Talks have been held in Helsinki this week aimed at bringing peace to war-ravaged Somalia. The seminar, which ended on Thursday, brought together representatives of groups from Somalia and abroad, including Islamists and supporters of militant groups.

The four-day seminar was chaired by Pekka Haavisto, a former UN official and government minister who now serves as the EU's Special Representative for Darfur. He said that representatives of very disparate groups such as women's organisations and hard-line Islamists were able to carry on a meaningful dialogue at the Sofia Cultural Centre in Vuosaari, eastern Helsinki.

Taking part in the Helsinki event were about 40 participants from the Somali diaspora, including academics, businesspeople and former Somali politicians -- as well as about 10 representatives from international organisations such as the UN and the EU.

Talking under the Tree

Somalia is a failed state, most of which is controlled by Islamist groups. There have been efforts to bring peace to the country by the US, Ethiopia, and now the African Union -- all with poor success. The AU is now boosting the number of peacekeepers to around 10,000.

London-based Somali activist Fawzia Adam of Raad International believes this is the wrong approach.

"Instead of investing in more troops, they should invest in peace initiatives first, and talk to the fighting groups," she says. "And put them under a tree [to negotiate], which is the traditional Somali way."

Haavisto says that the biggest accomplishment of the Helsinki meeting was opening free channels of discussion. That debate will likely continue in Finland, which is home to some 13,000 Somali speakers.

Link.

I'd be willing to bet a reasonable sum of money that those Islamist militants they were so keen to engage in dialogue are currently in refugee centers applying for political asylum.