Women Hope to Affect Khartoum Peace Talks
By Jim Fisher-Thompson

October 16, 2006 (The Washington File) The women of Somalia have a critical role to play in laying the foundation for sustainable peace in their war-torn nation by acting as a bridge between rival political movements and clans, says Asha Elmi, a member of Parliament of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

Elmi says she plans to "vigorously pursue" that objective if the TFG adds her to the delegation headed for a third round of peace talks set to begin in Khartoum October 30. Somalia has been in civil conflict since the government of President Siad Barre was ousted in 1991.

The Somali lawmaker spoke at an October 13 luncheon sponsored by the National Democratic Institute (NDI), which operates special U.S.-government-funded programs aimed at improving the parliamentary skills of the 23 women legislators in the TFG Parliament.

Somalia has no national government at present, according to State Department background notes. However, it does have a transitional government, the components of which are known as the Somalia Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs). The TFIs include a transitional parliament, known as the Transitional Federal Assembly, and the TFG, which includes a transitional president, prime minister and a Cabinet.

The TFG, recognized by the United States and the United Nations, was the product of a political compromise by Somalis meeting in Yemen in January. However, its authority never extended much beyond the provincial capital of Baidoa. The former national capital of Mogadishu and its surrounding area remained under the sway of clan warlords. In June, a movement called the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) seized control of Mogadishu and ousted those warlords.

A major armed clash between the TFG and the ICU was averted when the Arab League intervened and brought the parties together to discuss political power-sharing in talks at Khartoum, Sudan.

Elmi, who played an instrumental role in the formation of the TFG and as a negotiator with the ICU, said, "Our main mission now must be to make the Khartoum talks fruitful.

" Women increasingly are playing a greater role in public life in Somalia, Elmi said, because "as in all civil conflicts, women and children have been the first victims." Since men have been doing the fighting for the past 15 years, women have become more involved in commerce and political affairs. "Now, we want to play a vital role in promoting peace and political participation," she said.

Elmi and other Somali women carved out a role for themselves in the talks leading to the agreement creating the TFG and its parliament. To break the logjam of inter-clan conflict, she said, "we used the women to be a bridge among the warring clans; to promote a culture of peace and a spirit of reconciliation.

" Thus, "Somali women became 'ambassadors of peace,' " Elmi said. This important status, she added, enabled the establishment of a single Somali women's voice and the formation of the "Somali Women's Clan" or, as it is sometimes called, "The Sixth Clan." Somalia has five, mainly male-dominated traditional clans.

This was a "notable and historic achievement," Elmi said, because previous peace talks had always involved just armed parties. But inclusion of the Sixth Clan meant that civil society also became a part of the peace process.

A direct result of the Sixth Clan's influence in the negotiations leading up to the TFG was the establishment of a quota of 12 percent of parliamentary representation for women and the establishment of a Ministry of Women. Later after the TFG was formed, the Sixth Clan also became a lobbying force for women's and children's causes in the TFG.

Asked if she believed she could duplicate the success of the women's movement in negotiations with the traditionally Islamic ICU movement, Elmi said that when she had earlier contacts with their leaders, "they treated me well.

"I am not sure what their political and social agenda is. I will take a wait-and-see attitude," she said. One thing she was sure of, Elmi said, is that "we are sick and tired of warlordism."

Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer, speaking of the ICU, told a June 16 State Department press briefing: "We are reserving judgment about the Islamic Court Union. They're signaling to us their intent to work in the context of the priorities set by the international community; that is, preventing terrorism, supporting stability, working with the Transitional Federal Institutions. But we will have to make a true judgment by their actual actions."

The ICU, she added, is "a heterogeneous group, and so it's very likely that there are elements within it that may be more extremist and others that are more moderate, so we will have to see how they negotiate with the Transitional Federal Institutions."

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

From: http://allafrica.com/stories/200610170096.html