Somali parliament members on Monday condemned African Union forces for random shelling on Mogadishu residential neighborhoods.
The parliamentarians accused AMISOM of ignoring their calls of stopping such shelling like that.
They said the AMISOM troops have entered Somalia through lawful means, adding that the troops are not needed to harm innocent civilians in the capital.
Mohamoud Gedi Hilowle, a Somali MP, told the journalists that they are very sorry for the civilian casualties committed by AU forces.
RBC: Lawmakers denounce Amisom indiscriminate bombardment of the capital
Somalia lawmakers denounced on Monday the indiscriminate bombardment targeted to the civilians by the African Union troops [known as AMISOM] in Mogadishu that left 16 dead, RBC Radio reports.
Lawmaker Mohamud Gedi held press conference in Mogadishu blamed AMISOM troops to be targeting civilians rather than Al-Shabab bases in Mogadishu.
“We call AMISOM forces to minimize the heavy shelling in the capital, this is not war justification but it is a kind of indiscriminate targeting of innocent civilians.” The lawmaker said.
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“We can not call like this a war against Al-Shabab, but it is against the humanity.” Gedi added.
Mr. Gedi called the government to start investigation about the civilian’s casualties as he argued that the government will fail if the civilians are not taken care
At least 16 people were killed in two days long bombardment in Somalia capital of Mogadishu where the Islamist rebels are confronting government forces and African Union peace keepers.
The shelling started on Sunday after Somalia federal government forces with the backing of AMISOM launched fresh battle to move back Al-Shabab fighters from the north portion of the capital. Eye witnesses told RBC Radio that the shelling persisted until on Monday.
RBC:
“I currently stay in Karan district on the north of Mogadishu; really we can not even sleep for long two nights because of the artillery shelling.” A woman spoke to RBC Radio in a condition of anonymity said.
She said that many of her neighbors in Karan fled from the district to search safer places, she also said that her family members were intending to escape to Middle Shabelle region.
“No one could stay here as you hear this indiscriminate shelling, one person were killed in my neighborhood today.” She exclaimed.
Meanwhile Ali Musse Sheikh who is the head of Mogadishu ambulance service told RBC Radio that nearly 20 persons harmed by shrapnel of haphazard artillery bombardments were taken to different hospitals.
Shabelle Media: Ten killed in Mogadishu artillery barrages
At least ten people have been killed and dozens more injured after a number of mortars hit parts of northern Mogadishu.
Witnesses on Monday morning told Shabelle Radio that most of the bombardments landed the neighborhoods of sea resort Karan district where most of the most of dwellers have already displaced.
New Vision: 4 UPDF soldiers killed in Somalia
FOUR UPDF peacekeepers, including Lt. Col Patrick Tibihwa, have been killed in the volatile Somali capital Mogadishu.
Tibihwa, who was the commanding officer of the 23 battalion, was hit by a stray bullet as he inspected the newly captured areas around Bondhere district on Saturday.
Tibihwa is the highest ranking UPDF officer to be killed in Mogadishu. He hails from Nyamahunza village, Mukunyu sub-county in Kasese district. In a statement, army spokesperson Maj. Felix Kulaigye identified the other AMISOM casualties as Lt. Lawrence Tugume from the Tank battalion, Cpl. Isabirye Abdalla and Pte. Augustine Kuloba.
The three were hit by a motor shell fired at insurgents. [that's a typo, right? and what is a "motor shell" anyway?]
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The weekend casualties are the latest Ugandan soldiers to die in an ongoing successful offensive against the al-shabaab insurgents in Mogadishu.
UPDF explained that the soldiers were killed during mopup operations after the capture of Bondere.
From an AMISOM press release on Monday
Yesterday afternoon, as an engineer bulldozer was clearing a route across a trench during operations in Bondere, it was struck and set alight by small arms fire and became trapped in the trench it was clearing. AMISOM deployed troops forward to engage the insurgents and push them back to ease recovery of the vehicle. No tank was damaged or lost.-- -- --
The bulldozer has been safely recovered and is being serviced for a return to operations.
