Sun, Oct 19, 2003 - Page 6 News List

Somali peace talks a laughing stock

DPA , NAIROBI

Next Tuesday, the clans are scheduled to begin naming people to the 351-member parliament, which in turn would select an interim president with a four-year mandate.

Some of the participants organized an event on Tuesday to mark one year since the talks began. National songs accompanied by a synthesizer and patriotic poetry over a distorted loudspeaker were the order of the day.

Outside the tent where the delegates gathered, Nur Hajji Omar, a refugee and former militia fighter shook his head.

"This is a sad day, there's nothing to celebrate," he said. "One year later, they're still killing, they're still fighting. These people should be ashamed of themselves."

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