makka where they will meet the Saudi king at the nd of this month and in his 'blessed' presence, they will officially ratify this agreement... Ironically, yesterday, July 18, 2008, marked the 48th anniversary of the independence and unification of the Somali Republic, but nowadays there was nothing worth celebrating about after the total disintegration of the Somali nation-state and the complete destruction of all its institutions. But at least, there is always someone who still have an indefectible faith and hope... Mr. Ban Ki-Moon said in his latest quarterly report to the Security Council that: "Somalia remains a challenge for the international community, but recent developments provide reason to hope'... Youpie! for the nearly 3.5 million Somalis who are in urgent need of food assistance by the end of this year, according to the UN's World Food Program. P.s: The Economist published 2 days ago an interesting article about pirates in the Somali coast. Hope you will like it reading...
That's all for now. Starting from tomorrow and for the next 3-4 days, the ARS congress will continue but behind closed doors. I will do my best to get interresting info and keep you update."
