Although women worldwide commemorated International Women's Day yesterday, Somali women do have not have much to celebrate due to 20 years of war. There are some courageous women, however, who refuse to give up.

Dr Halima Ismail Ibrahim, a former lecturer at Somalia National University, is currently co-coordinator at Galgudud Region programs for IIDA, a women's development organization.

She used to work in Seattle, Washington (US) as refugee advocate, but Dr Halima returned to Mogadishu to try to turn around one of the world’s most dangerous countries where women were considered second class.

Many years later, she has some positive achievements and in this interview she explains about a struggle to empower the Somali woman amid heavy fighting and displacement in the Horn of Africa country. Dr Halima will also highlight the difficulties faced by Somali women in this war-torn nation.

Muhyadin Ahmed Roble interviewed Dr. Halima in Nairobi, Kenya.

Q: What does IIDA do day to day?

A: IIDA has been working since 1991 in the country and we have offices in Somalia. The main office in Mogadishu but we have other offices in Merka, the capital of lower Shabelle region, Dhuso mareeb in Galgaguud region and other parts in country.

IIDA was founded by a group of Somali educated women to promote women’s political, economic and social rights. Also we are looking for better lives for women who have faced the difficult situations. Our main issue is empowering women. Empowering women, it may be has several faces but we are focusing on increasing their education or giving opportunity to start education.

We also work in health issues such as FGM with HIV/AIDS, helping displaced women and water and sanitation and have partnership and co-operation with other women organization that are based in the country.

Q: You are based in Mogadishu, how often are you there?

A: Yes. We are based in Mogadishu, where bloodshed is going on for almost 20 years. The senior officials and the staff are always there although the security concerns are high. In Mogadishu, the security is the first worry of the people. Every morning when you are coming out from your house, you don’t know if you will reach the office safely or not.

The population in Mogadishu's main districts have decreased. Many are moving outside of Mogadishu to Afgoye or KM5 areas. I would not say lucky but our office even before was based in KM5 and most of staff live around that area.

We have some other staff who live far away from the office in the conflict areas but they do manage coming to work. When the situation is very bad, they do not come to the office they work at their houses.

Q: As we understand most Mogadishu residents are living in Elasha now, where women ride in the back of the bus for the orders of Islamist insurgents, what do women do in that town?

A: Really, if you look at it is day by day life, and life is changing. As we know, women are the bread winners of the country. They are working and they were selling such food items such as, vegetables, milk, oil and even water. The mothers operate all sorts of retail trade in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia. They also make a living from selling ‘Khat’ “Khat is a flowering plant native to tropical East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula which Somali men mainly use”.

Under the new rules coming from the Islamist Militia, life has become difficult for these women/mothers who are the income earners for their families. The men rarely do something that can earn a living for the family.

Q: May you describe the role of women activist in a town like Mogadishu?

A: To explain is very hard but women would not give up their activism role. They are working hard and continuing to create awareness. We decided to work until we are live and that is why some of us back from the abroad because our community needs us so we are ready to die in the course of helping them. We can also lobby and advocate political participation, peace campaigns through the workshop and radio debates.

Q: What do you feel when you are in Mogadishu?

A: Fear! Fear! Fear! We are scared and we fear! We don’t see hope but we are insisting to work inside and hope will come by the will of God.

Q: How many of women have you been giving professional training since your establishment?

A: I can surely say more than 30,000 of women from all parts of the country such as: Merka, Mogadishu, Janaale, Qoryooley, Dhusomareeb, Guriceel and others.

And also, we have centers; we have schools as we teach both regular education and informal education. We have elementary and intermediate schools for only girls. We have vocational training for the girls and boys who cannot go back to schools to start primary school because of their age.

In Dhuuso-mareeb, we are giving education more than 200 girls, in Guriceel another 280 girls, Merka more than that, also Mogadishu and others. We also undertake an illiteracy eradication program where we coach women on how to read and write.

Q: Do you hold workshops with men, young or old to advocate for women and children rights?

A: Yes, we do. We host common meetings and workshops to discuss and advocate women and children rights. Traditional elders, religious, youth, men and women are gathered that workshops and they talk about the rights.