Hesitations about this source in general, but Somalia Report has been reporting that Prime Minister Farmajo is being pushed out to accomodate a power sharing agreement b/w the two Sharifs.
Museveni Hands Ultimatum to Somali Leaders
Ugandan leaders held a closed-door meeting with President Sheikh Sharif Sheik Ahmed and Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheik Adan and put on the table a power sharing deal that if agreed upon may see the speaker's side accept positions in cabinet or have a hand in the formation of a new cabinet that may replace the one currently headed by Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo.
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A diplomatic source told Somalia Report that the Somali Prime Minister is expected in Kampala this evening in an effort to have him to join the talks.
Details are sketchy on how the proposed power-sharing can be formulated. However, sources say it is possible that a new cabinet can be agreed upon in order to give a term extension to TFG.
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Sources told Somalia Report that the PM was called to "either convince him step aside or be given a role in the new proposed format."
PM To Resign, Speaker Wants Key Positions
Sources at the meeting in Kampala told Somalia Report that Somalia's Prime Minister has agreed to resign by morning. The two sides are drafting a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on how to share cabinet posts in the yet to be formed government. The MOU, if agreed upon, will be presented to Uganda's President Museveni and UN Ambassador Mahiga within hours. Somalia's president and speaker are expected to sign it, paving way for the PM to resign and extend the TFG for one year. Upon signing, the search for a new PM is expected to begin.-- -- --
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Somalia's Parliamentary Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden has offered to withdraw his opposition to a one-year extension of the government in exchange for a new cabinet with positions for his key allies, diplomatic sources told Somalia Report.
Quick revisit of some statements made at last week's ICG meetings in Kampala...
Museveni:
It is important to note that Uganda, as a leading Troop Contributing Country (TCC), has a vital stake in the stabilization process of Somalia. The views of the TCCs should be taken into account when key decisions are being made with regards to the Somali Peace Process.
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With regard to the end of the transition period in Somalia in August 2011, Uganda recommends the following:
• Either the extension of all the Transitional Federal Institutions for one year to enable them complete their transitional tasks on the basis of the proposed benchmarks that include security, dialogue, consensus building on the transition and national reconciliation, constitution making, parliamentary reform, delivery of basic services and formation of a commission for the implementation of the transitional tasks.
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..the win-win situation for all the parties would be the extension of the Transitional Federal Institutions for a period not exceeding one year to allow them complete their transitional tasks on the basis of benchmarks.
Uganda recommends the consideration of the Burundi model for the effective management of the Somali Peace process. This could involve the formation of a Committee composed of IGAD Member State, the Chair of the EAC and the appointment of a special Facilitator to push the process forward. We need to engage the principal parties in the Transitional Federal Institutions to work together on how to end the transition amicably.
Mahiga:
I am requesting this ICG meeting to lend its full support to the position of the Security Council and to use the rare joint presence of the President and the Speaker at this meeting to muster their political will to arrive at an understanding to make the Mogadishu meeting a landmark success in the Somali peace process. It can be an opportunity to strike a win-win compromise between the executive, Parliament and above all, the Somali people.and the day before the ICG meetings began, when Mahiga told Reuters
I have flagged to the Security Council and I also wish to propose to this meeting that in order to secure compliance from the future TFIs on implementing transitional tasks we, together with the TFIs should agree on a set of implementable benchmarks, timelines, a monitoring mechanism and mutual obligations in achieving the transitional tasks. Above all, I agree with the proposal that in addition to a coordination and monitoring mechanisms, we need a collective political undertaking in the region to ensure accountability of the TFIs to a regional political body which has successfully been tried in situations like that of Burundi. This approach has never been tried before in respect of Somalia and left the TFIs obligations to meet the transitional tasks open ended.
