Moscow International Service radio (in Somali) — 1600 GMT

A referendum will be held in Somalia this year, 1990, which will lead to constitutional reform in the country. A multiparty system will be introduced in the country.

Ashkir Botan, the chairman of the new constitutional committee, recently briefed journalists on this issue. The committee was formed in November 1989. Vladimir Borisov of Radio Moscow comments:

It appears many important changes will take place in Somalia this year. That is how the new constitutional committee sees it. A member of the committee, Ismail Jama Osbleh, who is also an expert in public law, said some sections of the Constitution would be either changed or completely done away with.

As stated earlier, the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP) will lose its exclusiveness in the national constitution.

The section which states that Somalia is a socialist state may also be removed. The democratic section, on the rights of citizens and freedom of expression, will form the basis of the new constitution. The important point is that this decision was taken by the SRSP. That was said by the head of the Mogadishu regime, Mohamed Siad Barre.

Experts on Somali affairs believe that the government aims to surmount the current difficult situation facing Somalia by taking these steps. Our commentator adds that not every party and regime can take such bold decisions, while involved in a difficult situation.

Furthermore, I believe, our commentator said, that among the members of the SRSP there are healthy forces who reason meaningfully. It is these forces, therefore, who should spearhead the party’s stand in the forthcoming political battle in the country. They should demonstrate the party’s legitimate role in the future of Somalia. This can only be proved by deeds.

However, no one knows which parties will contest the election. When Siad Barre announced that an election would be held this year, he talked of two or three parties. No one knows what he meant. Would the SRSP form several parties, or would there be others?

To date, there are three armed opposition forces in the country. The strongest one is the Somali National Movement (SNM) fighting in the north of the country. The other two are the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM) and the (?SAF) in the south of the country. Apart from the slogan let us topple Siad Barre’s regime, they have no obvious clear-cut political programs.

Moreover, each rebel group is securely attached to one of the Somali tribes. So will it be possible for the leaders of the rebel movements to form political parties and overcome the interests they have represented so far?

These are some of the questions which the coming changes in Somalia will answer. If the rebels do not participate in the forthcoming changes, it will be virtually impossible to stop the ongoing civil war in the country, or to preserve the national unity of the Republic. A number of issues are not defined in the forthcoming changes in Somalia.

However, the reforms have started, and that is the most important thing, our commentator said.