We even train community mobilizers. We train community workers. We trained counselors who do the counseling for needed people.

Also in April last year, We also finished a big workshop about women’s rights, the health of women and how they can take part the activists going on in the country and more than 43 women had taken part that workshop in Guriceel, commercial leading town in central Somalia.

Q: What do you tell them?

A: We tell them all to educate their girls such that they can understand their rights. We also asked men to take their girls to school. We tell them the importance of empowering women and defending and also to tolerate and manage women their affairs independently and we give awareness about women’s issues.

Q: How can women and children advocate for their rights in today’s Mogadishu, where there is no law whatsoever?

A: having the will to do so. That is the best way to do this work and also psychological support, Media advocacy through the religious and traditional elders and legal advice.

Q: How do you advise women to defend their rights in a place like Mogadishu?

A: continuing the education first of all. Education is the power and it’s the weapon to look for their rights and we tell them to focus on education and looking for their rights. And then putting together all the efforts and to work together as women groups also increasing the level of awareness on the need to build peace among women groups and women rights.

Q: May you share with us the worst violence against women in your country?

A: I could say it is the early marriage. Very young ladies get married and then when they have one or two children are being divorced and that is the biggest challenge we have. Women are out there having nothing with the babies and it their rights has been violated. In other case the men marry another young lady so they don’t treaty this young girls like human beings. That is a big violence in the country.

The FGM is also another big issue and it is a big violation that we know. Other thing is not giving the equal opportunity to both the girl and boys. Mainly parent send their sons to school and they don’t take girls to school.

The ongoing fighting is a big violence against women because most of those dying are women and children. There are a few cases of raped women but it is not high as a compared to other countries.

But the women who have raped mostly don’t report and they hide because they will not have a good face within the community so they prefer hiding. Victims fear that the community may not accept them as rape victims so they don’t disclose what they underwent.

And although we don’t have statistics because of insecurity but we are still keeping and recording the crimes against women. But we have adequate evidence that tell us what happened. However, there is not a court to look at this evidence or even try those who have committed these crimes.

Q: Who carry crimes against women?

A: We know and we got it but I cannot tell you at this moment because of our security. When we get a legal prosecution we will announce God wishes.

Q: In Somalia, there are women on streets; what about their life and what are they facing?

A: they don’t have security and they are in poverty, some times, they die in the streets. But we are caring for them, we give them food and we hospitalize them when they fall ill. Some of them, we give education. Others we help them to start small business. We lend them money to start business. We advise them on how they can help each other. We have encouraged the merry go round culture.

Q: What about women who have mental health problems?

A: They are facing hard life and there are not enough doctors those specialized mental health problems in country. Also they don’t have enough drugs or treatments but we refer them to hospitals and there others those live with their families and we give some food, water and others.

Mostly they die in the streets because of clashes and fighting in the country. The insurgents and government forces with others shot them mistakenly; since they don’t run they are shot as those fighting think that they are enemies.

Q: What about FGM in the country?

A: Female Genital Mutilation is one of the worst violations against women in the country and it is based as traditional practice. The FGM has devastated the future of Somalis women in common and mostly young girls and old women both are suffering same. Sometimes lead to the death of mother and child in birth time.

Many women and girls suffer permanent damage to their health and well-being and inflict serious physical, psychological and sexual complications on women and girls.

Young girls also don’t finish their school because of FGM. In Somalia, the FGM still is strong; only 5% live in the main towns has saved the FGM, but in rural areas is 100%.

We are fighting against FGM through to the awareness, talking to mothers and we also teach in the schools lesson about the problems of FGM.

We help women who practice FGM for a living to take up other means of earning a living. We train to become midwives or start small business to stop this painful professional but the main challenges are that the new FGM makers come.

Q: What about divorce in your country?

A: I could not say exact number but a lot of young women are divorced. A big number of young ladies with their children are on streets, markets and begging others to give food and money. Men marry young girls and divorce; they again marry other one and divorce again.

The divorced women are filling our centres and we help as others girls. When the young girls aged, she must marry because she doesn’t have education or job so the only option is to marry. While the men are playing the marriage, he is marrying this, then divorce and get another one. Men always have four wives.

And most of divorced women don’t get other marriage because men always want a young girl.

