Somali delegates attending peace talks in Djibouti won more
time in which to agree on steps towards the selection of a
new provisional government.
The move
came on Sunday at a meeting between the steering committee
elected by the conference delegates and the host of the Djibouti
peace initiative on Somalia, President Ismail Omar Guelleh.
It had
been anticipated that the conference would move towards establishing
such a structure this week. A tight two-week schedule was
agreed upon, with the election of a Transitional National
Assembly (TNA) anticipated by 10 July.
It is
then hoped to have a president and prime minister elected
by 13 July. The schedule is being seen as a compromise between
the Djibouti government - under considerable financial pressure
to reach a conclusion to the two-month talks - and Somali
participants' desire for sufficient time to reach consensus.
The elected
conference committee, which has taken over the organising
and liaising role initially played by the Djibouti Government,
comprises: the chairman, Hassan Abshire Farah - previous 'Minister
of the Interior' in the self-declared republic of Puntland;
Abdullah Dherow, part of the Rahanwein grouping from the Baidoa
area; Abdulaziz Mukhtar Ma'alim, from the minority Jarer clan;
Asha Haji Melmi, a women's representative, from Mogadishu;
and Abdulrahman Douale Ali, from the Dir clan.
The weight
of different Somali delegations, which will address key issues
at committee level, has been decided as follows: Darod - 175;
Hawiye - 175; Digil-Mirifle - 175; and Dir - in the region
of 200. This number of Dir is to include 100 Issac, 40 Gadabursi,
30 Issa and 35 southern Dir, according to the Djibouti government.
In addition, an alliance of minorities - including but not
exclusively comprising the Jareer, Midgaan and Yibir - will
have a delegation of 90, and a special women's delegation
of 100 women will take part in the committees.
Among
the issues to be considered are the special status of the
Somali capital Mogadishu; disarmament and arms control; and
the question of Somaliland.
On Monday,
a scheduled plenary session was suspended while the conference
hall in Arta filled with participants and representatives
celebrating the 26 June independence day of the self-declared
independent republic of Somaliland. Speakers and poets talked
about the separation of Somaliland from Somalia, with Mogadishu
poet David ('YamYam') Abdulkadir Hirsi saying the two parts
were "not listening or understanding each other."
Participants
were asked to forgive and "correct" the past, and to participate
in the Djibouti peace process with "a keen heart" Other plenary
sessions are expected to be suspended for Djibouti independence
celebrations on Tuesday 27 June and Somalia independence day
on 1 July.
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