INTERVIEW-Ousted Somali speaker sees risk of dictatorship
Source: Reuters
By Silvia Aloisi ROME, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The ousted speaker of Somalia's parliament said on Thursday the impoverished east African nation risked sliding into dictatorship and accused President Abdullahi Yusuf of seeking to rule by force and fear. Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, who for the past two years opposed the president and infuriated him with peace overtures to Islamic rivals, was impeached by parliament on Wednesday in a vote he said was illegal. "There is a dictatorship risk and some of the elements are already in place, such as the emergency legislation. The president believes he can rule by force. ... He will try to rule the country alone, with the help of Ethiopian troops," Adan told Reuters in an interview in Rome. "He is cleansing out those elements who are against his point of view, not just me but also other members of parliament who oppose him," he said, speaking through an interpreter. Adan's ouster was regarded by analysts and diplomats as a move by Yusuf and Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi to consolidate power and exact revenge against one of their biggest opponents. "He wants to take the country back to the (Mohammed) Siad Barre era," he said, referring to the strongman who ruled Somalia between 1969 and 1991. Since his overthrow, the country has been plunged into anarchy. The government's hand has been strengthened since its troops, backed by Ethiopian airpower and armour, drove Islamists from Mogadishu and most of southern Somalia before the New Year, putting an end to their six-month rule. Adan, who wants an immediate withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia and calls for dialogue with the clan-based Islamic courts, said he had strong support in the country and was also backed by the international community. "Ninety percent of Somalis are with me, because they are against the occupation by Ethiopian troops. As for the lawmakers who voted against me -- that does not reflect reality because parliament is operating in a situation of fear, and MPs cannot express their point of view freely," he said. The government has rejected the occupation accusation, since they say they invited the Ethiopians in as allies against Islamist threats. Adan, who since leaving Somalia has visited Brussels, Stockholm and Rome to muster international support, said reconciliation with the government's Islamist rivals was essential for peace. "In a simple way, the Islamic courts have achieved a lot of good things. They brought back stability and security and gave people what they wanted," he said. But critics of the Islamists say their interpretation of Islamic sharia law was too harsh for Somalia's more liberal interpretation. Washington and Ethiopia accused them of being a front for al Qaeda, which they denied. "The international community has also asked that we talk to them, so that we can have an inclusive government, instead of rejecting them and creating a new war." The United States has urged reconciliation with all Somalis who reject violence, and has made overtures to some moderates in the courts. It tried and failed to get Yusuf and Gedi to sit down with Adan earlier this month. He said he was not in contact with the courts and could not tell whether they would try to fight back. But he added: "I believe support for them in Somalia is still intact."
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