Q: Did you record any HIV/AIDS cases in country?

A: Yes, there are (HIV)/AIDS cases but the only time that we can know is when pregnant women come in the hospitals and make test. The test can also be done when a seriously ill patient is admitted to hospital. In Somalia people rarely take voluntary HIV testing.

Some medical experts say the HIV/AIDS is 5% while others say it is 1% in the country but we don’t have an exact number. We also treat HIV positive patients with a lot of care. We help them financially.

Despite the war in Somali our people are really good and they show love and affection for HIV positive patients in Somalia.

Q: What are you doing in the education sector?

A: UNICEF helps us in building classes in public schools and we give students books and we give teachers allowance because the students do not pay money. They are mostly displaced people and many have lost livestock because of drought in the country. We also build schools in Mogadishu and other parts of the country. We also give women technical educations such as cooking food; sew clothes, sewing machine and others to work in the towns.

We also have education for food program which begun in 1994 and each shift 800 people participated that program in Merka and Mogadishu. But it has stalled due to the effects of a ban on international aid agencies in southern Somalia, but we still have those women in our centres. Islamist bans to aid agencies affected our work because we always depend on the funds from the international aid agencies.

Q: How do the men help your work?

A: More of our staff are men and they help us as much as we need but there are other men those say women are overthrowing us. While educated men are encouraging us because, they like what we are doing in the country.

Q: How has the years of conflict affected the relations between men and women?

A: The rule has changed and women are head of family because head of the family is the one who pays the fee. The men are sitting at the tea shops and under trees and arguing useless issues.

Most of the men also chewing Khat while the women are running for cover families’ needs. The men chewing Khat pay much money to get Khat (described above)as their children eat nothing so the life is changed.

Also men take their time in tea shops and don’t give time their wives with children. While the women wake up early in the morning to sell khat for feeding her children.

Q: In Somalia, how do Men treat their wives and children?

A: Men are not aware of children at this moment; the clans say “men have already died in civil war so we must get a lot of children (men)”, so they marry four women and you see 30 years old man who has more than 40 children and even they don’t know their names, where they live and how they are doing. We could say men are cheating their wives and their children.

Q: What about in terms of marriage – do women have power to choose their partners, to leave or to demand support from them?

A: They can’t demand to leave their husbands but sometimes in towns they choose and marry their partners although force marriage is strong in rural areas.

Another main challenge is aging men, who marry young girls for example, the town in central Somalia a man who old 112 years has married a 17 years old girl and her father sold her and gave this old man in 2009. At that time I was in that town, she didn’t choose but her father said and that is it because she can’t reject. The only way to change this is to educate women because if she learns; she will have her own decision.

Q: Talk about Somali women’s role in government and peacemaking?

A: Women are putting all their efforts restoring peace and law in Somalia. In 1998, we started disarming youth and achieved to disarm 150 armed men.

Those laid down their arms got professional and technical trains such as fishing, farming, mechanic, electrical and other professionals and they are still working in their professionals.

But unfortunately Somali warlords forced to stop this program in 2003 because some of their fighters disarmed and also they lost new recruits. Now, we are planning to restart this program.

Former presidential advisor Professor Ahmed Mumin Warfa on Sunday announced that he is running to replace President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

Speaking to people who gathered for the launch of his presidential bid at a Nairobi hotel, Mr. Warfa described himself as the best choice for Somalia.

“After 37 years of contributing to my country and my people as academician, I want to become the President of the Somali Republic so as to make change," said the Somali-American professor who used to teach biology and agriculture at Somali National University.

“Somalia is facing a very hard situation that can only be resolved by a committed leader. I have a better experience and knowledge to solve the problem and make a positive change," said Mr. Warfa.

The mandate of Somalia’s transitional federal government expires in August of this year, but the Somali parliament has extended their term in three years begining from next August, a decision that has been harshly criticized by the Somali president and international community.

Mr. Warfa supported parliament's decision to extend their term which analysts described as political move to prove that he is a close friend of parliamentarians.

MPs and politicians, including former Defence Minister Abdalla Boss Ahmed, a former powerful world and candidate for presidency Mohamed Qanyare Afrah, MP Asha Ahmed Abdalla and other officials, spoke at ceremony.

