Yusuf's permanet power struggle
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Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed has said Islamist insurgents now control most of the country, and have advanced to the edge of Mogadishu.
The President was speaking to Somali parliamentarians in Kenya, a day after he rejected new cabinet members named by the Prime Minister, Mr Hassan Hussein and then consequently talks on forming a new cabinet failed.
Only few days ago he was claiming his government controls the whole country and that, thanks to the Ethiopian Army, his opponents were no more in Somalia.
It is not the first time that the President, to draw attention waving the danger of Islamists, changes suddenly his mind.
The thing that Mr. Yusuf has not yet understood is that time of the scarecrow is over and Ethiopians themselves realize that the situation is not any more sustainable and can no longer bet on him against the rest of Somalis.
All previous governments have failed for the unacceptable position of Mr Yusuf who was so far supported by the administration of Bush and his devoted attendant Meles of Ethiopia.
Mr Yusuf blamed parliamentarians for the failure of the cabinet talks although he rejected the list of ministers before they arrive in front of the parliament.
"The government controls Mogadishu and Baidoa and people are killed there every day," Mr Yusuf told the meeting in Nairobi.
"Islamists have taken over everywhere else, so if I ask you parliamentarians: do you know the situation we face? Who causes all these problems? We are to blame." He added.
On the other hand the Prime Minister on Sunday accused the President of blocking the creation of a new cabinet, undermining efforts to restore stability in the lawless country.
"The President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed [a former warlord in the breakaway region of Puntland] had refused to approve a new cabinet list seen as a key step in ending nearly two decades of bloodletting" Said Mr. Hassan Hussein.
"It is unfortunate that the President has become the first to oppose the IGAD directives though he was one of the signatories." The Prime Minister added.
A similar power struggle forced Ali Mohamed Gedi to resign as Prime Minister last year. He accused the President of interfering with the government's operations.
At a summit in October in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), set a deadline of November 12 for the feuding sides to agree a new transitional government.
Now the Prime Minister Hassan Hussein vowed to ignore the President and present the cabinet list to Parliament for approval in order to get his government going.
Hussein also accused Yusuf of refusing to support a recent power-sharing and truce agreement between the government and the opposition, the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), at UN-mediated talks in Djibouti.
"I am sorry to say that the president never supported the Djibouti peace process aimed at uniting the government and the Islamist," said Hussein, who supports the deal.
"I am the prime minister of Somalia who has great respect for the president, but I am not interested in his personal dictates that are against the rule of law." added Mr. Hussein.
Hussein Aden
The President was speaking to Somali parliamentarians in Kenya, a day after he rejected new cabinet members named by the Prime Minister, Mr Hassan Hussein and then consequently talks on forming a new cabinet failed.
Only few days ago he was claiming his government controls the whole country and that, thanks to the Ethiopian Army, his opponents were no more in Somalia.
It is not the first time that the President, to draw attention waving the danger of Islamists, changes suddenly his mind.
The thing that Mr. Yusuf has not yet understood is that time of the scarecrow is over and Ethiopians themselves realize that the situation is not any more sustainable and can no longer bet on him against the rest of Somalis.
All previous governments have failed for the unacceptable position of Mr Yusuf who was so far supported by the administration of Bush and his devoted attendant Meles of Ethiopia.
Mr Yusuf blamed parliamentarians for the failure of the cabinet talks although he rejected the list of ministers before they arrive in front of the parliament.
"The government controls Mogadishu and Baidoa and people are killed there every day," Mr Yusuf told the meeting in Nairobi.
"Islamists have taken over everywhere else, so if I ask you parliamentarians: do you know the situation we face? Who causes all these problems? We are to blame." He added.
On the other hand the Prime Minister on Sunday accused the President of blocking the creation of a new cabinet, undermining efforts to restore stability in the lawless country.
"The President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed [a former warlord in the breakaway region of Puntland] had refused to approve a new cabinet list seen as a key step in ending nearly two decades of bloodletting" Said Mr. Hassan Hussein.
"It is unfortunate that the President has become the first to oppose the IGAD directives though he was one of the signatories." The Prime Minister added.
A similar power struggle forced Ali Mohamed Gedi to resign as Prime Minister last year. He accused the President of interfering with the government's operations.
At a summit in October in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), set a deadline of November 12 for the feuding sides to agree a new transitional government.
Now the Prime Minister Hassan Hussein vowed to ignore the President and present the cabinet list to Parliament for approval in order to get his government going.
Hussein also accused Yusuf of refusing to support a recent power-sharing and truce agreement between the government and the opposition, the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), at UN-mediated talks in Djibouti.
"I am sorry to say that the president never supported the Djibouti peace process aimed at uniting the government and the Islamist," said Hussein, who supports the deal.
"I am the prime minister of Somalia who has great respect for the president, but I am not interested in his personal dictates that are against the rule of law." added Mr. Hussein.
Hussein Aden
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