by Ali Musa Abdi Mon Jul 17
MOGADISHU (AFP) – The supreme leader of Somalia’s increasingly powerful Islamist movement has warned world powers against backing peacekeepers for the lawless nation where his forces are now dominant.
Speaking as the international contact group on Somalia were to meet to discuss options for restoring stability in the Horn of Africa country, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys said such a force was unnecessary and would be resisted.
He also rejected charges that the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia (SICS) wants to replace the weak Somali transitional government as the main authority in the country but urged it to drop its refusal to meet with his group.
“I am appealing to the countries meeting not to ignore the political realities in Somalia,” he said on Monday, as the contact group members prepared to meet in Brussels amid growing signs the international community may back peacekeepers.
“They should not concentrate on sending peacekeepers who are not needed here,” he told AFP from his home region of Galgadud in central Somalia.
“Mogadishu … is peaceful: it was pacified without any intervention from the international community,” Aweys said, referring to the ouster of warlords in June after months of bloody fighting by Islamist militia.
But the rise of the Islamists has fuelled fears of a Taliban-style takeover of Somalia, particularly as some Islamists, including Aweys, are considered extremists and accused of harboring terrorists. They deny the charges.
Last week, the UN Security Council endorsed the possible easing of a 14-year-old arms embargo on Somalia to help support a regional peacekeeping force to back the largely powerless transitional government.
But Aweys said such a step, which has been repeatedly called for by the government, the African Union and the east African nations that would provide troops for the mission, was a “recipe” for disaster.
“The neighboring countries have geo-political interests in Somalia and to consider them peacemakers is a recipe for violence and renewed clashes which could affect the whole region,” he said, naming Ethiopia as the prime suspect.
“The problem of Somalia is not a lack of weapons, but a lack of peace and understanding of each other,” Aweys said.
He renewed calls for the government to drop its insistance on peacekeepers and lifting the embargo, maintaining the issues were keeping it from addressing the more important matter of easing tensions within Somalia.
The government boycotted Arab League-sponsored talks with Islamists in Khartoum, accusing them of violating a previous truce and recognition pact, and is now split with members of parliament over whether to drop the objections.
“The discussion of lifting of the embargo and attempts to bring peacekeepers has distracted the government from reconciliation,” Aweys said. “We are urging them to come to the negotiating table to avoid further confusion.”
On Sunday, parliament speaker Sharif Sheikh Aden said he was ready to send a legislative team to Khartoum to meet with the Islamists but government officials have thus far blocked its departure.
“Peace talks and making deals is the responsibility of the executive arm,” Information Minister Mohammed Abdi Hayir told reporters in Baidoa, the temporary government seat northwest of Mogadishu.
Source: AFP, July 17, 2006
