Somali parliament rejects dismissal of Prime Minister

December 15, 2008 (ADDIS ABABA) — The Somali parliament backed today the Prime Minister, Nur Hassan Hussein, and maintained him at his position despite his removal by the President Abdullahi Yusuf on Sunday for failure to “extend the federal system and security to the nation.”

Somalia’s parliament on Monday voted to reinstate Hussein, known as Nur Ade, with 143 of 170 recognizing the authority of the government and 20 rejecting it, said the speaker of parliament, Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nor, in Baidoa.

Nur Adde has been prime minister for one year but has been at loggerheads with the president since the summer over Yusuf’s rejection of some cabinet ministers. The two men also disagreed on the direction of peace talks held in Djibouti, where moderate opposition signed an agreement allowing them to join government.

However the prime minister said he would continue to do his duties despite the internal strife. “I will continue my duties regardless of the disputes,” he said. “The president can nominate me, only but he can’t fire me,” he added.

Last month the Ethiopian government said it was fed-up with the power struggle and quarrels with the transitional government and announced the withdrawal of its troops.

The African Union also didn’t approve the sack of the prime minister and urged Yusuf and Hussein to work together for the sake of peace in Somalia.

Jean Ping, the African Union Commission Chairman, said in a statement issued on Sunday evening that the prime minister’s dismissal would undermine efforts to bring peace and further weaken the transitional government.

“The chairperson … urges them to overcome the internecine divisions that are consuming their energy, in order to meet the daunting challenges confronting their country,” Ping said.

Since the collapse of Siad Barre government in 1991, Somalia has been at civil war without central government. The Ethiopia backed transitional government troops drove off the Islamic courts in December 2007 from the capital after the establishment of an Islamist regime in Somalia in June2007.

(ST)