Somalia: Islamic Courts and MPs sign peace deal

Mohamed Abdi Farah
Left: Sharif & Sheik Aweys
November 25, 2006 (SomaliNet) -Somali’s parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheik Aden accompanied by some of his MPs are now in Djibouti for talks with the government officials there over how Djibouti would help revive the peace process between transitional federal government based in Baidoa and its rival of Islamic Courts. Before leaving the capital of Somalia Mogadishu, Sharif Hassan and other parliamentarians in the city signed a deal with the senior officials of the Islamic Courts controlling much of south and central Somalia. In the deal, both sides indicated that they are ready to resume the talks in Khartoum, Sudan which had earlier failed to open due to disagreements. In jointly press conference held in the capital, the two sides condemned what they called the Ethiopian aggression inside Somalia and called on Addis Ababa government to pull out all its troops from Somalia and let Somalis alone to resolve their inner conflict. The deal which contained in six main articles include 1. To maintain the Khartoum talks ahead and both sides should attend the dialogue to find solution for the conflict and also to implement the deal reached in the first and the second rounds of the Khartoum talks.
2. Both sides agreed that Khartoum talks should be emplaced first before the talks by the IGAD and AU in which they (Islamists and MPs) see it as remedy to the stand off between Islamic Courts and Inter Governmental Authority on Development hoping that there will be fruitful result from that meeting. 3. The two sides are indicating that Kenya government played a key role in the Somalia reconciliation process and still conducts efforts of mediation. 4. they agreed to set up a committee of transitional federal government and Islamic Courts to seek; means to overcome the political and social crisis, the best way to share power and its implementation, to stop any action that might trigger war until the talks in Khartoum, to facilitate holding the meeting in Sudan which is scheduled to take place in mid December to obtain effective and broad based government for Somalia. 5. Both sides appealed on Ethiopia government to stop the war threats and also withdraw its troops from Somalia soil, condemning the recent comments by the Ethiopian prime minister that he declared to engage war with Islamic Courts as provocative act that might cause bloody conflict in the region. 6. They lastly called on the international community, IGAD, AU, Arab League, OIC, EU and USA to help honestly how rival sides in Somalia would reach comprehensive agreement. On the government side, the speaker, Sharif Hassan Sheik Aden singed the new deal while on the Islamic Courts side, Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, the leader of Shura council singed it.