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UNPOS in consultation with the Department of Political Affairs in New York, the African Union and IGAD is preparing a Roadmap with benchmarks, timelines and compliance requirements which we intend to be basis for discussion with the TFIs in the forthcoming meeting in Mogadishu. We shall continue to discuss extensively with partners on this Roadmap and seek to obtain consensus on its feasibility and application in the next political dispensation once agreement is reached to overcome the current political impasse.
A power-sharing deal might offer Somalia's feuding leaders a way to save face and reach agreement on political reform, the U.N.'s special envoy to the Horn of Africa nation said on Wednesday.
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"The bottom line is that they all want to cling to power. So, around that fundamental issue, could there be a possibility of power-sharing? I don't know," said Augustine Mahiga, the special representative of the U.N. secretary-general.
"Let them believe there is something for all of them, that there is a win-win situation," he said in an interview.
From The kampala Accord, signed less than a week later
4. The parties meeting in Kampala agreed to the following parameters:The "win-win" phrase did not make it into the final draft. And M7 may have finally crossed a line by guaranteeing implemention of an agreement proving very unpopular in the streets of AMISOM-controlled Mogadishu.
a. We agree to defer elections of the President and the Speaker and his deputies for twelve months after August, 2011 in order to adequately prepare and complete priority transitional tasks.
b. Elections for President and Speaker of Parliament will have to take place prior to August 20, 2012.
c. Within thirty days of the signing of this Agreement, the Prime Minister will resign from his position; and the President will appoint a new Prime Minister.
d. Parliament will endorse the new Prime Minister within 14 days of the submission of the PM Nominee by the Office of the President.
e. The New Prime Minister will appoint his cabinet within 30 days of his approval and submit it to President.
f. Parliament will endorse the new cabinet within 14 days of the submission of the cabinet list by the Office of the President.
g. While ensuring the new government reflects the 4.5 formula for power sharing. These appointments will be done in the spirit of collaboration and mutual confidence between the leaders of the TFIs in accordance with their respective mandates.
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m. Both Government and Parliament shall work together with the international community to establish a roadmap with benchmarks, timelines and compliance mechanisms for the implementation of the priority task. Details of the mechanisms to be agreed by 20 August 2011.
n. The Heads of State of the Region (IGAD and EAC) shall constitute a Political Bureau with participation of the UN (UNPOS) and the AU, similar to the Burundi Regional Peace Initiative. The Bureau shall oversee and monitor compliance of the TFIs with agreed benchmarks and timelines to implement the transitional tasks and to advance the Somali Peace Process.
o. The international partners and the Regional Bureau reserve the right to evoke appropriate measures with consequences to ensure compliance with the benchmarks and timelines by the TFIs including the application of appropriate sanctions against spoilers.
p. A mid-term review of performance of the TFIs to take place in six months time.
q. The international community shall undertake commitment to provide timely support for these efforts in line with agreed benchmarks and timelines.
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5. The parties agreed that support for the current military operations and completion of the rebuilding of the Security forces are fundamental to the success of the transitional period and agreed that a reformed Joint Security Committee will sit permanently in Mogadishu.
6. All parties to this agreement should seek the support and reach out to all the Somali stakeholders.
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8. We invite the international community and the regional actors to guarantee this political undertaking...
9. HE President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda will Guarantee the implementation of this agreement and sign below as a witness.
Prof. Michael Weinstein's thoughts in his latest on the TFI escapades, The “Transition” is Deferred
On June 9, the deal was done and signed by the two Sharifs, under the “auspices” of Museveni and the “facilitation” of Mahiga. The “Kampala Accord,” a copy of which was obtained and published by Garowe Online, provided for a one-year extension of the mandate of the T.F.I.s, elections for president and speaker to be held before August 20, 2012, and the resignation of the prime minister within thirty days. No details of the power-sharing formula were provided – the division of the ministries.
