Somalia 
Peace millions for Somali war lords

afrol News, 18 February - The Kenyan government is hosting time and money consuming peace talks for 1000 delegates from neighbouring Somalia, which are accused by local sources to behave like they are "on holiday". The new Kenyan administration is now at least receiving more international funds to finance the war lords' stay.

The government of Kenya has emerged the leading peace facilitator of the troubled region. In Machakos, the Sudanese government is negotiating with rebels of Southern Sudan in an initiative that apparently has sufficient substance to end the decades of civil war in the country. In Eldoret, Somali war lords have apparently been negotiating since October last year to find a solution to the 12 years of anarchy in their country. 

The Kenyan hosts however have to combine the international honour with great expenses and distribution efforts to maintain these peace and reconciliation talks. The new government of President Mwai Kibaki therefore is using its new international goodwill to get funds from abroad. 

While the Sudanese negotiations have been intensive and virulent - with decisions taken on peace, war and peace again within matter of days - the Somali conference is seen to be degenerating into a chatting club.

Even if only Somali 300 delegates were invited to Eldoret in remote eastern Kenya, there has come a total of 1000 Somalis, claiming their voice is crucial to achieve peace in the country. The large number of delegates has even developed into the main point on the agenda since the reconciliation talks started, delegates accusing each other of not having been invited in the first place.

Arranging the Somali reconciliation talks proved a difficult task right from the start. The conference originally was to be organised in Nairobi. Having hosted similar arrangements earlier, Nairobi hoteliers however told the government they would not cooperate out of "fear of destruction of property."

The negotiations were then located to Eldoret, some 300 kilometres north-east of the Kenyan capital. As 1000 delegates turned up instead of the 300 expected, problems soon emerged. It soon turned out that delegates were to stay for a long time and would not pay for their own expenses.

By November, Eldoret hotels complained of unpaid accounts of over US$ 1 million. As hotels started refusing services, the Kenyan government was embarrassed and covered the hotel bills, instructing the hosts to keep on giving the best possible service to the Somali war lords.

This month, problems again surfaced, and Eldoret hoteliers again complained they were not receiving payments from the delegates. This time, almost US$ 3 million of unpaid accounts had accumulated. 

The new Kenyan authorities therefore decided to move the entire conference from picturesque Eldoret to a less luxurious ambient in a students' college in the outskirts of Nairobi, stating the high expenses as the most important reason for the decision. Somali war lords immediately protested. 

Clan leader Mawlid Maane, referring to himself as "an important person," told the BBC that he was extremely unhappy at the decision to relocate: "This is not the proper place for a reconciliation conference. This is a college for students," he complained to the British journalists, and threatened to leave the conference. 

While for months of talking in Eldoret so far has come short of any results, also the most important reasons for keeping the warriors in Kenya are starting to dissolve. The cease fire that was a condition for taking part in the talks is increasingly being broken. The Kenyan government has already threatened to expel those war lords responsible of the renewed fighting in Somalia. 

While the Kenyan intent to solve the Somali civil war therefore seems to fall apart, the government is at least receiving increased international financing of the conference by way of consolation. Foreign funds started flowing already last year, when the US government contributed US$ 100,000 to help finance the meeting in Eldoret at the offset of the conference. 

Under today's visit of Norwegian Development Minister Hilde Frafjord Johnson, the Kenyan government was also granted some US$ 400,000 to "finance the Sudanese and Somali peace conferences," although most will have to go to unpaid hotel accounts in Eldoret. 

In another development, Ms Frafjord Johnson also announced the total reestablishment of diplomatic ties between Norway and Kenya. The two countries have had strained relations since Kenya broke diplomatic ties with Norway in 1990, after Norwegian engagement in favour of an opposition politician living in Norway and several degrading articles in the Norwegian press about thus President Daniel arap Moi. President Moi stepped down at year's end. 

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