Somali parliament elects a speaker next month
Somalia, Politics, 9/4/2004

The recently formed Somali parliament agreed yesterday to elect a speaker on September 15 and to elect a President for the country, one week following that.

The new parliament held its first sessions on Thursday. Chief Kenyan officials in the Somali peace talks John Arab Kwitch commended members of the Somali parliament over carrying out a great step forward. He said " their courage ( the Somali parliamentarians ) to concentrate on the noble aim until a complete government is installed so as to be able to shoulder full responsibility over the fate of the people of Somalia" The election of a speaker of the parliament and a president for the country is considered two important steps towards reestablishing a government in Somalia where no central government has existed since the authorization which was offered to a provisional government supported by the Arab states by the end of 2003.

Somalia, however, made 14 attempts to establish a national government since 1991 when war lords toppled President Muhammad Seyad Berri and converted the country into tribal sectors ruled by the force of weapons.

During the past 13 years the armed conflict and the famine claimed the life of thousands of Somalis and Somalia has become an example of chaos. The US considered this country where the law is lacking a secure haven for what it describes as "Islamists extremists."

Previous Stories:
  African Union commends the interim parliament in Somalia   (8/30/2004)
  Somali parliament opens works in Nairobi   (8/23/2004)
  UN Security Council extends the mission of monitoring weapons banning to Somalia   (8/19/2004)

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