     Qoobeey | Monday, March 19, 2001 - 12:12 am
A fortnight or so ago, several key warlords had a rewason to leave nairobi disappointed. They had been in townfor several days hopiong to meet President Moi and senior Kenyan officials.
the President turned out to be unavailable for them,with unconfermed reports indicating that on his way from the recent OAU summit in Libya, instruction had been relayed to nairobi that the Head of State would be unavailable for them.
Then, the leaders left for Ethiopia to meet top government officials, in that country. The warlords had wanted to meet Presidet Moi in order to organize a reconciliation conference with Somali's Transitional Governmentthat was installed last year.
The warlords also sought to meet with the main diplomatic mission in Nairobi. They managed to get asession with ahigh-raking French diplomat and with Mr David Stevens (who himself visited Hargaisa and mogadishu last week) and is the represetative for Somalia for UNSecretery-general kifi Anan. There have been telling indications that the Kenya government is getting rather tired of the warlords and their antics.
Upon instalation of the transitional government President Moi hoted in his office the Prime Minister, Dr Ali Khalif. In Libya he (Moi) also met privetely with Abdiqasim Salad. Nairobi, also is key to the warlords' operation. It has the infrustructure and the network of communications they have come to depend on their operation. Shutting them from those will hamper their activity severely.
only the self-declared Somaliland and the autonomy of Puntland have been achieved so far. Igal and A/lahi Yusuf are in a catagory from the warlords, they were elected by leaders of their clans and did not assume their positions through the power of gun, like the warlords in South.
The main handicup facing the warlords is the image problen they suffer. The international community, the UN and the OAU have been inching slowly but surely towards cegognition of the transitional government.
The UN has also allowed the transitional government to send delegations to its meeting. So has the OAU as the recent Lbya summit demonstrated. Over the years the Somali society desperetely want to see the situation in Somalia normalized. But tey are clan-minded rather than nation-minded.
Though there are no full-scale armed hostilities at the moment, the two sides the warlords and the transitional government have yet to come to terms. At the beggining there were periodic clashes as "technicals" affiliated to certain warlords ambushed several members of the interim parliament. A few of them were killed. Since then, the situation has istabilized somewhat, though the tention remains palpable.
On the other hand, the situation between the transitional government ans Ethiopia, though, has been somewhat tricky. The transitional government has accused Ethiopia of abetting the activities of the warlords. The Ethiopian government has somehow denied the allegations, though Ethiopia shadily pretending as it keeps a keen eye on what goes on within Somalia.
Anyway, if this transitional government wants a full recognition, it is in the hands of so-called super-power of the world (US), forget the UN, OAU, EU. Because after United States they will automatically recognize it. |
