Somali peace talks in jeopardy as gov't negotiator quits

The peace talks between the Somali government and increasingly powerful Islamic courts suffered a setback this week after the government's chief negotiator quit his role, throwing the upcoming talks in jeopardy, officials said on Monday.

Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, the speaker of Somali parliament, resigned on Sunday as head of government delegation to peace talks with Mogadishu-based Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC), endangering efforts to restore normalcy in the lawless nation.

According to lawmaker Mustaf Duhulow, the speaker's resignation came after Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi sent a letter to the international community contesting Adan's role as the government's chief negotiator in Arab League-mediated peace talks scheduled to take place in Khartoum, Sudan at the end of this month.

"I can confirm the speaker of parliament has resigned in his capacity as the chairman of the government committee that is negotiating with the Islamic courts," Duhulow told Xinhua by telephone in Nairobi on Monday.

"Ali Mohamed Gedi wrote letters to the international community telling them the speaker does not represent the government," Duhulow said. However, both Gedi and Adan could not be reached for comments.

Early this month, Somalia's United Nations-backed government accused the mediators of bias toward the country's powerful Islamist movement.

The government made the accusations in a letter to international organizations in which it complained that Arab League mediators were favoring the SCIC who were now in control of much of southern and central Somalia.

In the letter dated Oct. 2, Gedi hinted that the alleged bias might jeopardize the planned third round of peace talks due to begin in Sudan on Oct. 30.

"It is regrettable that in the process of the preparation for the third round of talks in Khartoum at the end of the month, the secretariat general of the League of Arab States is not neutral in managing the affairs of Somalia," the letter said.

"Such conduct will undermine the common efforts that all are displaying for the sake of promoting peace and stability in Somalia and will contribute to the erosion of the confidence that the transitional federal government places in the role of the Arab League," it said.

Government spokesperson Abdirahman Dinari confirmed that Gedi had sent the letter to the United Nations, the African Union, the Arab League, the European Union and other groups.

Dinari also claimed that Arab League officials had been making secret contacts with SCIC officials without informing the government despite agreements reached at the last round of talks for all parties to be involved.

Somalia's transitional government has announced it was willing to offer its SCIC rivals some cabinet posts and positions in the judiciary and government departments.

The Arab League initiative was part of international efforts to restore peace and stability to Somalia and end competition between different factions to fill the power vacuum.

Source: Xinhua