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SOMALIA PRESIDENT BLAMES THE HOUSE SPEAKER May 22, 2005
In a telephone interview with Mogadishu radio station Shabelle, Somalia President Mr. Abdulahi Y. Ahmed who is London, talked about different subjects including the existence of Al-Qaida in the country.
He called the house speaker irresponsible and accused him of leaving Nairobi only to get confined in Daynile, Mogadishu outskirt. “I am not saying any thing about him personally but I can see his politics is flawed.†He said. Nairobi, Kenya is Somali government’s temporary headquarters.
The president sees Mogadishu’s disarmament process as a show to deceit the public. He believes if Mogadishu faction leaders were honest about the disarmament process, they would disarm their militias not relocate them. He said they could simply handover their weapons to a neutral third party.
In reference to the relationship between Somalia and Ethiopia, he said Ethiopia is our friend and we don’t have any problems with them. The two nations have unsolved border dispute and fought many times in the past.
He said no to Somaliland’s eagerness to secede from the rest of the nation. Somaliland, Somalia’s north western region has been trying to breakaway for the past fourteen years with no outside recognition far.
His answer to alleged Al-Qaida presence in Somalia was “I am not in Mogadishu but I know there are some foreign elements in the country.†Ethiopian Prime Minister said there’s an active Aq-Qaida cell in Mogadishu earlier this month.
His health: He came to the UK for a yearly medical checkup and he said he is in perfect health condition. He denied reports that said he went under the knife last week.
Foreign politics: The president said his government is recognized by all nations and he talked to senior British officials about his agenda.
European Waste in Somalia: When asked about alleged European waste dumping in Somalia and its waters, he said we must investigate the matter before we accuse anyone of wrong doing.
The interviewer: The reporter was well prepared and did not waste a second looking for right questions. Kudos!