On Tuesday last week, December 13th, a group of MPs in Somalia’s Transitional Federal Parliament voted to impeach the Speaker who was out of the country on a visit to Italy, announcing the appointment of the Chairman of the Constitutional Committee, Madobe Nunow, as an interim Speaker. This followed unsuccessful efforts in mid-October by a hundred or so MPs to persuade the Speaker to allow Parliament to discuss the Roadmap. The move was, of course, against the spirit of the Kampala Accord which specifically included a clause to the effect that both government and parliament would try to create an environment conducive to a cooperative working relationship and would refrain from media recrimination, threats of impeachment of the President, Speaker and two deputy speakers of Parliament, or dismissal of Parliament. Supporters of the Speaker said the MPs were acting againstparliament’s standing orders and the Transitional Federal Charter as well as the Kampala Accord, and rejected the move, refusing to discuss the election of a replacement. Clashes followed. There was more fighting when some MPs met on Wednesday this week to pass a vote of no confidence in the Speaker, accusing him of slowing down parliamentary proceedings. The President and the Prime Minister were also accused of ignoring the latest crisis in parliament. In fact, President Sheikh Sharif did issue a statement asking all MPs to respect the law, and deploring the timing of the row when the country was so deeply involved in the fight against Al-Shabaab, the daunting task of implementing the Roadmap and the humanitarian crisis. He also noted the uncertainties over the procedures followed and the numbers involved, and called on MPs to follow the internal regulations of parliament, to respect the Kampala Agreement and the Transitional Federal Charter of Somalia. Subsequently, Speaker Sharif Hassan met with President Sharif Sheikh and they reportedly agreed to resolve the present TFP rift amicably and through compromise. There is no doubt that the recurrence of this problem is unhelpful, and every reason for the status quo ante to be restored.
Concern over the problem was sufficient to bring an international fact finding committee of representatives from the UN, AU and IGAD to Mogadishu over the weekend as part of efforts to resolve the situation. Christian Manahl, the UN Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Somalia, Boubacar Diarra, the Special Representative of the AU Chairperson, and Kipruto arap Kirwa, the IGAD Facilitator for Somalia, appealed for all parties to avoid any comment or action that could exacerbate an already tense situation or aggravate the crisis. The committee noted the wish of parliament to discuss the Roadmap and acknowledged that “this should happen as soon as the present crisis is resolved.”
There had been concern that the crisis might give rise to a further delay for the UN sponsored High Level Meeting. In the event this was convened in Garowe on Wednesday and will continue until today. Among those present are President Sheikh Sharif, Parliamentary Speaker Sharif Hassan, Prime Minister Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, government ministers, President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole of the Puntland Administration, and representatives of the Galmudug Administration, of Ahlu Sunna wal Jama’a, of civil society organizations, the UN, IGAD, and a number of MPs. This Reconciliation and Constitutional Conference is another step in the implementation of the Roadmap for Ending the Transition in Somalia by discussing and agreeing to the constitution-drafting and adoption process. The meeting is considering recommendations produced on parliamentary reform and discussing reconciliation initiatives and is expected to agree on the next constitution-making steps. Feedback on the constitution is currently being considered by the Independent Federal Constitution Commission. The Government has already appointed a nine-member Committee of Experts (three of whom are at the conference) to work with the IFCC. A committee has also been appointed to set up an Independent Interim Electoral Commission to oversee the Constituent Assembly which will eventually adopt the draft constitution. Some deadlines have already been missed and there have been difficulties over national reconciliation, over the declaration of an Economic Exclusion Zone and over increasing the transparency of government. However, the National Security and Stabilization Plan is currently awaiting approval from Parliament, and the Government has supported local peace-building initiatives in Galmudug, Himan and Heeb, Puntland and Gedo. It has also established coordination mechanisms to improve aid delivery, including a Co-ordination Office in the Prime Minister’s Office and a Disaster Management Agency.
Meanwhile, the first contingent of troops from Djibouti, an advance party of 100, landed at Mogadishu airport on Tuesday this week. Another 800 will follow during the course of the week as the battalion from Djibouti deploys, joining the 9,800 Burundian and Ugandan troops of AMISOM. AMISOM’s deputy commander, Brigadier-General Audace Nduwumunsi, described the arrival of the Djibouti forces as a great step forward for AMISOM and for building stability in Somalia. The deployment of troops from Djibouti will bring AMISOM up to the strength of 10,700 in total. It has a UN Security Council mandate for up to 12,000 but the AU has requested for this to be increased to 20,000. Sierra Leone is expected to send a battalion of 850 next year and Kenya has offered to re-hat its forces in Somalia under AMISOM. An Al-Shabaab spokesman, Sheikh Ali Mohamed Rage, has already threatened that Al-Shabaab “will be targeting [Djibouti troops] in our soil…you should consider your own choice rather than rush to Somalia, here is a burnt place for African invaders.”
(MoFA)