Islamist victory may give Somali peace

[SOO MAAL]

Islamist victory may give Somali peace

 

By C Bryson Hull

 

Nairobi - The seizure of Somalia's capital by Islamist militia may be a new chance for peace despite US fears the anarchic nation could become an al-Qaeda haven under militant control, diplomats said on Tuesday.

 

After three months of fighting, militias for Islamic courts that have brought sharia law - and some order - to Mogadishu routed a coalition of warlords who had ruled the city by force since ousting dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

 

Despite vows by the Islamist leaders to create a Muslim state, many diplomats said US fears of Somalia becoming a terrorist base were overblown and that on the contrary, the new order may be a boost for peace.

 

"In all likelihood, this may lead to some substantial progress in Somalia. It's quite an opening," a European diplomat involved in Somalia's peace process told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

 

The only catch, the diplomat said, is that "most Western governments, when they hear sharia courts, think 'terrorists'."

 

The courts deny any al-Qaeda links, although one senior Islamic court leader, Adan Hashi Ayro, was trained in Afghanistan and is suspected of involvement with the group.

 

Security experts and diplomats say there are training camps in and around Mogadishu and that a handful of al-Qaeda operatives are there.

 

The Islamists were quick to try and calm fears they were harbouring al-Qaeda by saying they shared "no objectives, goals or methods with groups that sponsor or support terrorism".

 

"We would like to establish a friendly relationship with the international community that is based on mutual respect and interest and seek their support for the Somali peace process," Islamic Courts Union Chairperson Sheikh Sharif Ahmed said in a statement emailed to diplomats and seen by Reuters.

 

Many believe US intelligence money funded the warlords' self-described counter-terrorism coalition.

 

That gave rise to a perception that the war for Mogadishu was a proxy battle between Washington and Islamists who view its "war on terror" as an attack on Muslims.

 

The interim Somali government is too weak to move into Mogadishu and the Islamists stepped in to fill the void.

 

They have won strong support through the establishment of clan-based sharia courts which also provide security, education and basic services to Mogadishu residents who suffered violence at the hands of the warlords' militiamen for years.

 

Another diplomat said the Islamists' first formal message to the international community showed comparisons between Somalia and Afghanistan when the fundamentalist Taliban regime took over were off the mark.

 

"That is not a Taliban-esque statement. Somalis are moderate Muslims, although there are Taliban types among them (the courts)," said a Nairobi-based Western diplomat who follows Somalia.

 

Bethuel Kiplagat, a Kenyan envoy who led the peace process which created the interim government in late 2004, said it was a positive sign that the Islamists were not hostile to the fledgling administration and had offered an olive branch.

 

"The major actors who nurture the peace process should move with haste... to ensure that the government gets the necessary support and to see what role the Islamists can play," he said.

 

The ejection of the warlords from the city and the subsequent firing of four of them who were government ministers - and who opposed allowing the administration into Mogadishu - should also help smooth the peace process, diplomats said.

 

The interim Somali government in a statement said it was starting negotiations immediately with the groups behind the warlords' ouster, including the Islamists and Mogadishu businessmen who backed them.

 

The United States has never confirmed funding the warlords, but said it will work with anyone who supports its counter-terrorism work.

 

Diplomats said the rise of the Islamists appeared to be a setback to US counter-terrorism operations.

 

"If the US did what people alleged they did, then I am sure what they didn't want was sharia courts to be in complete control of Mogadishu and threatening other parts of Somalia," said the Western diplomat, whose job does not allow him to speak on the record.