This is an interview with Hussein Aideed that was published in the Arabic Daily Newspaper Al-Hayat at the same time as the interview with Abdiqassim Salad Hassan (translation appeared in Somalia Watch) and Osman Atto.

 Aideed: We are the only legitimate in the country and attempting to takeover other people's places would mean renewal of the fighting 

Al-Hayat: President Salad Hassan has received international and Arab legitimacy. Why don't you put the weapons aside and join the government or oppose it peacefully?

 Aideed: The legitimacy needs many bases and cannot be imposed from outside. We did not participate in the Arta conference (which elected Salad as president) because the people who initiated the Arta conference did not want us to attend. That is despite the propaganda that was directed at the groups.

 If we are to speak about legitimacy, the Somali National Alliance represents the Somali national forces and expresses the national interests that come from our armed struggle which was crowned by the toppling of the fascist dictatorial regime of Mohamed Siyad Barre in 1991. Then our confrontation with the external interference which was led by immense international forces in 1992. Therefore, we represent the only legitimacy in Somalia according to internationally accepted norms.

 It is worth remembering in this regard that there are three countries in the region, who are members of IGAD, whose governments have received legitimacy following popular revolution similar to the revolution that happened in Somalia. We would like to ask, why do the western and Arab countries support those governments and refuses to Somalia. Here we turn to our Arab brothers, leaders as well as intellectuals to understand the depth of the Somali issue by answering this question.

 Al-Hayat: But there is an agreement now on a president and a government to end the war. 

Aideed: We would not stop any solution we can get to without outside interference and within the framework of comprehensive nation agreement. At the same time we cannot jump over the victims who died in order to topple Siyad Barre, and accept wilh all simplicity the return of this regime and its symbols to power in Somalia. The world knows that the suffering of our people was due to this regime. What happened at Arta was an agreement signed outside the country in which the symbols of Siyad Barre were returned; these were headed by Salad Hassan who was, even at the last day of the life of that regime, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. [Arta conference] also appointed those who were responsible for the genocide and who bombarded the towns with air raids and artillery. Therefore, it is possible for us to submit the lives of our people to these elements whom we know will not safeguard the national interest of the country.

 Al-Hayat: President Salad Hassan has confirmed to Al-Hayat that you and the rest of the opposition are negotiating with him, and that his opponents do not have united demands and that each one of you has his own demand. Is it true that you asked for the position of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister?

 Aideed: There was no agreement with Abdiqassim in any form. Unfortunately, they are repeating lies in every place when they say that there is a dialogue with the others in order to get some money from outside. The majority of the Arab world does not understand the background of the political development in Somalia and those who are seeking power (in Somalia) at any cost are trying to deceive the Arab public opinion through glittering slogans that they do not believe in.

 As for the other groups, what I know is that they are opposed to Abdiqassim, and there has been recent clashes between his army which he sent to the town of Ballad (near Mogadishu) and the forces of other groups.

 As for the [political] positions, I don't like to talk about it because our differences are bigger than that and concern the destiny of the people and the recovery of the values that were lost during the regime of Siyad Barre which is today represented by Abdiqassim.

 Al-Hayat: Are you invited to negotiations in San'a soon and what are your programmes?

 Aideed: The plan of the Djibouti government to impose a government on Somalia has failed and the national forces have to find alternatives based on balance and the consideration of forces that have presence on the ground and who control territories, however small, and driving towards reconciliation at any cost.

 Al-Hayat: The government is insisting that it will reopen the international airport and seaport. Do you think that is possible at the present?

 Aideed: The airport and port are within the areas that we control. We liberated it first from Siyad Barre and later from the control of the international forces who was led by the United Nations in 1992. We tried to reopen a number of times but outside interference prevented us from doing so. The matter requires complete control of the city and that need the agreement of other parties who have their interests. Therefore the matter rests with achieving comprehensive political agreement because the issue cannot be subdivided. That is what we hope to achieve in San'a. Abdiqassim's claim that he'll reopen the airport soon is intended for international consumption, which he knows how to use, for the purpose of getting money from the Arab countries. I think those who control the city are the ones the matter concerns first and they are the ones who will reopen the airport and the port so that there will be no clashes.

 Al-Hayat: Why do you think all the attempts for reconciliation failed in the past ten years?

 Aideed: Most of the Somali conferences of the past ten years were supervised by forces that are opposed to the national orientation of the country and they created a perception that the Somali people were not civilised. These conferences were planned at the outset for failure and they were held within days without preparation and agreements were not implemented. The aim was to give the impression that the Somali people did not want reconciliation.

 Al-Hayat: Are the indications that the fighting will start again?

 Aideed: What we fear most now is the fighting to restart. I must here stress that our intensive efforts have kept a degree of security in the capital. We have tolerated many excesses and we were not retaliating to the provocations and a number of assassinations that we were subjected to. But things quickly intensified as Abdiqassim's group descended on us from airplanes claiming that they are the government and the rest are subjects. This has provoked our fighters who have paid a heavy price to chase Siyad Barre and the leadership of his regime who have slaughtered their people. Those fighters felt danger and fear of the return of the dark days which they have wiped out.

 The intensification of this atmosphere could lead into clashes. Unfortunately, some Gulf States and Libya and Yemen are helping on this by encouraging Abdiqassim and giving him money and materials at a time when we expected these countries not to complicate the problem.

 Al-Hayat: But these countries are encouraging to strengthen the security, specially the establishment of the police force and the dismantling of the militias including the forces of the Islamic courts.

 Aideed: We have heard in the media what is called police, but we have not seen anything on the ground. Any attempt (by the government) to takeover centres that belong to others will definitely lead to clashes. As for the Islamic courts, we believe that Abdiqassim relies on groups claiming Islam and supported from outside.

 Al-Hayat: President Abdiqassim confirms that you and the other leaders of the groups do not control except a pocket or an area inside the capital. What is your comment?

 Aideed: Abdiqassim can say whatever he wants to say, but the reality is that the capital has been liberated by the men of Somali National Alliance under the leadership of the late Mohamed Farah Aideed. The division of the city happened as a result of external armed intervention. Now the Alliance is comprised a number of groups at the level of the Republic and Abdiqassim is tying to ignore this fact and to present himself to the outside world in a different image.

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Sunday, 14 January, 2001, 18:02 GMT