The operative part of the deal – what was actually done – is exhausted by its term-extension/election-timing provisions, and its dismissal of the current prime minister. The former solves the cause of the dispute among the T.F.I.s (and the “donor”-powers/U.N.) in favor of the T.F.G. – a victory definitively done through Museveni and his African allies. The latter gives Sharif Hassan his payback – the government will be changed (and he will have a part in making the change). The Kampala Accord paves the way for a new fight over the composition of the new government unless that has been decided already. It is most likely that the T.F.I. games will continue – Sh. Sharif and Sharif Hassan have clawed out another year against “donor”-power demands that their tenure must end on August 20, 2011. The “donor”-powers are back to exactly where they were before they began their campaign in February, 2011 to take over the “transition,” now run to ground and in ruins. August 20, 2011 – the end of the international mandate for the T.F.I.s – is now a meaningless date. The can has been kicked down the road.
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The Kampala Accord defers decisions; it does not take them. Will there be a wrangle over the new prime minister and cabinet? Will there be a wrangle over roadmaps? Will there be a wrangle over the Mogadishu conference? Those kinds of disputes have been chronic in the past and there is no reason to believe that they will not happen now.
The only thing that can keep the interminable T.F.I. games from repeating themselves is the will of the “donor”-powers to “evoke appropriate measures with consequences.” Museveni engineered a political deal; he did not change the strategic game and he cannot “guarantee” the fulfillment of the promises and directives. That rests squarely on the shoulders of the “donor”-powers if they can bear the burden.
Shabelle Media: Somali MPs: the president, speaker can’t change the time of the election
The election committee of the transitional federal parliament of Somalia TFP on Thursday announced the president of Somalia and the speaker of the parliament can’t change holding national elections in the country.
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In an interview with Shabelle Media Network, the spokesman of the election of committee, Hared Hassan Ali said the committee will keep on working and organizing both presidential and parliamentary elections despite bickering.
The outcomes of Uganda and Kenya meetings on Somalia will not be implemented; the MP was quoted as saying.
Shabelle Media:
On Friday, at least three protestors, including a soldier, have been killed and five others wounded as rallies against the proposed resignation of Somali Prime Minister, Mohammed Abdullahi Mohammed, turned violent, witnesses said.
Hundreds of people flanked by Somali soldiers and military vehicles could be seen in the main streets of the capital.
Witnesses said all private and public vehicle traffic was halted. Only the military vehicles of Somali forces could be seen crisscrossing at the busy streets of the capital.
Angry demonstrators accompanied by some of military forces stormed a Hotel in Mogadishu’s Hamar-jajab district where some of Somali parliamentarians live in.
“One of the protestors died and two other injured after Somali soldiers and hotel guards clashed at Hotel Medina gate” a protestor said, noting that Somali soldiers captured hotel guards and the annoyed demonstrators got into the hotel destroying luxury cars and set alight to the hotel.
After huge fire at the hotel, the protestors started to throw stones a covey of African Union forces that come to put out the fire though they later managed to extinguish hotel fire.
Garowe Online:
Violence broke out after armed guards opened fire on angry protesters who tried to break into a hotel called Medina in central Mogadishu, which was hosting some Somali lawmakers.
The demonstrators were so angry when one of their colleagues was shot dead by transitional federal government (TFG) forces
“The demonstration caused the damage of burning hotel and vehicle” said an official from TFG.
The protesters chanting slogans against an accord signed in Ugandan capital , Kampala that calls for Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed to resign within 30 days
Some of the legislators run for their lives when they fear of being killed and the hotel set ablaze by the angry mob, according to witnesses.
African union mission in Somalia [AMISOM] tried to stop the fire but they faces resistant from civilian.
However, Somali legislators are expecting to table a motion in the parliament on Kampala accord issues, whether the prime Minister would resign or continue working.
Reuters:
two boys died when police loyal to the speaker of parliament shot at the demonstrators, starting a gunfight with soldiers loyal to President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and his government, witnesses said. About a dozen other demonstrators were wounded.
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"We were just walking and chanting when police guarding the Hotel Muna opened fire on us," Nadifa Ali told Reuters.
"Two young boys died on the spot and others were injured. Soon a military vehicle came and fired on the police guarding the hotel," she said.
A Reuters photographer said the protesters then set the hotel ablaze.
