By Faysal Gabanow

US expresses concern on recent arrests of Somali MP

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, June 29, 2007 – Dr. Ibrahim Hasan Addow, the Foreign Affairs Secretary of Somalia’s ousted Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) said that he received an invitation to the National Reconciliation Conference (NRC) extended to him by the head of the Reconciliation Committee of Somalia. Addow said Ali Mahdi Mohamed also sent the invitation to other UIC officials in Sudan, Eritrea and Qatar and invited them to the conference.

From his base in Qatar he told local media that he has not formally accepted the invitation but referred them to his superiors in Asmara. He added that no single Islamist would attend the deliberations as long as Ethiopian troops are in Somalia stressing that the Islamists’ message of promoting peace in Somalia remained the same, distancing his movement from the current insurgency in Somalia, the bomb attacks and the target against government officials. He expressed optimism that UIC officials might attend the conference but if only Ethiopian troops pulled out. This condition was put forward in the Khartoum conference last year when Islamists demanded Ethiopian withdrawal and the Interim government denied any Ethiopian presence except a few officials they said, were training their military personnel but now Ethiopian presence is clear and evident, as they started to withdraw gradually.

Ibrahim Addow, an American citizen, seen as a moderate by many, presided over the UIC negotiation team in Sudan last year in an Arab brokered mediation with the interim government of Somalia, which failed due to lack of bilateral compromises and the bad faith of mediators.

Addressing a crowd in Mogadishu on Wednesday, Ali Mahdi Mohamed the head of the Reconciliation Committee also said that he had sent invitations to some UIC officials including the foreign Affairs Secretary to attend the conference. “Any one who doesn’t support the violence would participate in the conference in order to find genuine reconciliation between the rivaling parties,” Mohamed Said. He added that he was not concerned about any delay for the conference as far as Mogadishu is safe enough and the venue renovation was completed.

The Transitional Federal Government of Somalia has refused many times to include the UIC officials to the talks saying that they would have to denounce violence, terrorism and represent their clans not their ousted body. But the later invitation came after international pressure mounted on the government to make the conference more inclusive.

After meeting with Somali PM Ali Mohamed Gedi, who visited the United States this week, US officials “underscored the importance of political accommodation with key Somali stakeholders,” expressed their concern on “recent arrests and detentions of prominent citizens and respected non-governmental organizations in Mogadishu,” which they say would “undermine the current efforts for a national dialogue and political reconciliation,” and urged the PM to ensure their immediate release and respect the opposition and media, according to a press release from the department of State.

Source: The Sub-Saharan Informer