Professor Warfa was appointed as the senior advisor for Somali President Sharif in August 2009, but resigned in February 2010.

Before becoming the advisor, Dr Ahmed M. Warfa was a professor at Utah University in the U.S. He has studied in botany, plant systematics and agriculture and served as senior advisor to the United Nations.

If the extending of Somalia’s parliament term is accepted, the parliament may elect a new president and speaker of the assembly. Diplomats at AU headquarter say lawmakers are likely to choose new leaders within a few months.

The Horn of Africa nation has not had an effective government since warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

Veteran Somali judge Ahmed Sheikh Ali said that extending the term of Somali legislature is against the will of Somali people.

In an exclusive interview with Somalia Report, Mr. Ahmed Sheikh Ali said the suffering people of Somalia want to see a positive change in the seven year old system of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

Mr. Ahmed, a member of the Somali judiciary system for almost 32 years, said the members of Somali legislature have not had the confidence of the people. “They did nothing for their seven years of serving. Now they have to leave so as the people get a chance to test their luck," he demanded.

He described the Somali parliament as one that consists of people consumed with egoism and self interest. “They want to stay forever. It is unacceptable," said Mr. Ahmed who witnessed the election of the first Somali parliament in 1960. “The first Somali parliamentarians were requested and prayed for to be a member of the parliament but these guys are crazy for the seat," he added.

He urged the Somali parliament to come up with a plan for holding elections of the parliamentarians, whether it is nominating MPs from their elders or asking people go to vote.

Somalia's transitional parliament extended its own mandate by three years in early February. The mandate of the 550-strong body had been due to expire alongside that of the transitional government (TFG) in August of this year. Parliament Speaker Sharif Hasan Sheikh Aden said the move would save Somalia from anarchy, but Mr. Ahmed argued that the parliamentarians themselves create the anarchy.

The decision to extend was harshly condemned by Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the UN Special Envoy to Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, and the moderate group of Ahlu Sunna waljamaa (ASWJ) which backs the government's war against Al-Shabaab.

A member of the ASWJ, Sh. Mohamed told Somalia Report that his group will not accept extending the parliament’s term.

“Every decision in Somalia needs consultation with all sides so they have rethink and deliberate the decision,” Sheikh Abdurrahman said an exclusive interview with Somalia Report.

Somalia’s parliament consists of 275 MPs who were first elected in 2004 but another 275 seats were increased in 2009’s Djibouti conference in order to accommodate the Islamic opposition led by current president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

The parliament was formed to prepare the country for elections during their interim period but seven years later they have made little headway.

The ongoing violence in the war-torn nation of Somalia is making life particularly difficult for women, especially in Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu after two decades of warfare.

Halima Gelle complains that the world does not see or hear her problem. Her suffering began in 1993 when a mortar killed both her parents and her sister. Although she and her two brothers survived, life remained difficult. Thirteen years later, her husband was killed in a public restaurant in Mogadishu by the crossfire between armed Somali groups.

She is not the only one suffering, for no day is a woman's day in Somalia.

For almost a week, Halima Gelle, 27, has been sitting day and night by her daughter’s bedside in Medina hospital, one of Mogadishu active and operating clinics. Her daughter, 12 year old Amino Omar, was among the dozens wounded by stray mortars in Mogadishu’s main market of Bakara, which the Al-Qaeda linked group of Al Shabaab uses a based from which to launch attacks on the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces and African Union peacekeepers bases.

"She went to Bakara for shopping but we found her in hospital bed severely injured," Halima told Somalia Report.

“She was in hospital bed since she was wounded by a mortar," Halima says. But her other three children moved to her mother in-law’s makshift house located Elasha Biyaha, a settlement for Mogadishu’s displaced people in the southwest of the capital, hoping they will be safer there.

"I think of them constantly when we are apart. Some are now getting sick and I can't be at both places," cries the mother.

In the same hospital, another mother, Khadiija Abdurrahman, looks after her seven-year-old son, who suffered broken bones after mortar hit their house in Yaqshii, also as a result of the recent fighting between TFG and Al Shabaab insurgents.