AP:
Protester Abdullahi said several bullets hit a soldier in the face and neck as he shouted pro-prime minister slogans in Mogadishu's Dharkinley neighborhood. The soldier was wearing army fatigues and held a picture of the prime minister, he said.
Col. Ahmed Abdinur, a Somali military official, also confirmed the death of a teenager who was shot dead after a security guard fired at a crowd demonstrating against the prime minister's possible resignation.
Abdinur said protesters, chanting anti-Ahmed and Aden slogans, approached Medina hotel, where lawmakers usually stay, and guards fired on the protesters, killing the teenager.
Protesters then set the hotel on fire, said demonstrator Abdiqadir Ahmed Mohamed who was at the scene.
Photos don't show much of fire at the Medina nor much of an attack on AMISOM responders
AHN:
During the rallies, hundreds of Somali military and police forces could be seen walking with the protestors to show support for the prime minister.
“Our leader has done a good job during his first six months in the office…We used to endure hunger and nonpayment of wages for years while defending Somali government from militants” said Ahmed Ali, a soldier. “Now, at the end of every month we receive our payments without delay.”
Shabelle Media:
As massive demonstrations denouncing the accord reached by Somali president and speaker [declaring] one year mandate extension of the government [continue], the prime minister of Somalia on Friday for first time spoke publicly.
Addressing at State Run Radio Mogadishu, Mohammed Abdullahi Mohammed, the popular premier of Somalia called for the people to be calm and stay at their homes.
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On Thursday, military officials threatened to vacate Mogadishu if the prime minister quits the job.
Mohammed spelled out that the military forces are heroes of the nation, urging them not to desert their posts and that the security forces must remain to assure peace and tranquility.
AllVoices: Somali PM: “it is compulsory to accept the need of the population”
After two days of large demonstration against resignation made by the Somali premier, the Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Abadullahi Mohamed (Farmajo) has said on Friday that it was compulsory to accept the needs of the population.
Thousands of the Somali people in Mogadishu accompanied by the national army of Somalia are still making large demonstrations in the 16 districts of the Somali capital Mogadishu in a support of the Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo who returned home on Thursday afternoon after concluding the mediating meeting between the high authorities of the transitional government of Somalia that continued in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.
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“I could hear the sound of the people. I also thank more and more for the population to express their emotion indeed, because they have the rights to be part of the consultation of the country. I thank more to the national forces, the civil society, clerics, scholars, women and youth for their support. This will remain in my history and I will never forget. It is compulsory and an obligation to accept your needs and feelings and it is right to follow your suggestions,” said Somali PM Mr. Farmajo.
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“I am saying one to the people and I am saying another to the national Somali army. I am saying to the people who are standing in the sunshine. Go to your houses; stop the much movements you are doing. I am also saying to the army to, please be and do not leave your defense and military bass not lose the victories you brought to the government of Somalia because it seems that the enemy was weakened.”
From a commentary by Liban Ahmad: Why the Kampala Accord Should Be Revised
Demonstrations in Mogadishu are unprecedented in Somalia's political history. Demonstrators have shown that people of Mogadishu are no longer hostage to opportunist politicians. Both president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and speaker Sharif Hassan have lost credibility due to lack of political competence. Through protests challenging the Kampala Accord, demonstrators have set an example for Somalis in other parts of the country. Not every thing in Somalia can be understood through the clan prism. Mogadishu people have written up a new narrative by supporting a prime minister they see as an honest public servant. People of Mogadishu are in need of able, dignified leaders who preserve their political maturity evidenced by their popular self-expression. The international community should revise the Kampala Accord and publish a code of conduct for working with Somalia's stakeholders.
From a commentary by Faysal Mohamud: Kampala Accord: A setback for the TFG and the International Community
According to sources in Kampala, the 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, only to face endless and rapidly intensifying protests. The Prime Minister addressed the rally and urged his supporters not to use violence. Although, a spokesman for the PM denied his intention to resign, the PM said through the local media that the people’s will must be respected.
