Recently, former prime minister
of Somalia, Ali Khalif Galeyr, accused the Somali government under the
leadership of President Hassan S. Mohamoud of having a secret working relationship
with Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab, especially in regards to the tumultuous
region of Jubaland.
In an interview with a Somali
channel in Minneapolis, Galeyr claimed that the government has what he called “gacan-saar” (a secret handshake; an understanding
between two parties) and that the subject has become a thorny issue between the
Western powers such as the United States, the United Kingdom, neighboring
countries, and Mogadishu.
“These dealings between the
federal government and Al-Shabaab is what led to the last minute cancellation
of President Mohamoud’s invitation to attend the G-8 summit,” said Galeyr.
Galeyr, who is a member of the
Somali parliament, lamented about the increasing violence in Mogadishu which he
said was worse than the time of former President Shaikh Sharif Shaikh Ahmed.
The spike in violence, said Galeyr, has manifested itself in street bombings,
suicide missions, and political assassinations, and is due to the fact that the
security forces are not organized and disciplined. The problem, he added, is
due to the absence of civil service in tact when President Mohamoud came to
power last fall. Unlike in other countries where politicians come and go,
explained Galeyr, “Somalia has no permanent civil service.”
Galeyr reserved his harshest
criticism to President Mohamoud himself for the latter’s incompetence and
series of missteps.
“No Somali president has been
received in the US and UK, the way this president was,” pointed Galeyr. “In the
three days Mohamoud was in the U.S. for official visit, he met President Obama,
members of the Congress, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund
(IMF).”
Despite the world recognition
accorded to the new Somali government, Galeyr blamed President Mohamoud for
squandering such a golden opportunity. The president’s secret relations with
Al-Shabaab, contends Galeyr, is the biggest concern some countries have about
him. There are “other issues” of concern as well, said Galeyr, but he failed to
name them.
Galeyr claimed that there have
been secret telephone exchanges between certain figures of Al-Shabaab and
government officials that led to some countries question of President
Mohamoud’s true intentions of fighting the radical group.
Another problem with the current
administration in Mogadishu, said Galeyr, is the absence of experience from the
top echelon of the government. “The president, the prime minister, the minister
of interior, and the state minister of presidency all have no government
experience,” stated Galeyr. “They are there in the government because they have
been friends for a long time.”
Galeyr stated that President
Mohamoud met him, along with other politicians, long before the appointment of
the current prime minister was announced last November. “I have chosen ‘Saacid’
[the nickname of the current prime minister, Abdi Farah Shirdon] because I have
known him for a while, and I do not want to repeat the usual power struggle
between the president and the prime minister,” the president told the group.
Interestingly, Galeyr said, he had talked to PM Shirdon himself about the
president’s encroachment of his duties, and the premier did not mind.
“The duty of the president is
clearly delineated in the provincial constitution,” clarified Galeyr. “The
executive powers are vested in the council of ministers headed by the prime
minister but now it is in one hand.”
That hand is the president’s.
Regarding the latest United
Nations Monitoring Group report on Somalia, which accused the government of
rampant corruption, Galeyr agreed with the findings. “It is the job of the
parliament to investigate these allegations and question the finance minister
and the governor of the central bank,” admitted Galeyr, “but so far nothing has
been done.” The reason, according to Galeyr, is the fact that the presidency
and the leadership of the parliament, under speaker Mohamed Osman Jawari, are
in cahoots with each other. The parliament is being run from Villa Somalia, the
seat of the presidency, added Galeyr.
Speaker Jawari and President
Mohamoud long before they were elected, according to Galeyr, were against the
ratification of the current provisional constitution. “Interestingly, the two
were elected based on the very constitution that they are violating today.”
On Somaliland, Galeyr accused its
president, Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo, of orchestrating a campaign of
repression and violence against the people of the Khatumo region. Galeyr
extolled the accomplishments of the Khatumo state and said it had brought
awareness to its people, young and old, from New Zealand to Minneapolis.
In the interview, Galeyr admitted
that he had gotten most of his inside information about the Somali government
in Nairobi than in Mogadishu. Nairobi
hosts hundreds of former Somali politicians, wannabe leaders, and amateur
political speculators. Authentic news, rumors, and innuendos flow there like a
stream of water.
Galeyr was critical of the
provincial constitution last year before it was ratified and the administration
of then-President Sharif. However, in this interview, he portrayed Sharif’s
administration as more equipped to better deal with the threat of Al-Shabaab.
“The Al-Shabaab militants are now bombing Villa Somalia,” said Galeyr,
something that the terror group did not do during Sharif’s regime on a regular
basis.
Only two months ago, Galeyr was
the nucleus of five politicians which included three former prime ministers who
visited former President Sharif in his home in Uganda. The government in
Mogadishu had accused the group of attempting to stage an anti-government
coalition to topple the regime.
Recently, Ali Mohamed Ghedi,
another former prime minister, has lambasted at President Mohamoud for
trampling on the provisional constitution, sowing discord among Somali clans
and communities, failing to avert the continuous violence in Mogadishu, and
creating unnecessary doubts about federalism. “The regime in Mogadishu has
strayed from the correct path,” said Ghedi.
The reaction of Mogadishu to
Galeyr’s recent allegations was swift. A spokesman for the Somali government
condemned Galeyr for his “baseless” allegations of a government and Al-Shabaab
alliance. “Galeyr has to bring clear evidence or he needs to apologize,” said
the spokesman.
The link for the interview is here and it is in Somali
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aekYGBGkwPU 
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