Military

DATE=02/14/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-286441

TITLE=KENYA / SOMALIA (L-O)

BYLINE=MICHAEL DRUDGE

DATELINE=NAIROBI

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: East African officials are appealing to the U-S-led coalition against terrorism not to attack Somalia. The call came at a six-nation meeting in Nairobi to revive the Somali peace process. We get more from V-O-A's Michael Drudge in the Kenyan capital.

TEXT: Foreign ministry officials from six east African nations have opened a two-day meeting in Nairobi to plan for a March peace conference on Somalia.

The meeting is sponsored by the region's Inter-Governmental Authority on Development and includes officials from Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda.

Also attending is the transport minister of the transitional national government in Somalia, Abdi Mohammed. No other Somali factions are present.

The meeting is taking place against the backdrop of international concern that war-ravaged Somalia could become a terrorist haven following the ouster of the al-Qaida terrorist network from Afghanistan.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail opened the Nairobi meeting with an appeal to the U-S-led coalition against terrorism not to attack Somalia.

///ISMAIL ACT///

We call upon the coalition, which are now actively involved in fighting of terrorism, not to act militarily in Somalia in order not to increase the sufferings of the Somali people, and to give us a chance for a final peace settlement in Somalia.

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The Kenyan foreign minister, Marsden Madoka, said a broad-based reconciliation process in Somalia is vital for east Africa.

///MADOKA ACT///

A stable and peaceful Somalia with an all-inclusive government will result in a greater security and stability in the region, stem the flow of refugees to our countries, prevent the proliferation of small arms in the region and ensure that terrorism and its perpetrators do not take root in Somalia.

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Abdi Mohammed of the transitional national government in Somalia told V-O-A he hopes the Nairobi meeting will give new momentum to the peace process begun in Djibouti 18 months ago.

Large parts of Somalia remain in control of factions that do not recognize the transitional government, and sporadic fighting continues. (Signed)

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