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March 10. 2009
By Abdiaziz Hassan
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Somalia's new president said on Tuesday that
peace talks were progressing and he hoped soon to have a direct
dialogue with opponents, including militant Islamist group al Shabaab.
President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, in an interview with Reuters, also
said he supported sharia law for Somalia and saw no reason for African
Union (AU) peacekeepers to leave, as some opponents are demanding.
The failed Horn of Africa state has suffered civil conflict for
nearly two decades, and Western security services fear it could be a
base for al Qaeda-linked militants.
Ahmed was elected in January under a U.N.-brokered reconciliation
process that is Somalia's 15th attempt to set up a central government
since 1991.
"The peace talks are making progress, and I expect we will succeed
in having a face-to-face meeting with the opposition," Ahmed said when
asked about moves to start a dialogue with al Shabaab and others
opposed to his government.
He said respected elders were leading the mediation efforts.
"Somalia peace efforts are now being spearheaded by volunteer elders
and sheikhs. I believe they are the right people to take the lead,"
Ahmed said during a visit to Kenya.
Ahmed said his government's priorities were to restore security
across Somalia and re-establish good relations with African neighbours
and the rest of the world.
WE NEED PEACEKEEPERS
He dismissed calls for the AU force of 3,500 soldiers -- all from
Uganda and Burundi -- to leave Somalia, saying they were needed to
support the pacification process.
"Of course we need these troops. Burundian troops, for instance, did
not come to slay Somalis. They were called in to help calm the crisis
and assist the Somalia government and its people," he said.
A suicide and mortar bomb attack killed 11 Burundian soldiers last month. Al Shabaab claimed responsibility.
"Given that there is a problem in the country, they will be
victimised too. Thus the issue of the peacekeeping troops will be
discussed in consideration of the will of governments and the people
who contributed to these troops," said Ahmed, who flew on to Burundi on
Tuesday.
The president, a scholarly former high-school geography teacher and
one-time leader of a sharia courts movement, said Islamic law should be
the basis of Somali society.
"Sharia was the foundation for the lives of Somali people in the
past," he said, saying Somalia's transitional constitution could be
modified if necessary. "I hope the cabinet and parliament will discuss
it in a logical, responsible way."
Having been picked up by Kenyan security forces on the border at the
start of 2007, when his sharia movement was routed by Ethiopian troops,
Ahmed said this time he received a "great welcome" from the government
including President Mwai Kibaki.
Ahmed said he discussed with Kibaki how to improve security on a
frontier notorious for cross-border violence, and how Nairobi might
help the Somali government in training security forces, improving
tax-collection, immigration and health.
SOURCE: Reuters, March 10. 2009