Saturday, June 11, 2011

Somali community in Kenya Protest Against Somalia's PM Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Forced Resignation

Nairobi, Kenya





Protest in ISLII (Pics) in support for FARMAAJO   
Somalia’s PM may resign, but scars will not stop bleeding

Somalia’s prime minister, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed is expected to resign after Somalia’s feuding leaders, President, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Parliament Speaker, Sharif Hassan agreed to form a new government to end a political stalemate that saw an intervention from the United Nations and regional governments.
The political deadlock between the two leaders originates from a dispute over the government’s future as their term is set to end in August. To shun possible elections, both leaders had unilaterally extended their terms; the president for a year, and the speaker for three years, drawing a criticism from the International Community, the major donors of the feeble Interim Government.
In a bid to defuse the tension and discuss with the post-TFG national government, the United Nation’s Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) based in Nairobi hosted a meeting in April, attended by major Somali parties, including regional administrations. The meeting was, however, boycotted by the Somali president and his premier, but was attended by the speaker splitting the government into two rival factions. The participants agreed to hold parliamentary elections before August deadline to elect a new president and a speaker. But the outcome was rejected by the president deepening his dispute with the parliament speaker. The UN Security Council, convening in Nairobi in May, voiced anger at Somali leaders’ recurrent political disputes, sending them a very strong message to end their squabbling or face sanctions.
With no solution in sight, another meeting was held in Kampala, this week, by Somalia Contact Group, a body that had been formed in 2006 and comprises of nations from the EU, US, UN and Tanzania. At the beginning, the UN Envoy, Augustine Mahiga insisted on his initial proposal; that elections be held which had been agreed on in Nairobi meeting. But he was later forced to change his initiative after President Sharif won strong support from Ugandan President Yuweri Musevani, whose troops protect the Interim government in Mogadishu. Musevani warned that if Sharif’s term was not extended for a year, his troops would leave Somalia as the elections would “jeopardize his troops’ recent military gains against Alshabaab”, the Islamist fighters opposing the African Union peacekeepers’ presence in Somalia.
Eventually, Mahiga mediated the two Somali leaders who agreed to defer elections for a year. In return, the speaker demanded a power-sharing government with the President, which literally means, his allies will be given some ministerial posts. This demand was immediately refused by the Prime Minister. Speaking from Mogadishu on Tuesday, Mohamed Abdullahi unveiled the conditions made by the speaker during a press conference before heading to Kampala where the deliberations have continued. The PM said he would not accept the demands because “a coalition is formed by political parties not by the same party within a government”.
According to sources in Kampala, the former PM was given two options; to form a government and give half of the seats to the speaker’s allies or resign. Refusing to succumb to the pressure, Mohamed decided to step down sparking protests in Mogadishu. Both the President and Prime Minister returned to Mogadishu on Thursday, where the later was expected to announce his resignation. The Prime Minister addressed a rally made by his supporters. However, no resignation was announced until now.
Mohamed was appointed as a prime minister, after his predecessor, Omar Abdirashid resigned under the same circumstance in September last year.
Both the President and the Speaker, joined the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in 2009 after a UN backed power-sharing deal in Djibouti between the TFG and an Islamist group based in Asmara which the two leaders had belonged to. Under the deal, the parliament seats were doubled with the additional seats going to the opposition. But the political disputes within the administration have continued and former UN Envoy to Somalia, Ahmed Ould Abdallah, who was the brainchild of the Djibouti Agreement, was largely seen as a meddler rather than a mediator. He was later forced to resign after his term ended last year to be replaced by Augustine Mahiga, a veteran Tanzanian diplomat.
The recent political deadlock was the first litmus test for the leadership of the Tanzanian at a time Somalia is at a cross-road. If the International Community reckons that the prime minister’s resignation and the extension of the government’s term would solve the embattled leaders’ dispute and help them work for a common ground, they have many reasons to rethink and reflect deeply on the political landscape of Somalia. Since its formation in 2004, infighting has become a norm for the Somali government. The reason is simple; the government is based on a wild system that never exists in the world. The speaker rivals with the president and occasionally assumes some of his constitutional powers. The leadership is divided into regional lines. Each leader seeks support from the neighboring countries which their approval and support has become the only legitimacy for a Somali government.
Notably, the two feuding leaders, the president and the speaker, are politically illiterate, corrupt and always decide not to agree. If the cabinet leaders are numerically divided into two, one for each leader, then competence will be in question. Each of the two leaders will nominate their loyalists to the posts rather competent ministers. Corruption will continue, people will despair and throw their support behind Alshabaab. Today’s demonstrations in Mogadishu, and the public backing for a leader, who even does not originate from the Capital, cannot be underestimated. Next year, at this time we may be facing the same phenomenon.
In conclusion, in meddling into Somalia’s internal affairs, using his troops’ presence in Somalia as peacekeepers to gain political influence in the beleaguered nation, President Musevani of Uganda not only plays into the hands of Alshabaab, who brands his troops as occupation forces but questions the whole peace-keeping mandate in the continent. Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi may resign or not, but the scars will not stop bleeding.

By Faysal Mohamud
The writer is a Somali journalist and can be reached at journo20@gmail.com


 

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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