Salad Idow Hasan (Xiis), Hiiraan Online
sxiis@hiiraan.com
Friday August 08, 2008
Mogadishu, Somalia (HOL) – The Prime Minister of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia Mr. Nur Hasan Hussein Ade said today that the only key to a lasting peace in Somalia is reconciliation. The Prime Minister was participating in a weekly radio discussion aired by Horn Afrik radio in Mogadishu.
“The only key to a lasting peace in Somalia is through reconciliation and the reconciliation efforts are progressing well,” said the Prime Ministers who added that the recent agreement between the TFG and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) will soon be officially signed in Saudi Arabia.
The Prime Minister took questions and listened the advice from some listeners including a question from Prof. Ali Abdirahman Hirsi who praised the Prime Minister for keeping his promise to work on reconciliation and talk to anyone interested in participating in the reconciliation efforts. Prof. Hersi also advised the Prime Minister to continue his efforts for national reconciliation.
When asked when the internally displaced people (IDP) of Mogadishu will return to their homes, the Prime Minister said that there are efforts underway on this issue and called for patience on the part of the displace people while the efforts to facilitate their return home. Moreover, the Prime Minister said that he is very worried about the appalling conditions in which these displaced people live and that he will not allow their suffering to go any longer.
The Prime Minister also mentioned that there has been minor disagreement among senior leaders of the TFG but added that such disagreement has not caused the current structure of the government to fail. The Prime Minister also said that the current disagreement among senior leaders of the TFG will not affect the reconciliation efforts under way.
When asked about a recent memo by the Attorney General of the TFG which stated that Prime Minister’s action to dismiss the Mayor of Mogadishu was unconstitutional, the Prime Minister said that it is not the job of the Attorney General to interfere in the internal disagreements of senior government leaders and that only the Supreme Court has that right, unfortunately the Supreme Court has not yet been established.
The Prime Minister advised the Attorney General not to acct in ways that is not in line with his constitutional role which ensuring that the laws of the land are followed and bring indictment against those who break the law.
At the end of the Prime Minister’s discussion, the moderator asked him about perceptions that he avoids talking to local media, the Prime Minister acknowledged the existence of such perceptions and noted as an example a recent cartoon on the issue by the famous Somalia Cartoonist Amin Amir but the Prime Minister said he took the cartoon as a satire and not reality.
English adaptation by Mohamed Amin Ahmed, Hiiraan Online
mamin35@hiiraan.com