Don't exaggerate Somali crisis, says AU

By Reuters
July 29, 2006

Soldiers outside Villa Somalia, the former presidential palace of Somalia in Mogadishu, July 27, 2006. (Shabele Media/Reuters)

"A pimple is being made to look like a boil," Muhammad Ali Foum said after Friday's assassination which stoked international fears of all-out conflict in Somalia.

"There is more violence on the streets of New York and Paris and London than in Baidoa."

Constitution and Federalism Minister Abdallah Deerow Isaq was shot dead at a mosque in Baidoa, provincial seat of the interim Somali government.

Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi blamed the attack on "criminals linked to international terrorism". Protesters burned tyres and looted shops on Friday, but calm returned on Saturday.

Tensions between the Somali government and a powerful Islamist movement have been heightened by the involvement of regional foes Ethiopia and Eritrea who are believed to be supporting the rival sides.

Speaking in Nairobi, Foum said the international community was not doing enough to bring peace to Somalia.

"We are all doctors who are looking at the Somali patient. Right now the doctors are telling the patient you are sick, without really giving the correct medicine," said Foum, who has been active in Somali reconciliation talks since 2002.

KHARTOUM TALKS "BEST OPTION"

Set up in 2004, the Somali interim government is the 14th attempt to bring central order since the 1991 ousting of strongman Mohamed Siad Barre plunged the country into chaos.

The envoy said the resignation of 18 ministers and top officials on Thursday should not be seen as a ground-breaking step towards a power-sharing plan between the Islamists and the government.

"I wouldn't put too much into the resignations at the moment," Foum said. "Power-sharing can only come when the people go back to Khartoum, sit down and talk and sort out what needs to be done by whom, where and when."

The government boycotted a second round of peace talks in the Sudanese capital Khartoum this month to protest alleged Islamist violations of an earlier pact. It has now said it is ready to go back.

Government sources said the resignations could lure the Islamists -- who wrested Mogadishu from U.S.-backed warlords in June -- to peace talks in the hope they could fill the posts.

Foum said getting both parties to the Khartoum talks, slated to resume early in August, could bring peace.

"We can't drag them to the table, but I believe there is a lot we can do to convince them it's the best option for Somalia.

"We should encourage them to have one common idea: a resolution of the crisis, stabilisation of Somalia and the creation of an environment that can allow the Somalis to ... create a government system that will work for everybody."