Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 18, 1993 TAG: 9310180056
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
"We have stopped the search process against General Aidid at this time," she said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Albright, who is America's representative at the United Nations, said, "We are pressing the political track very hard" in an effort to resolve the crisis in Somalia and added that she was "feeling pretty good" about the progress.
But she added, "We cannot afford to have those that attack peacekeeping missions not ultimately be held accountable."
About 1,000 Somalis turned out for a peace demonstration Sunday in Mogadishu as part of a campaign by Aidid to change his warlord image.
Some chanted "Down with the U.N.!" and "Down with Clinton!," but most of the people seemed content to listen to speakers and sing along to a lilting, traditional poem.
Aidid did not attend the rally. But top officials of his Somalia National Alliance told the crowd they want peace, and blamed the United Nations for the conflict that has racked southern Mogadishu since early June.
Aidid is trying to sell himself as a diplomat and peace broker in an effort to re-enter the country's puzzle-like political picture.
Although he has continued some of his anti-U.N. rhetoric in recent broadcasts on his clandestine radio station, Aidid has toned down the stridency and spoken of reconciliation.
In Mogadishu, U.N. spokesman David Stockwell said Sunday that Aidid "is still vulnerable to detention. . . . If he makes himself vulnerable, then we will detain him."
"Vulnerable would be if he came here to brief you guys . . . or if he tried to address a rally," Stockwell told reporters.
After Aidid's forces ambushed and killed 24 Pakistani peacekeepers in June, the U.N. forces in Mogadishu gave top priority to capturing Aidid and bringing him to justice. In recent months U.S. troops often spearheaded the search and, in turn, became the most prominent target of Somali attacks.
Violence in the capital has since escalated, culminating in a street battle this month - part of a search-and-capture mission - that left up to 18 Americans dead and brought about a quick shift in U.S. policy.
President Clinton promised to "depersonalize" the conflict in Mogadishu, saying he would work for a political settlement while pledging that all U.S. troops would be out of Somalia by March 31.
Nevertheless, the United Nation's special envoy to Somalia, retired U.S. Adm. Jonathan Howe, said last week that the U.N. effort to capture Aidid continued.
Asked about her recent statement that failure to take action against Aidid would be seen as appeasement toward the clan leader, Albright responded: "What we're doing is trying a different method. What I think we all have to learn in this period is flexibility. There are different ways of doing things, and we are trying different tools."
Albright also said she had expressed U.S. doubts with U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali over the advisability of his plan to visit Mogadishu.
"He is the secretary-general and he is entitled to do what he wants," Albright said.
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