[allAfrica.com] [AED_Fundraising_Gala_Dinner_2004] Western Envoys Unhappy At Abdullahi's Election The East African (Nairobi) ANALYSIS October 25, 2004 Posted to the web October 27, 2004 By Fred Oluoch Nairobi There is apprehension that the election of a former warlord could send the wrong signal to other personalities who have taken up arms in Africa THE NEW Somali government might have been welcomed as a major positive step towards peace, but the election of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed has been grudgingly received by some representatives of Western countries in Nairobi. Though none has openly expressed displeasure with the election as it is a major development towards peace in Somalia, with the alternative being the continuation of chaos, The East African has established that some Western diplomats in Nairobi are not overly enthusiastic about the outcome compared with how they received the Sudan peace process. They are afraid that the election of a former factional leader will instead create a conglomerate of warlords, who will in turn gain respectability instead of being held accountable for past human rights abuses. Learning from the example of former Liberian president Charles Tailor, a former warlord, some Western countries, sources say, would have wished to see the election of a neutral and untainted personality who would lead the country to a fresh start, leaving behind old rivalries and clan interests. A case in point being cited is the Afghanistan interim president, Hamid Karzai, who had no connection with the various factions in Afghanistan. Already, some of the Somali warlords, led by Hussein Aideed, have warned the new president that he must form an all-inclusive government -meaning include all warlords - or forget about peace in Somalia. The apprehension of Western envoys rises from the realisation that the election of the former warlord could send a wrong signal to other personalities who have taken up arms in Africa and that it does not encourage the rule of law and democracy on the continent. This comes as the Somali people and the frontline states including Kenya, are looking to the international community to foot the bill for the reconstruction and military observer force to disarm the militia before the new government leaves Nairobi for Somalia. The United Nations has estimated that at least $5 billion will be needed to rebuild Somalia in the long run. Yet some stakeholders in the Somali peace process fear that some Western countries may not be too keen on giving grants for the new Somali government to start its operations. But the European Union head of delegation in Kenya, Derek Fee, told The East African that the Union is currently working on a programme to support the new Somali government, though they are yet to decide in what form and how much they are ready to offer. "So far, we are happy with the whole process. We are waiting for the new government to become operational, especially after the appointment of the prime minister, so that we can engage the government on what role we can play," said Mr Fee. The EU has been very supportive of the Somali peace process morally and financially, for the past two years. Also optimistic was the Kenyan Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Moses Wetangula, who despite conceding that some people might be nervous about the new president over the role he played as a former factional leader, was confident that international support would be forthcoming. "This is not the time to think about labels and the president should not be judged by his past, but current posture. A country like Somalia that is emerging from such turmoil needs a strong leader. Furthermore, President Abdullahi has clearly stated that he has transformed himself from a warlord to a peace lord," said Mr Wetangula. Mr Wetangula who has been closely associated with both the Somali and the Sudan peace talks, believes that a broad-based government is the only way forward for peace in Somalia, since, "It is better to engage the warlords in an arena of peace than leave them out and create new avenues for insecurity." He, however, conceded that there is a general donor fatigue over Somalia given the past UN and US experience in the early 1990s when international intervention was ruthlessly repulsed. Still, The EastAfrican established that the Swedish government has planned a consultative meeting for October 27, in which major donor countries and members of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) and Partners Forum (IPF) have been invited to brainstorm on how the international community can chip in. The meeting will also set the timetable for the Donors' Conference on Somalia, which will deal with every aspect of the reconstruction and funding. Notably, the issue of funding and how to transfer the new government to Mogadishu, topped the agenda of the Igad Summit meeting in Nairobi on October 15 that was to be chaired by President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. In particular, the African Union (AU) is expected to take the lead through the newly formed African Peace and Security Council in organising a military observer force, though the source of funding is yet to be identified. Despite the recent announcement by Igad and the Kenyan government that the new government will move to Somalia within two months, a recent AU reconnaissance mission that studied the security situation in various regions of Somalia, reported that the government can only be installed after the deployment of the military observer force, similar to that in Darfur. But with the Somali situation being more volatile, experts estimate that it will take at least 15,000 troops to contain and disarm the militia. Those privy to the arrangements intimated that the government may not go straight to Mogadishu, but will be stationed either in Baidoa or Kismayu. In the meantime, sources close to President Abdullahi say that he has been busy trying to reach out to various factional leaders with the objective of forming a broad-based government and has been receiving positive responses.   =============================================================================   Copyright © 2004 The East African. 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