Garowe Online (Garowe)
4 July 2009
Nairobi — Prof. Ali Mohamed Gedi, a former Prime Minister who is a Member of the Somali Parliament, gave a long interview Saturday to Puntland-based Radio Garowe.
He appealed to the international community to provide military and financial support to the Somali government to fight against what he called "jihad seekers."
"Foreign fighters who are jihad seekers are pouring into Somalia," MP Gedi said, warning: "If they succeed [in overthrowing the government], then Somalia and the greater Horn of Africa region is in danger."
'Lost opportunity'
The former Prime Minister said the current TFG - which was established in Jan. 2009 and led by President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed - "lost an opportunity following the hope of the Djibouti Agreement."
He noted that the government was "wrong" for entering into an agreement with "a faction that could not deliver on promises."
As an example, MP Gedi pointed out that pro-government Islamic Courts Union (ICU) commanders in the central Hiran region had now joined the opposition faction, Hizbul Islam. READ: Military tensions high in Hiran region near Ethiopia border
"These [opposition] groups use Islamic law as an excuse to wage war, but I always knew they would quit [the government]," MP Gedi added.
He said the government lost an opportunity to defend itself because the government inherited weapons and soldiers from the previous administration of President Abdullahi Yusuf, adding: "I don't know what happened to those weapons and soldiers."
Praise for Puntland
MP Gedi, who was then-President Yusuf's Prime Minister, said the Somali interim government (TFG) controlled most regions during his three years in office.
He noted that, as Prime Minister, the government had established regional administrations in some regions, adding that the insurgents did not have the power they have today to fight the interim government.
Lastly, ex-Prime Minister Gedi praised the people and government of Puntland, a self-governing stable region in northeastern Somalia.
"Protect the peace you have and protect your government," MP Gedi advised the people of Puntland, adding that peace in the Puntland regions has provided a safe haven for Somali civilians fleeing conflict in the south-central regions.
Gedi, who hails from President Sheikh Sharif's Abgal clan, now lives in Kenya. He survived three attempts on his life as Prime Minister.
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