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Somali peace talks degenerate into fist fights...
A Somali professor says that his arm was broken by thugs hired by warlords at the ongoing peace talks in the Kenyan town of Eldoret. Professor Mohammed Abdi Gandhi told the BBC that he was beaten up after he and other representatives of civil society, including women, stormed a meeting of warlords. They beat up Gandhi, ferchrissake? They were arguing about how many delegates each side should have when the talks attempt to draw up a new constitution and end 12 years of anarchy in Somalia. Three months of talks have produced an agreement to stop fighting while discussions continue but have been bogged down in arguments about numbers. Doesn't sound like they're doing very well on the part about stopping fighting, either... Over 1,000 delegates turned up when but donors have said they will only continue to pay the hotel bills for the 300 they originally invited. "Hey! Free eats! It's on them!" The BBC's Hassan Barise in Nairobi says that civil society groups have now agreed to have 16 delegates, compared to 284 for the warlords. This would enable the warlords to determine the outcome of any talks, provided they can agree amongst themselves. Figger the odds on that... He says that about 50 people burst into the meeting, chanting "Down with warlords". That was pretty bright... The United Nations' Irin news agency reports that during the confrontation, there was a fist fight between warlord Mawlid Maane and Id Badal from the civil society. Mr Maane and four of his supporters were subsequently arrested and spent the night in prison, Irin reports. Gosh, I love civil, well-reasoned discourse... Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-01-28 |
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