OPEN LETTER TO THE MEDIATORS OF SOMALI PEACE TALKS IN ELDORET KENYA

I do not see any positive results coming out of the Somali peace talks
in Eldoret Kenya because most Somali delegates at the talks have abused
the rights of the suffering Somalis. They do not care about the Somali
people or the country.

Since the peace talks began, I have been paying attention to the Somali news and the reports of the peace talks in Eldoret. I have not seen a fair and balanced representation of all the large populated regions of Somalia. For example, Hiiraan is one of the largest and most densely populated areas of Somalia. Hiiraan had a small number of delegates led by Col. Qalad, a friend of the current administration of Ethiopia. Qalad's delegation being the only representatives of Hiiraan created disarray within some political leaders of the existing society of Hiiraan. The mediators of the Eldoret Somali peace conference in Kenya refused to include fair and balanced representatives of Hiiraan in the Somali peace talks. Thus, it is obvious that the Somali delegates in Eldoret will not form fair and balanced representation of Somalis.

Throughout the past thirteen years of chaos and the senseless continual civil war in Somalia, these Somali clan leaders or warlords have not shown any real interest in creating a Somali nation because of their selfishness and power-grabbing mentality. Their real fear is ceding power to the Somali people. If power went to the people, then the warlords' chance of control of the clan-based government would go flying out of the window.

These Somali leaders started the civil war, which resulted in the loss of many innocent people's lives, widespread destruction, and famine. Their hidden agenda is to protect and promote thier personal aggrandizement, power, money, and fame at the expense of their own people and the country.

Most Somali websites support the Somali warlords by glorifying their names and actions. They spread biased stories among Somalis and back the warlords' continual fighting.

The Eldoret Somali Peace Talks were organized by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), whose main players are from Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. These countries support the clashes between existing Somali leaders. Djibouti is on the so-called Somali Transitional Government's side which was formed in April 2000 at the Arta Conference in Djibouti. The transitional government controls a small part of Mogadishu. Ethiopia backs her own close warlord allies.

Since the transitional government was formed in Djibouti, they have recieved millions of dollars from the Arab world in the name of the suffering Somalis, but remained in the pockets of the government leaders.

Each warlord controls his own territory, but these warlords do not care about the safety of civilians in their territories. Also, each country of IGAD want to ensure that their allies maintain power. If IGAD does not change their strategies concerning the Somali peace talks, they will make the dire situation in Somalia worse by supporting these leaders. IGAD countries created the peace talks in Kenya for the Somali leaders to continue fighting agaist each other for control over the Somali people. The aim of the peace talks is supposed to end the continual Somalis' fighting or civil war as well as other problems facing the country, not perpetuate them.

In conclusion, the IGAD,technical committee must understand that they should treat all Somalis the same and allow for a fair and balanced representation of Somalis the peace talks.

Yusuf H. Hassan

yousafe18@hotmail.com