By MOHAMED SHEIK NOR
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
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Mogadishu, Somalia (AP) - Somalia's transitional parliament fired its former speaker and 29 other lawmakers Tuesday for failing to attend sessions in recent months in what may be a government move to further consolidate its control of the legislature.In January, the government successfully removed then-speaker Sharif Hassan Sheik Aden, seen as being too close to the government's rivals in a radical Islamic group that had controlled most of southern Somalia for six months. Aden was among those ousted from parliament Tuesday.
Somali troops, backed by Ethiopian forces, ousted the Islamic movement in December from Mogadishu and its strongholds.
Aden's replacement by a government loyalist was condemned by key donors to Somalia - the U.S. and European Union - who said it working against reconciliation.
All lawmakers fired Tuesday are allied to Aden and a number of them are in Asmara, Eritrea, which in the past has been accused of supporting Somalia's Islamic movement.
About 150 lawmakers approved Tuesday's decision by acclamation, said Mohamed Hassan Fiqi, one of those in favor of the move. The transitional parliament has 275 members.
Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another, throwing the country into anarchy.
The transitional government was formed in 2004 with U.N. help, but has struggled to maintain control over the country.
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Associated Press writer Salad Duhul in Mogadishu contributed to this report.