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Djibouti Calls for Provisional Government in Somalia

DUBAI, May 8 (Reuters) - Djibouti's president said on Monday that Somali
delegates attending a reconciliation conference in his country should try
to set up a provisional government to bring peace to the war-torn state.

Ismail Omar Guelleh, on a visit to the United Arab Emirates, told a news
conference that unlike previous Somali peace meetings, the current
conference stood a good chance of success because warlords seen as
responsible for the country's destruction were not attending the meeting.

"There must be a temporary, provisional central government to secure the
country and bring about stability," Guelleh said. "This is the objective
(of the conference)," he added.

Guelleh last week opened the talks at the hillside resort of Arta, some
40 kms (25 miles) south of the capital Djibouti, with the participation
of about 300 traditional and community leaders from around the country.

Somalia has been without a central government since former dictator
Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991 and the power vacuum has been
filled by clan-based militia leaders fighting to expand their personal
fiefdoms.

The warlords have since signed numerous peace deals, but all have failed
either because some factions were excluded from the start or because
signatories resumed fighting almost as soon as the ink had dried.

"Our initiative, which banks on Somalia's civil society and tribal
leaders, came after warlords failed in 12 meetings to bring the situation
in the country under control," Guelleh said.

He said a provisional Somali government with a provisional parliament
recognised and backed by the international community could incorporate
the warlords, either by joining it directly or through relatives who
would represent them.

"In our assessment, if there was a provisional government and provisional
parliament supported by the international community, the warlords -- who
belong to the tribes -- can join the parliament or have relatives in the
government or parliament," Guelleh said.

He said Somali refugees in Djibouti made up around 20 percent of the
country's 600,000 people.

"Since ten years, we are living with Somali refugees who live in our
country. Ours is a small country with limited resources and the burden is
quite heavy," he complained.

"But the biggest sufferers are those in Somalia," he added.