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| Africa: East | |
| Somali leaders agree federal charter | |
| 2003-09-15 | |
Somaliaâs factional leaders have agreed on a transitional charter which seeks to pave the way to a federal government, according to mediators. The 23 leaders attending the negotiations in Nairobi on Sunday agreed the federal system would include district, regional and state administrations to reflect the level of local administrations already in place. Kenyan diplomat Bethuel Kiplagat, the talksâ chief mediator, said agreement on the transitional charter was a âvery, very important stageâ. Kiplagat added 360 Somali delegates will discuss the charter on Monday. If the proposals are adopted, the talks will move into their final stage which will focus on power sharing. This will include the election of a president and the appointment of 351 members of parliament, based on Somaliaâs complex clan system. Talks broke up three weeks ago when representatives disagreed over the type of federal system for the country. At least two northern regions, Puntland and Somaliland, have had their own administrations for several years. Somaliland has even been seeking international recognition as a separate country and has not taken part in talks. A further concern is that many important and influential figures have failed to turn up. Among those absent from the talks was Abd al-Qasim Hasan, president of Somalia's Transitional National Government.
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| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #8 Good article,last week residents of my area were hit with flooding(7"of rain in 4hrs,10" over 3 days)I had some minor flooding in my house,but not bad. Several of my neighbors had extensive flooding(from 3"-12" of sand and mud)loosing the entire contents of thier homes.3 familys lost thier entire homes,completely destroyed.The Red Cross showed-up,took a look around and said this disaster is not serious enough and is a waste of our time.These assholes will never get any of my money agin. |
| Posted by: raptor 2003-9-16 8:57:45 AM |
| #7 Good article,last week residents of my area were hit with flooding(7"of rain in 4hrs,10" over 3 days)I had some minor flooding in my house,but not bad. Several of my neighbors had extensive flooding(from 3"-12" of sand and mud)loosing the entire contents of thier homes.3 familys lost thier entire homes,completely destroyed.The Red Cross showed-up,took a look around and said this disaster is not serious enough and is a waste of our time.These assholes will never get any of my money agin. |
| Posted by: raptor 2003-9-16 8:57:42 AM |
| #6 SH - Great! That is a kick-ass story link. We knew it was happening, but the writing and research are impeccable. I have a few apologist friends who will get this link via email... Fred - though labeled as "opinion" - I think this deserves a run of its own as a story tomorrow. It will, no doubt, draw many comments and observations. Thx SuperHose!!! |
| Posted by: .com (Prez for Life - My Isles of Langerhans) 2003-9-15 3:50:30 PM |
| #5 The Anti-idiotarian Rottweiler had a link to this WSJ editorial by Martin Peretz concerning the Passive Saboteurs in the UN and NGO's. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-9-15 3:15:17 PM |
| #4 This is about the Golden Goose: NGOs. No fun just shooting and stealing from each other - they need some new blood / booty. This will provide the warlords with a centralized foe (read: target rich environment / negotiating partner) and a fresh influx of NGO money and goodies. They've learned their lessons: 1) don't steal it ALL - let some aid get through or they'll leave 2) don't kill too many of the aid workers or they'll leave Nothing will change. Ever. |
| Posted by: .com (Prez for Life - My Isles of Langerhans) 2003-9-15 3:34:21 AM |
| #3 It only took them 10 years without us. I wonder how long Iraw would take without us and with UN politics involved? 20, 30 years perhaps? |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-9-15 3:20:43 AM |
| #2 Old Somali saying: Me against my brother. My brother and me against our cousin. My cousin and me against the world. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2003-9-15 12:56:07 AM |
| #1 351 members of parliament? That's over half the population of Somalia with a normal body-fat index! |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-9-15 12:50:59 AM |