By IPS Correspondents
NAIROBI, Sep 18 2003 (IPS)

If all goes well, Somalia may soon realise peace following adoption of a Transitional Federal Charter by delegates attending peace talks aimed at ending a long-standing conflict in that country.

The charter, which will serve as a guiding document in the creation of a central government, was agreed on by 366 delegates to the talks being held at Mbagathi, about 16 kilometres from Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

Somalia has been without a central government since President Mohammed Siad Barre was toppled in 1991.

The charter, which was described by the delegates as a "breakthrough", was adopted this week. "This is a sign that we are almost concluding the talks and are getting ready for a warless country," an excited delegate, Asha Abdi, said.

The charter settles sticky issues, such as how and when to establish a federal system of government and regional administrations, which almost derailed the peace process that started in Kenya last October.

It spells out the number of legislators required in parliament, a factor that almost dismantled the talks three months ago when delegates failed to agree on the number of parliamentarians. Some were asking for 250, while others were demanding 450.

But this time, the delegates including leaders of 23 factions who belong to four powerful clans, that have been fighting one another for 12 years, have consented to an official figure of 351, stated in the charter.

The four major clans will each get 78 seats, while the remaining 39 minor clans will settle for 39.

The delegates are expected to elect the members of parliament (MPs) within the next seven days. The legislators will then elect a speaker and the president.

Under the charter, the president is expected to nominate a prime minister whose responsibility will be to appoint the cabinet.

Already 52 prominent Somalis have expressed interests in the highest office in the land.

Scared of another scenario of power struggle, Somalis in exile are calling for a selfless leader who will be sensitive about their needs. "We pray for a president who will put the interests of all Somali people first. We have been fighting for a very long time, and it is high time we make peace among ourselves," remarked Abdullahi Ahmed, a Somali youth who hangs around the venue of the peace talks at Mbagathi.

Those in exile say the greatest challenge will be to bring together all the Somali people and pursue reconciliation in order to sustain the peace deal.

Their concerns appear to have been addressed in the charter that stresses the need for leaders to embark on a process of reconciliation and forgiveness.

Kenya’s special envoy to the Somali peace talks, Bethuel Kiplagat, said "the (Somali) government (which will be) formed will act as an agent for reconciliation and peace building processes."

He warned that such a government would require stability for it to perform well. In a Jun. 17 report, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan asserted that the future of the reconciliation process largely rests in the hands of the Somalis.

"The final results will be only as good as the substantive agreement reached by the Somalis themselves on the structure of future governance and their commitment to abide by the obligations they have accepted," he said.

The Somali peace and reconciliation talks are being facilitated by Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), whose members are Kenya, Djibouti, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia itself.

Observing the talks are IGAD partners from the United States, European Union, Egypt, Yemen, the Arab League and UN agencies. Others include civil society, politicians, clan and religious leaders.

Somalia, with a population of 9.7 million, has been locked in a bloody civil war since the fall of Barre’s regime. Pressurised by famine and political instability, warlords have been launching military campaigns to seize more and more territories.

The worst fighting ever witnessed in Somalia occurred between 1991 and 1992 when more than 300,000 civilians died from famine-related diseases.

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