Somalia government holding Eritrean army prisoners – Speaker
Somalia government holding Eritrean army prisoners – Speaker
BBC Monitoring Service – United Kingdom
Published: Jul 03, 2007
The Speaker of the Somali parliament, Shaykh Adan Muhammad Nur Madobe, said the Eritrean leader Afewerki was behind the failure of talks between the government and Islamic Courts Union in Khartoum, Sudan, towards the end of last year, adding that Eritrea was fighting alongside the Islamic courts and that the Somali government is holding Eritrean army prisoners. Following is the text of the Speakers speech published by London-based newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat on 30 June.
The Speaker of Somalia’s parliament, Shaykh Adan Muhammad Nur Madobe, interviewed by Khalid Mahmud on 29 June during a visit to Cairo: Somali Speaker: ‘We have Eritrean prisoners. Afewerki spoiled the Khartoum negotiations with the Islamic Courts. Zenawi knows we are tough people and if we asked him to withdraw his forces tomorrow he would do it'”]
[Mahmud] Let us begin with your statements about the possibility that the Courts might take part in the conciliation conference?
[Nur] Ok, you are referring to what the Qatari Al-Jazira channel quoted me as saying from the Kenyan capital Nairobi last week, which was wrong and I did not say that. I said in reply to a question that any leader of the Courts can take part as long as his record is clean and he did not get involved in the fighting against the government, was not convicted in any case, and is not sought by justice.
[Mahmud] So you are talking about moderate leaderships in the Courts. Does this apply to its president Shaykh Hasan Dahir Aweys or Shaykh Sharif Shaykh Ahmad?
[Nur] Of course not. Aweys from our point of view is a murderer and is charged with terrorism. He is wanted at home and abroad, to be put on trial for the acts that he committed against us and against the security and stability of the country. As to Shaykh Sharif, he was clean at least until he lately got involved against us.
[Mahmud] But there are US and Western pressures on the transitional authority to accept their participation?
[Nur] We know better the good of our people and we do not accept that any one or any party whatsoever dictates to us specific conditions. Our decision is national and emanates from the interest of our people, and we do not accept pressures or the like. Therefore we advise anyone who interferes to make sure of what he sees or is talking about.
[Mahmud] Will this conference end with a new constitution for Somalia?
[Nur] This depends on what the government will do. As to the conciliation conference, its task is to involve everyone in finding a just and acceptable political settlement. If the government is able over the coming two months to complete its task in accordance with what is required of it at the level of the federal institutions, it may continue for only one year as a last chance and deadline, or else we will be forced to look for a new government.
[Mahmud] Are you worried about the opposition groups present in Eritrea?
[Nur] No, the Somali people do not look at those present in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, as being heroes nor do they expect them to come to their rescue because they themselves were and still are part of the problem. Those have no weight, and we are surprised at the Arab and international media spotlighting them.
[Mahmud] Then how do you evaluate the Eritrean role?
[Nur] President Isayas Afewerki has for some time now been trying by all ways and means to interfere in our internal affairs, sometimes by harbouring groups opposed to the government and at others by extending military and financial assistance to them.
For your information, the Khartoum negotiations sponsored by the Arab League last year failed because Afewerki interfered and incited the Courts leaders not to reach any agreement with us. Shaykh Sharif, about whom you asked earlier, used to say most of the time that he does not trust the Eritreans and that he wants to reach an agreement but that eventually the Eritrean pressures were more than what the Courts could withstand and they fell in the trap of Afewerki. It is astonishing that those who trumpet charges against our government as being a secular one fighting the extremists ignore the truth about that butcher. Let me ask them through you whether he has become the model from whom we should learn Islam? It is also no secret that the Eritrean army fought against the forces of our government and the Ethiopian forces, siding with the Islamic Courts. But we succeeded in crushing them all and killed hundreds from the Eritrean army.
[Mahmud] But why did you not provide proof of that?
[Nur] We hastened to bury those who were killed. But let me tell you that we have prisoners from the Eritrean army.
[Mahmud] You mean soldiers or officers and military commanders?
[Nur] We have both, and we have their confessions and their identity papers. These are indisputable facts and the regime in Asmara knows that well.
[Mahmud] There are those also who say that Meles Zenawi, the Ethiopian prime minister, is the ultimate decision maker in Somalia at present. Is that correct?
[Nur] This is completely untrue, part and parcel. Zenawi feels that he owes Somalia a huge debt. Do not forget that when in the opposition he used to carry a Somali passport in which was written that he was born in the region of Baidoa. We helped him much and now he is returning the favour. Besides, he also knows that it is not in the interest of his country or the interest of stability in the Horn of Africa for Somalia to remain in a state of anarchy and ruin. This will have a negative impact on his country.
[Mahmud] Does this mean that you are the ones with the final say in the issue of maintaining or withdrawing the Ethiopian forces?
[Nur] Of course, and you must not have the least doubt about that. If we asked Zenawi tomorrow to pull out his forces he would do it immediately. He knows that we are a stubborn people that cannot be easily tamed or subjected to the occupier. We asked him to help us with forces to face the dangers that the transitional authority was facing, and we are grateful the man responded to us after others ignored us.
[Mahmud] You mean there are no differences between the transitional authority and Zenawi about the possibility of withdrawing the Ethiopian forces?
[Nur] Most certainly. There are points of view within the framework of the common interest. We look to Ethiopia as being a neighbouring country that is concerned about the stability of Somalia in the Horn of Africa. Our relationship with it is not that of a subordinate to a leader at all, but it is a relationship of neighbouring countries based on mutual respect.
Source: Al-Sharq al-Awsat, London, in Arabic 30 Jun 07