Paris- There is no way to solve the Somali issue without the Somalis. For too long, this seems to have escaped the attention of the U.S. military leadership and the United Nations officials there.

President Bill Clinton has finally acknowledged this simple fact, and General Mohammed Farrah Aidid has begun to respond. But both will need help. Otherwise, Somalia will become the graveyard of the new ethical, humanitarian, military and political tools that the international community will need in the violent times ahead.

The logic of the Somalia mission can still be changed back from military to humanitarian, as originally planned. How should this be done?

When I last visited Somalia, eight months ago, the country was committing suicide. More than a thousand children were starving every day.

The UN security Council unanimously authorized the sending of troops, saying that "the magnitude of the human tragedy" constituted "a threat to international peace and security". Only the United States responded positively and immediately.

We must remember this before criticizing the American approach in Somalia: Children have been saved.

But on the social and political level, failures have been many. The Aidid Ababa agreement between the Somali factions has been flouted by some, and the militias of the warlords have yet to be dissolved.

To resolve the crisis while averting new starvation, a policy shift is needed. Mr.Clinton has decided to send more troops. This offers the world a six-months window to restart the peace process in Mogadishu.

The UN secretary-general Butros Butros-Ghali, will be in Somalia on friday. A new policy is possible. But it will require the partecipation of men and women open to dialogue and peace. Richard Oakley, Mr.Clinton's envoy, is such a man.

In forging a new policy, these facts need to be kept in mind:

Mogadishu is not the only important area in Somalia. But what happens there has not only political consequences but economic and social effects throughout the country.

While pursuing General Aidid, the UN force in Somalia has lost its neutrality. The United Nations' only strenght is to stay above local disputes and out of clan politics.

Every effort should be made to include General Aidid in peace talks.

Although there are 25.000 foreign troops in Somalia, insecurity is high. Mogadishu still depends on international aid, and some private humanitarian groups are about to leave. The Somalis cannot be abandoned again.

What, then, should be the objectives of the world's Somali policy?

First, the present leadership of the UN force should be praised, and then replaced. And a peaceful dialogue with General Aidid is badly needed.

The general is no saint. When I showed him dying children on the streets of Mogadishu, he did not flinch. Shamefully, some seem to consider him a Robin Hood. But the Somalis should be made responsible for their own destiny.

The United Nations is a stabilizing force in the pursuit of peace and justice, not a new colonial power. It should link withdrawal of its troops to the evolution of the peace process: We will get out of the Somali crisis when the Somalis take over.

These goals should be pursued as part of a humanitarian approach, the only one that puts victims first.

The UN undersecretary-general in charge of humanitarian affairs, Jan Eliasson, is most competent; his talents should be used in Somalia. Many others are ready to help. The humanitarian galaxy should be mobilized and contribute to the operation. This is, once again, a political mission, and not a military one.

The forthcoming humanitarian conference and political consultation in Addis Abeba should send a strong message: No more victims. All the Somali factions, including General Aidid's, should be invited.

The Somalis have to trust the United Nations; but the United Nations must be sure it deserves their trust. Let us be certain that the Somali crisis does not destroy the UN ideal.

It is a matter of credibility. The idea of international solidarity in the fight against misery, hatred and suffering will build, hopefully, on success in Somalia. This is the challenge of the turn of the century. If the international community fails to create the political and humanitarian instruments to achieve this, it will be powerless against the violence of the new international dis-order.