Somalia Journal, Day Four: Everybody Parley Down! |
| Published: November 21, 2007, 12:58 am |
| Tags: africa s annoying, politics amp other disorders |
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This summer, for the first time in history, all of Somalia's roughly 300 clans plus business leaders, diaspora representatives and women's advocates gathered in Mogadishu to parley and to draft a plan for national reconciliation. It was a remarkable event, and one of the best chances to end 16 years of civil war that have killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions. But the secular transitional government (headquartered in the northern city of Baidoa), which late last year aided an Ethiopian invasion that unseated the hardline Islamic Courts regime, failed to capitalize on the clans' brief harmony. Bureaucratic sloth and parliamentary infighting had paralyzed the Baidoa government at perhaps its most critical hour. The disarray delayed the standing up of government forces that could fill the security vacuum. The government was not reliable and had no public support on the ground. Security matters were a complete disaster, says Dr. Abdirizak Osman [ Full article ] |
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