Fortunately, her young sister is helping Khadiija by taking shifts. At night, Khadiija stays the hospital with her son while her sister, Faisa Abdurrahman, goes to the house and takes care of the rest of the children. Faisa comes to hospital in the wee hours of the morning, bringing food and then Khadiija goes to the house.

Like Halima and Khadiija, numerous women have suffered horribly during the two decades of war in Mogadishu.

"Somali women's lives are extremely difficult in the clashes and shells in Mogadishu," says Dr Halima Ismail, member of IIDA, an Organization that supports woman's rights.

There are large numbers of women who have been forced to give birth at their houses as shells were hitting and continue to hit. Many others died bleeding from their injures because the fighting closed Mogadishu streets and they couldn’t get to hospital. The constant mortar attacks forced other thousands of women in Mogadishu to flee from their houses, rendering them and their children homeless.

But through this period, women are not giving up and are doubling their efforts to fight for their rights. "The increasing of the Islamist influence has contributed to an increase in violence against women," said a women activist who spoke to Somalia Report on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. Although women are involved in almost 80% of the small businesses operating in Somalia, there have been few improvements in their social status. The increased intervention in trade reflect rather growing economic hiccups that compelled women to became the bread winners for their families in the social context in which civil war has disrupted the family system.

The support of the transitional charter produced by the IGAD led national reconciliation process in 2004 called for 12% of parliamentary seats in the Transitional federal parliament to be allocated for women, but only 8% actually were filled by women.

Women in Somali parliament are fighting to get their percentage in the parliament, but Aisha Ahmed Abdalla says elders and clan leaders are not supporting their efforts.

"Islam prohibits violence against women as well as the use of women as slaves," says Sheikh Abdurrahman Sheikh Mohamed, an Islamic moderate cleric in Nairobi, but accused Al Shabaab for cursing women and refusing them to go out for work.

The Somali constitution effectively prohibits and appropriately punishes violence against not only women but all citizens. Dr Halima Ismail Ibrahim, a member IIDA, says there are no courts to go and will wait to get a legal prosecution for the crimes against women.

More than 22,000 people have been killed in Mogadishu alone while more than 1.5 million people fled from their homes since the beginning of the 2007. Most of those who died and displaced in clashes are women and children.

Mogadishu is divided into two parts, one ruled by Somali government with AU peacekeepers and the other by Al Shabaab, who have been fighting the city since 2009.

The troubles are not all new. "We fed up with the war, dead bodies and displacement. There is danger everywhere in the city," a university student Fartun Ahmed Hassan told Somalia Report. "The situation is deteriorating, and only when the war ends, women in Somalia will be in a better situation," she said.

Fartun who is a trained counselor for women says countless women have psychological scars, mostly youth. Thousands of women are complaining from gastrointestinal problems, headaches, sleeplessness and mysterious pains.

“Most of women need psychological support”, she notes. The horrors of the war have made things harder and more traumatic as women are the most hit.

International Woman's Day passed relatively unnoticed in Somalia this year. A resident in Elasha Biyaha Muhibo Abdi laughed bitterly at the idea of International Woman's Day, as if it were a cruel joke. She said they have nothing to celebrate but believes they will be able to commemorate it in the future.

"Women in Somalia want the war to end, we want to go back to our houses," she said. "We want to see a new and strong government in Somalia as we used to be 20 years ago. Then we can celebrate the 8th of March."

The Somali women in parliament and those in the organizations that fight for women rights, have a long road ahead to give women the proper respect they deserve as wives mothers, and businesswomen.

In a his first extensive press interview since declaring his candidacy for Somalia's presidential elections, Professor Ahmed Mumin Warfa, speaks with Muhyadin Ahmed Roble of Somalia Report to better communicate his plans to stabilize the complex country. Teamwork and reconciliation are top priorities through simple and democratic governance, he explains.

The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) announced that presidential elections would be held in July or August of this year in Mogadishu.

Dr. Warfa served as a senior advisor to the current president, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, and is now running to replace his former boss. The 67 year old Somali-American professor is an expert in plant science and taught biology and agriculture at the Somali National University. Professor Warfa also served as an advisor to the United Nations, one of many experiences that he believes makes him the best choice for the Somali people and the country.