On Friday, the protests seemed never-ending; violence erupted in Mogadishu where protesters chanted slogans calling for the fall down of the president, the speaker and the parliament. Three civilians were killed after protesters tried to storm into a hotel, where lawmakers were staying. Later, the protesters set the whole building alight after the lawmakers fled. But this was not the major casualty of the day. The Interior Minister died in a suicide attack that took place inside his home, hours after he addressed the protesters. It emerged that the bomber was a member of his family.
From Nairobi to the central regions of Somalia, demonstrators expressed anger not only to the Somali government, but also to the United Nation’s envoy, Augustine Mahiga. “This is our country, Mahiga”, they chanted.
More interestingly, the demonstrations were joined by some parliamentarians and government forces, which indicate the severity of the issue. It could be argued that the Arab Spring protests may have inspired them, but it will surely have an enduring effect. The message is clear; people are tired with the government infightings that only result in meaningless resignations.
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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 an ambiguous 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 along regional lines, each leader seeking 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 incompetent, 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. Back to square one. 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, who knows?
Finally, in meddling into Somalia’s internal affairs, exploiting from the presence of his troops in Somalia to gain political influence in the beleaguered nation, President Museveni 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.
From a commentary by Ismail Ali Ismail: To Get Out Of the Current Impasse, Dump the Dummies
Prime Minister Fermajo has been highly praised, and rightly so, for having putt together a cabinet of men and women equipped with high academic degrees - a novelty in Somalia. To his credit there were, in the wake of the Kampala Accord, public demonstrations in Mogadishu in support of his stay as prime minister.
That does not detract from the fact that he and his cabinet colleagues are political novices and, clearly, he did not play his politics very well. He assailed the Parliament openly and imprudently before the UN Security Council (a foreign body) when he was last in New York and that was not lost on Sharief Hassan and many members of Parliament. It is unfortunate that the country does not have leaders who have the necessary combination of political and executive experience. The few that exist are old and struggling with their lives in the Diaspora, and it is premature, in the absence of safety and security as well as political stability, to think about establishing competent public services which are sine qua non to performance and the achievement of national goals. Though everyone is fed up with a transitional political arrangement the country has a long way to go before things settle down and stabilize.
In the interim, however, and in view of the foregoing it is my considered opinion that Parliament should ignore the Kampala Accord and hold a new presidential election in August this year and that it should dump, for the sake and sanity of the Nation, Sharief Hassan as a speaker (he has been there for ages and has been an obstacle to progress for too long) and elect a new speaker who is willing to respect his mandate within the framework of established parliamentary procedures. I would have added that both ‘shariefs’ be barred from standing for the presidential election, were it not for Democracy that dictates otherwise.
Honestly, I cannot for the life of me understand how the Kampala Accord can override the prior decision of Parliament to extend its own life for three years. Clearly, Sharief Hassan had no mandate to commit Parliament to reducing its term extension to only one year, which will end coincidentally with the President’s extension. We have already heard vociferous and loud protestations from many members of parliament condemning the Speaker for having taken upon himself to act for Parliament without a prior mandate and to meddle in the internal composition and affairs of the Executive.
Moreover, I think it will make a lot of good if the Charter is amended to state clearly and unequivocally that the President cannot dismiss the Prime Minister so long as he commands the confidence of Parliament. Within a space of only two years Sheikh Sharief has dismissed two prime ministers and his predecessor, Abdullahi Yusuf, dismissed likewise two prime ministers within four years. But Abdullahi was not allowed to get away with it in the second instance (in the case of Nur Adde). Sheikh Sharief ignored that precedent and he got away with the dismissal of two prime ministers within a short span of only two years. Where then is the stability he was supposed to create? The country cannot be served properly and effectively by a prime minister and a cabinet who are subservient to a whimsical president. Therefore, it should be recognized that the Prime Minister does not serve at the pleasure of the President but by commanding the confidence of Parliament.
