Wednesday, December 24, 2008

New Somali Prime Minister resigns


In what appears to be a slap on the face of the now 'certain to resign' Somali warlord President, the Mohamud Mohamed Guled told Somali people he resigned to calm down the rift between the President and his foe legal Prime minister.  The resignation came one week after his assignment to the Prime Minister position by the President unlawfully.

"I decided to resign as premier of Somalia after considering many situations in the country," Mohamud Mohamed Guled told reporters in the capital Mogadishu on Wednesday.

Many Somalis blame many of the uncertainties in Somalia on the President and his loyalists including Mr. Guled himself.  Although it seems unclear what caused him to resign, some reports say Guled decided to step down 'in a political effort to end the arguments among top leaders'.

The rift was recently escalated when on December 16, the Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed unilaterally fired Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein saying the Prime Minister 'failed to bring peace and security' to the nation. A day later,  he appointed ex-interior minister Mohamud Mohamed Guled as the new premier.

The dismissal of the Somali Prime Minister caused outrage among Somali MPs, as they described the move as unconstitutional. They accused the president of being a 'dictator' and instead voted voted for Hussein to continue working as lawful prime minister.

So far, Abdullahi Yusuf, the Somali President is keeping quiet about the resignation of his loyal Prime Minister.  Some suspect he is no longer interested in being a part of the TFG and that he plans to resign himself soon.  According to PressTv.ir, a presidential aide said that Yusuf has called for a special parliamentary session on Saturday and that it is possible he may resign.

The prospect of Yusuf's resignation grew stronger, when the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer, mounted Washington's pressure on the Somali president calling on him to leave office.

 


 

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