Prof Ahmed tell us about you in terms of where you were born, where you grew up and your education?

Bismillahi Rahmani Raheesm, first all I would like to thank you. When it comes to my biography I was born in Bulla Burti in Somalia’s central region of Hiiraan in the year 1948. Ever since I was in school for twenty seven years and I taught biology for 37 years. Of course, I taught at Somali National University, Precambrian University in the United States. I am an expert in plant science and I taught this field for so many years.

You left your field and now have the ambition to run for the presidency. Why are you running for presidency?

Having seen the multiple problems and crisis going on in Somalia among them being drought, war, famine, illiteracy, poor health, poor hygiene, lack of food. This is the time the intellectuals and the professionals are called to go back to Somalia and try their best to serve the country and the people they originated from.

What can you change from this crisis?

First of all, I want to work hard so as to bring peace back to the country and having 37 years of contributing to the country and Somali people as academician will be help to make change. Somalia needs a committed leader who can solve the problem and hopeful that I have a better experience and knowledge to make a positive change. So it is my time, the time for the intellectuals and educated people. I do not want to see my country going on this way anymore. I want to make change and that is why I am running for.

So what is your plan?

My plan is to work towards reconciling different groups in Somalia in all levels. Not only the warring parties but also individuals, groups, associations, political parties, business people ,military, militia, fighters and all kind of people. I just want to do a permanent reconciliation in terms of district level, village level and the national level and then from there work towards peaceful coexistence among Somalis and neighbors.

So how will you want handle the Islamist groups such as Al Shabaab who are fighting the government?

Of course, it is a question of willing and I will like to approach each and every group within the country and within the region. Our own plan is to sit, to talk one another and establish and settle our own differences and see those ready for talks. I just want to start peaceful manner with cooperation and genuine ideas.

What changes do you intend to bring if you are elected to become Somalia president?

First I intend to work with my team that is my priority. I don’t intend on working alone, to move alone, to behave alone. I will like to establish village, district, and federal systems in regional level. What I am planning is to promote regional autonomy body policies, small government at the federal level and relatively strong government on the regional basis.

So do you have a party or a group or you are individual candidate?

At the moment there is no political party because the parliament is one, government is one, leadership is one and there are no political parties or associations yet. But as we planned for the next three years, we would like to clear the floor and go for democratically elected president, parliamentarians, speakers and government that comes from the majority party but at the moment the president, speaker is elected by the parliament, this is what we planned and it is not possible now to have your own political party.

You used ‘we’ a lot, do you mean you have your own team and will come with them?

Yes, when I am talking about team and using ‘w’ means I am talking about my planned government and my prime minister or vice president. I will come with my own team.

What kind of government do you intend on establishing?

A simple and democratic government, that represents the Somali people. I am planning to keep the Somali people as they are regardless their religious orientation, political party or political beliefs. I just want to keep Somalis united. Somalis are Somalis, we will establish government based on professional and intellectual people whether in or outside the parliament.

How do you intend to handle the problem Somalia is going through as we all know it is like this for twenty years?

Of course, Somalia is an abandoned country, a failed state. We are not blaming anyone and we are not finger pointing to anyone. We have to blame ourselves and we have to rise from this crisis with good intention and vision. Leave in a peaceful and stable coexistence manner within us and our neighbors like Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and beyond. When it comes to cooperation with international community, we have to submit our own plan to satisfy our needs because this time we decided to put back Somalia in it is deserved place.

How will you work with Somaliland, a breakaway region in Northern Somalia?

I worked with United Nations with missions and international institutions as a consultant of conflict resolution expert, as a man for conflict resolution. So I understood the way to solve conflicts and I will sit with everyone for permanent reconciliation. If Somaliland wants to break away from the rest of Somalia for good, we seat, talk about, plan together and we decide it together.

As a hopeful presidential candidate, are there al Qaeda elements in Somalia?

I believe that there are thousands of foreigners involved in the fight and as long as they are working and acting against us in our soil we are planning to act against them on a different way.

As you said they are foreigners, so how will you deal with armed foreigners in your soil?