Reuters: Somalia PM says will quit only if parliament agrees
Somalia's prime minister said on Saturday he would not resign unless the country's parliament endorses an agreement signed by the country's president and speaker that stipulates he leaves office within 30 days.
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"The Kampala decision should be presented to the parliament and then be verified by the country's constitution," Mohammed said in a statement, his first public reaction to the agreement signed on Thursday.
"The (agreement) can be valid and the PM will resign only if parliament votes for the Kampala decision."
More than 200 members of parliament planned to urge the prime minister to reconvene parliament to debate the accord, saying in a statement the deal took away parliament's oversight of the government.
From an efficient analysis by Abdikarim H. Abdi Buh, The Kampala Accord: Is Sharif Hassan less Somali than Sharif Ahmed?
For the first time in the past two decades the Somali people marched in the streets of some districts of Mogadishu protesting, in the false assumption that they have a government, against what mistakenly appeared to them as a shadowy agreement signed by Somalia’s top politicians under the auspices of the international community (IC) that keeps them in office. The president and the speaker of a sovereign democratic state, of which Somalia can’t be classified as one, have no right to sign a document of that significance without the explicit approval of the parliament and the government but in trusteeship Somalia all disputes are, by and large, referred back to the (IC) and their judgment was always final without appeal and this case is no different as there are numerous similar precedents on record.-- -- --
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The agreement, as it stands, appears to the novice in Somalia’s politics, to have been negotiated in the firm assumption that the Somalis are so thoughtless that anything can pass right under their noses without them taking any notice. The current anger and protest lead by the popular uprising June 9 group, in the streets of Mogadishu remains to be seen if it at all reaches fruition. TFG’s army, Police and all sections of the society that live in the government-held districts and far beyond joined hands in a two-day rally to show their disapproval of the dismissal of Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed “Farmaajo”, but the repulsive truth is the Kampala Accord is too strong to be reversed by the poor and disorganized people who are under the mercy of the same IC itself.
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Ethiopian prime minister is rubbing his hands with glee because the speaker of the house, who is Ethiopia’s poodle, finally has walked out of Kampala with his head high. President Ahmed, by signing the agreement, also signed away his powers and voluntarily accepted to be reduced effectively to a dummy-status but the good news is no one will lose sleep over his demise – his grandfather’s bones were exhumed from Mahadday and bagged recently by Al Shabab’s grave demolition squad.
Uganda’s Museveni will keep his troops in Mogadishu at least for a year and so will have not only cash flowing in to his coffers but will lend him stronger leverage in the international political circles where political governance is an issue.
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Ambassador Mahiga will most probably be promoted because through his good offices he secured plenty of work for the lords of the poverty industry. The world’s largest refugee camp was declared to have run out of space – thanks to the consequences of recent barbaric wars in Gedo and Lower Jubba.
Despite the setback they suffered in Mogadishu Al Shabab will stay in business for the foreseeable future. AMISOM forces paid a very expensive price in moving Al Shabab from one trench to the next and so will have no more appetite to chase the elusive AL Shabab. Al Shabab have changed their war tactic to hit and run which makes them rather more lethal by the day- The latest casualty is the TFG’s Interior Minister killed by his own niece. Al Shabab is strong enough to keep the TFG and the international community engaged in project Somalia well beyond the one year mandate – the future of project Somalia is as bright as ever.
No matter how much Mogadishu and Somalia love Prime Minister Mohamed Farmaajo and no matter how much he achieved during his short time in Office, sorry to say, but the decision to keep or fire him rests squarely with the IC which has an agenda of its own.
A New Vision (govt-owned media) article on the burial of the UPDF Lt. Colonel killed in Mogadishu last week states
A 36-gun salute rocked the area in honour of his role in the military. Sibihwa and five tank crew members were killed in an attack by al-Shabaab militants in the Somali capital Mogadishu on June 3.
Sibihwa was referred to as Tibihwa in the UPDF statement at the time, as reported by New Vision on June 6th, which gave a number of only four members of the tank battalion in total being killed, not six as this weekend's article cites.
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