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SOMALIA: PRESIDENT SALEH OF YEMEN GETS INVOLVED June 17, 2005
<|saleh_yusuf_sharif.jpg||left|>Presidnet Ali Abdalla Salah of Yemen invited Somali president and the speaker of the house in an attempt to save Somalia’s bogged down national reconciliation process. Somalia’s smooth transition to national governance depends on the outcome of this meeting.
Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed and Sharif Hassan Adan who were elected president and parliament speaker respectively last year became the biggest obstacle rather than leading this fragile nation. The two men belong to different factions and don’t see things eye to eye.
The speaker was nominated and campaigned for by members of defunct government that was established in Arta, Djibouti in 2000. That group applauded when their man was elected as the speaker of the house. That celebration did not last long. Warlords who were responsible for Arta government’s failure regrouped and successfully grabbed the presidential chair.
The two men continued their struggle but this time playing with Somalia’s future. They both accuse each other of misusing the constitution for personal political reasons. The speaker took many parliament members to Mogadishu without consulting the president and the prime minister. His group is now talking about impeaching the president if he does not come to Mogadishu. The president and the prime minister along with the rest of the parliament members still remain in Nairobi, Kenya where the new government was setup last year. They are scheduled to relocate to Somalia in the next few days. They are also talking about getting rid of the speaker by majority vote.
Before president Saleh’s invitation, Kenyan president, IGAD East African (Intergovernmental and Development) and countless Somalis tried to convince the two men that Somalia’s future and the fruits of three years of national reconciliation are at stake. Neither man budged.