As I said we will do permanent reconciliation. It means when you sit with Somalis and settle your issue with Somalis, foreign elements will become minority and will not have strong role and will not be able to brainwash our kids or our people and as long as they are not acting or causing threat we will continue.

But one thing should be declared is that our soil should be controlled by our own people, foreigners are foreigners and if they are there in a peaceful way as diplomats, business people, students, tourists and many other ways, they are most welcomed.

But if they foreign elements and mobilizing our people to inflict war to our selves, this is what we are opposing for literally.

What do you think or what kind of idea do you have about Al Shabaab?

I have never dealt with Al Shabaab and I have never met them but as far as I am aware. I believe they are home grown armed militia and they are real concern over the coexistence of the situation and we will talk with Al Shabaab, we will sit with them wherever they are, however they are and how difficult it is, I prepared and I am ready to challenge for peace.

Do you think they will accept your reconciliation program?

I suspected but I understand that they are three categories of Al Shabaab. Some are the decision makers, some are foot soldiers and some are simple kinds who have been brainwashed but we will see. It is well wishing.

What is your opinion towards African Union peacekeepers in Somalia?

We are member country of African Union and as long as you are there on bilateral basis but you make sure that you are mandate is well precise, well observed, and you are not going beyond your mandate.

Do you have any relations with international community such as African Union, Arab states, U.S., EU and others?

As an expert I always dealt with European Union, Arab League, United States, and Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), because I was one of the people who drafted the first paper and the whole project in 1985. I was engaged in the horn of Africa in one way or another but now I am back to lead Somalia for good, God willing, and also to save the neighbor countries.

Have you met with International community to talk about your ambitions?

They know that I am running for presidency. I haven’t yet met them face to face but this is what I am planning to do. I hope that Somalia Report will spread and pass my message to international bodies.

A few months ago, you were the Somali president’s advisor. Why did you leave the job?

It is true and I worked with the interim president Sharif Shiekh Ahmed as senior advisor but whatever has gone wrong will be part of the history. Since I am not there now, and I just want to pause it there.

What do you mean?

I don’t want to create conflict of interest between myself who is a candidate and incumbent president who may be running.

Can we exactly know why you left the job?

PROF AHMED: that was personal and I mentioned it in a number of media houses. I am not interesting in digging anything at the present.

Somalia Report never asked why you left the post, please tell us what you told other media houses?

I am not going to talk about the issue at the moment. It is already over so please go ahead and ask me another question if you have.

Election campaigns in such country needs a lot of money who are your financial supporters?

My supports who understood that I am the best option for the Somali people are so far supporting me but in politics you never ask two things. You should learn one thing that you never ask a politician how much money he has to run for the elections.

And never ask who are going to support you when it comes to financial because this is something external. We are running whether we are rich or poor.

People need to know where the candidate is getting money so as to decide whether he is the best or not.

Muhyadin, I know you are a professional journalist, but I thought that I have already answered the question. As a politician, I will not tell you how much money I have and those supporting me financially. This is external issue and I will not share with the media houses.

Parliamentarians who do not take enough salary will vote for the candidates if it happens. May be this is their chance to make money, how much will you give them?

In fact I was in the United State when I received a call from a large number of group of parliamentarians and I met almost hundred of them in here in Hilton Hotel for get together last week and as far as I am aware of this people are good people, they have got intention but they have been blamed so much and they have been painted negatively so much too. But on the contrary I would like to say hello, to work with them and also I need their support. I have also already answered part of the questions.

How much confidence are you getting from the parliament?

I have 100% confidence

You sure?

Yes, because I am the only one who so far officially announced his candidacy and hopeful to be the next Somali president who restores peace, order and law back to Somalia. However, the history will write itself.

Why do you support parliament’s extending term?

That was the only option because it was proposed by IGAD and recommended by the IGAD so whenever the principle was broken then the number of years to extend was optional. IGAD proposed two years and extending is three years.

Second, this people are five hundred and fifty and around out of four hundred and twenty one supported this idea of extending. I know we are now arguing it but on condition, they have to sit down, form good committees, revise by lose and constitutions, the character and make a real reform for the next three years.

When will the election will happen?

The election for the assembly speaker and for the president will be held on July and August for respectively.

Thank you for talking to Somalia Report

Thank you very much.