PSC/PR/2 (CV) Rev.1
Page 4
international attention on the situation and promoting a concerted and better coordinated
approach in support of the peace and reconciliation process in Somalia. However, due
to calendar constraints, the Commission could not proceed with its plan. Efforts will
continue to be made for the convening of the meeting at the appropriate time.
13.
The period under consideration also witnessed heightened tension within the
TFG, with a deepening rift between President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Ali
Gedi over issues of transparency and accountability, as well as diverging interpretations
of the TFC regarding the term of office of the Prime Minister and the implications
thereof. This tension was eventually overcome with the resignation of Mr. Gedi. In an
address to the TFP, in Baidoa, on 29 October 2007, Mr. Gedi called on all the members
of the Parliament to stand firmly behind the TFG, stressing that, “for all its imperfections,
it provides a blueprint for the way forward towards the creation of a new state and for
development in Somalia”. He stated that time had come for someone else to lead the
Government and take the ongoing process in Somalia to its next stage, and confirmed
that he had offered his resignation to the President. On his part, President Abdullahi
Yusuf issued a declaration accepting the resignation of Mr. Gedi, seen as a remedy to
the then unfolding constitutional crisis, and stating, among others, that there would be
no “exclusion and marginalization of the associates of the Prime Minister or any other
negative action against them”.
14.
Subsequently, Deputy Prime Minister Salim Aliyow Ibrow was appointed as acting
Prime Minister. He has since been replaced by Nur Hassan Hussien, a former Head of
the ICRC in Somalia. Following extensive consultations, the Prime Minister has now
formed a new cabinet based, as the previous one, on the 4.5 clan power sharing
formula. The TFP has overwhelmingly endorsed the new cabinet, which includes a
substantial number of technocrats, including those from the Diaspora. The first cabinet
appointed by the Prime Minister was met with strong disapproval within the TFP, as well
as the international community, and, as a result, had to be dissolved even before being
presented to Parliament – among others, mention should be made here of the fact that
only a few of its members were non-parliamentarians, although the TFP had amended
the TFC to allow appointing ministers from outside Parliament.
15.
I am glad to note that, since his appointment, the new Prime Minister has
repeatedly stressed that reconciliation would be at the core of his activities during his
tenure in office. In this respect, it is worth noting the assurances he gave to the AU, as
well as to the participants to the meeting convened by the United States’ Secretary of
State, Condoleezza Rice, in Addis Ababa, on 5 December 2007, to discuss
developments pertaining to peace and security in the region. In a presidential statement
adopted on 19 December 2007, the Security Council, on its part, welcomed the
appointment of the new Somali Prime Minister. The Security Council stressed that his
appointment offered a renewed opportunity to make further progress on political
reconciliation, addressing the humanitarian crisis in Somalia, and on implementing the
outcomes of the NRC, leading to a roadmap for the remainder of the transitional period
and democratic elections in Somalia, as set out in the TFC.